Total Spectrum’s Arizona team – Michael DiMaria, Former Congressman Erik Paulsen, Steve Gordon, and Patrick Robertson – have the experience, relationships, and understanding required to help solve your government affairs problem either at the Arizona State Capitol or the U.S. Capitol.
Michael DiMaria is a Partner and Southwest Regional Director of Total Spectrum. He came to Total Spectrum from CenturyLink, where he achieved success after success as their Arizona Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs. Michael currently serves on the Board of Directors and is the Tax Policy Committee Chairman for the Arizona Chamber and is also a Director on the Board of InvisionAZ. He is the past chairman of both the Arizona Tax Research Association (ARTA) and the Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC). Before his work in Arizona, Michael worked in public policy for numerous Fortune 500 companies in the midwestern and southeastern United States, including AT&T, Comcast, and Cox Communications
Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN) represented Minnesota’s Third Congressional District from 2009-2019. He served as a leading member on the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax writing, health care, economic and trade policy. He was the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, as well as the Co-Chair of the House Medical Technology Caucus, the House Digital Trade Caucus, and the House Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Caucus. Erik served in 2019 as the Co-Chair of the Pass USMCA Coalition, and currently serves on the Task Force on the Coordination of Behavioral and Clinical Health for the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), a bipartisan Washington, D.C. think tank.
Steve Gordon is the Managing Partner of Total Spectrum. He had a 36 year career in politics and is referred to as the “Dean of Republican campaign guidance”. He had an 18 year association with retired Senator and Assistant Republican Whip Jon Kyl, was a consultant to Senator John McCain’s reelection campaigns from 1991 through 1998, and served as a consultant to the campaigns of Senators Mitch McConnell and John Thune. Steve Gordon was Cory Gardner’s national political director during his years in Congress and continued in that role during Gardner’s successful 2014 run for U.S. Senate in Colorado. Steve retired from politics in December 2014 and now devotes his full time to building Total Spectrum/Steve Gordon and Associates. He currently writes and publishes This Week in Washington for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Patrick Robertson has spent two decades in Washington and advises executive teams, boards of directors and senior decision-makers on public policy issues that pose opportunities and challenges to their organizations’ enterprise values. He began his Washington career working on the staff of Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) for nine years, the last five as Deputy to the Chief of Staff, and later served as Campaign Manager for Senator Rockefeller’s 2008 re-election campaign. Patrick’s expertise is in the fields of tax, energy, telecommunications, trade, and transportation. During his career, Patrick has successfully represented a range of clients including Fortune 50 companies, small associations, a territorial government, and others. He coordinates a 75-member trade association, handling all aspects of its operation and leads its lobbying strategy. Patrick’s successes include reviving a preservation tax credit after it was eliminated early in the tax reform process of 2017. In addition, he has navigated other legislative challenges like the proposed regulation of an industry and government attacks on specific products or business lines. At the same time, Patrick designed custom plans to introduce businesses to Washington or to roll out new facilities, changing employee mixes, and updated messaging and branding. He has also planned grassroots fly ins and strategized how best to use grassroots and grass tops support. Patrick spent 10 years as Managing Director at FTI Consulting and as a Partner at C2 Group, both highly regarded bipartisan government relations and lobbying firms. In 2019 he founded Confluence Government Relations to continue that work.
This Week in Washington - August 5, 2020 - August 5, 2020
In this week’s Heard on the Hill, Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen cover the process, negotiations, and the progress toward the next COVID-19 recovery legislation. They share an interview with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and provide updates on bringing pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the U.S.,→
This Week in Washington - July 22, 2020 - July 22, 2020
The overriding subjects consuming Washington are COVID-19, the shutdown that has caused economic distress and hardship for millions of Americans, the development of vaccines that will lift us out of this fog, and the upcoming elections.
Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen cover the beginning of→
This Week in Washington - July 8, 2020 - July 8, 2020
Sean Callinicos is a policy expert and government relations expert in health care, but he has a special focus in the vaccine industry. He was Assistant Vice President for Federal Government Affairs for Sanofi Pasteur during the avian and swine flu crises, and his work helped open the door for the→
This Week in Washington - June 25, 2020 - June 25, 2020
Steve Gordon and former Congressman Erik Paulsen report on COVID-19 and the pushes and pulls felt by members of Congress as they try to legislate and campaign during a full year of crises compacted into six months. Steve and Erik also include thoughts from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator→
This Week in Washington - June 10, 2020 - June 10, 2020
Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen discuss the first economic reports from America’s reopening, Congress and the Administration’s view on additional COVID-19 legislation, last week’s signing of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, two Executive Orders, and a new feature we’re calling→
