Embattled company sheds low D.C. profile amid fallout with Ford
Published Thursday, June 21, 2001, in the Akron Beacon Journal.
The company opened an office in Washington.
It passed out spiffy golf balls in the halls of Congress.
It spent money. It hired more lobbyists.
It hired the oldest and closest friend of Louisiana Republican Rep. W. J. ``Billy'' Tauzin, as a lobbyist.
In what was considered a major victory for Firestone, earlier this month Tauzin asked the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to consider the Ford Explorer's role in the tire failures that have led to 203 deaths, instead of looking only at problems with the tires.
Then Tuesday, Tauzin said other tires had more complaints against them than Firestones and asked NHTSA to investigate.
Firestone, in other words, is learning the ways of Washington.
It's a switch for a company that has kept one of the lowest political profiles in the capital, outgunned on all relevant fronts by its former buddies from Ford.
Start with campaign money.
Ford doled out $433,250 during the 2000 election cycle, through its political action committee alone.
Firestone doled out none.
The company has no political action committee. And it doesn't appear to be using the normal gimmicks to get around that -- like having employees give.
Ford's top executives show up as individual donors in campaign data bases. Firestone's don't.
As for the Tauzin subcommittee that heard testimony from Ford and Firestone Tuesday, its members received a combined total of $40,000 in campaign contributions from Ford in the 2000 election cycle.
From Firestone, they received not one dime.
The same disparity shows up in lobbying.
Firestone has hired them in the past, but to the tune of $120,000 to $160,000 per year.
Ford's lobbying payroll, by contrast, is the biggest in Washington. The company paid $8.4 million to lobbyists in 1999, down from the $13 million it paid the year before.
Firestone's tire competitor, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. spent $960,000 on lobbyists in 1999. And two of its fellow Japanese-owned companies, Honda and Toyota, spent $1.1 million apiece on lobbyists -- although neither appears to have a PAC.
There's no clear explanation for Firestone's political aloofness other than it's part of the company's history, said Steven Akey, vice president of government affairs and the sole staff member of Firestone's new Washington office.
``They just haven't done it,'' he said.
It's also highly unusual, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks federal campaign giving and lobbying.
A company without a history of campaign giving is at a disadvantage in Washington, said Steven Weiss, the center's communications director.
``Campaign contributions open doors,'' he said. ``It's hard for an elected official to turn down a meeting with a very big campaign contributor.
``It's so rare to see a company that has an interest in Congress that's not playing the game.''
The company knows it has a Washington problem.
``Government relations is about bringing hard facts to lawmakers, and letting them draw their own conclusions,'' Akey said.
``The more we build relations with Congress, the more easily that information flows.''
Bridgestone/Firestone opened its Washington office in April.
It also added Public Strategies Inc. to its lobbying payroll, with an account being handled by Tauzin's friend, Wallace Henderson.
``We're still the underdogs,'' said Akey. ``But we're smaller and more nimble.''
So nimble, in fact, that Akey managed to scare up 50 dozen special golf balls, made by Bridgestone Sports, to pass out before Tuesday's congressional hearings.
The balls went to members of Congress and their staffs, and generated ``more calls than balls'' from the news media, Akey said.
The company still has no political action committee. And its executives aren't yet giving campaign money.
But the crimped lobbying budget is a thing of the past.
The company spent $40,000 on lobbyists in the first half of last year, before the tire recall went public in August.
It spent $2 million in the year's last six months.