Who's who among lobbyists with Dallas-Fort Worth clients

Hired lobbyists
Brandon Aghamalian and Snapper Carr HillCo Partners, Austin

North Texas clients: Fort Worth, Arlington, Burleson, Dallas, Denton, Frisco, Irving, North Richland Hills and Southlake; RadioShack; Tarrant County Hospital District; Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition; Texans for the Arts, Irving; Texas Stadium Corp., Arlington; Texas Motion Picture Alliance, Dallas

Aghamalian is a former government affairs director for Fort Worth. Carr — yes, Snapper is his real name — is former counsel for the Texas Municipal League. Together, the two 35-year-olds form the potent municipal lobbying arm of HillCo Partners, often ranked as the state’s top lobbying group. Fun fact: Aghamalian is an Arlington native who was delivered by Dr. Robert Cluck, now Arlington’s mayor.

Galt Graydon The Graydon Group, Austin

North Texas clients: Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, Southwest Airlines, Dallas Area Rapid Transit

The Austin attorney leads a respected five-member lobbying team and has been a familiar face at the Capitol for more than three decades. His résumé includes stints as state Senate staffer, a Justice Department lawyer on an anti-drug task force and an assistant city attorney in Dallas. Taxes and transportation will be high on his lobbying agenda, as will legislation making Texas horse racing more competitive with that in other states.

Michael Grimes Austin-based senior lobbyist for The Eppstein Group of Fort Worth

North Texas clients: Energy Future Holdings Corp., Dallas; Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association; Tarrant County 911 District; Tarrant Regional Water District; Verizon Select Services and Verizon Southwest of Arlington and Texas Health Resources of Arlington, which operates the Harris Methodist and Arlington Memorial hospitals. (The Eppstein Group also represents the Employees’ Retirement Fund of Fort Worth.)

Although Bryan Eppstein’s Fort Worth-based company is perhaps best known for political consulting, lobbying and public affairs now constitute at least 50 percent of its business. Grimes, an expert on road and highway finance issues, coordinates the six-person public affairs arm. He served on then-Gov. George W. Bush’s financial staff and has been chief of staff to state Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington.

Gib Lewis Fort Worth, based in Austin during session

North Texas clients: Burleson, Mansfield; Dallas/Fort Worth Airport; Tarrant Regional Water District; Traders Village Ltd., Fort Worth; Allied Waste of Fort Worth

Lewis’ decade of experience as the state’s 71st House speaker (1983-93) gives the former Fort Worth legislator a level of expertise that few competitors can match. He works out of an office adorned with mementos from his years as speaker and is behind his desk by 7 a.m., tracking the flow of bills on his computer. Lewis, who likes to keep a relatively low profile, was ranked a respectable 13th in a recent survey of top lobbyists.

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