Rental industry goes on offense over tech adoption

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Oct 21, 2024 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko With help from Daniel Lippman RENTAL INDUSTRY FORMS A PRO-TECH GROUP: The real estate industry is standing up a new effort to push back on scrutiny from policymakers as the sector shifts toward digital platforms. The Real Estate Technology and Transformation Center, which launched today, aims to bring together stakeholders from the rental industry and the tech world to “unify them in a pro-housing and pro-tech voice,” said Kevin Donnelly, a veteran industry lobbyist who will serve as the coalition’s executive director and chief advocacy officer. — The launch of the group comes a few months after the Justice Department and eight state attorneys general sued RealPage, accusing the software company of facilitating a price-fixing scheme among the nation’s landlords through RealPage’s algorithmic pricing tool. At the same time, housing affordability has become a major issue in the presidential election, with both VP Kamala Harris and Donald Trump offering proposals to bring down sky-high housing and rental costs. — Donnelly, who’s spent nearly a decade with the rental industry trade association the National Multifamily Housing Council , told PI that RETTC’s advocacy will include connectivity for properties, leveraging tech in landlord operations and the proliferation of green tech as well as data privacy and security, consumer protection and “enabling the conversation on ways that artificial intelligence and other emerging tech are being deployed in the marketplace to do better.” — “Tech is not a new policy priority for this industry at all,” Donnelly told PI, but the new organization is a means to “really level up the industry’s advocacy work” to promote the message “that real estate tech is a force for good, and we believe that it has the potential to really help us address longstanding housing challenges.” — Donnelly wouldn’t name any individual members of the coalition — which is primarily focused on the rental industry for now — but said that RETTC is “strategically aligned” with the National Multifamily Housing Council and includes 250 property owners, operators and developers and rental housing operators across an array of types of property as well as tech companies and investors. — The rental industry has already flooded historic amounts into influence efforts as housing and rental costs have come under the microscope in Washington since the pandemic. NMHC spent a record $8.2 million on lobbying in 2023, and has dropped $7.2 million through the first three quarters of 2024. — Other industry groups like the National Apartment Association, the National Rental Home Council and the National Association of Residential Property Managers — along with websites and data companies like RealPage, CoStar and Zillow — have also ramped up their lobbying expenditures over the past few years. Happy Monday and welcome to PI. What’s keeping you busy in these final weeks before the election? Let me know: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.   REGISTER NOW: WOMEN RULE: A new generation of women leaders is shaping the future. Join POLITICO for exclusive conversations with rising women leaders who will influence agendas in Washington and beyond in 2025. Stay for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. REGISTER HERE to attend in-person or virtually.     PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL TAPS NEW LEADER: The Public Affairs Council, which represents the public affairs and government affairs industries, has named Nneka Chiazor its next president. When Chiazor takes the helm from outgoing President Doug Pinkham in January, she’ll be the first woman and person of color to lead the group in its 70-year existence. Pinkham, who has led the Council for nearly three decades, announced his retirement earlier this year. — Chiazor is currently the market vice president at Cox Communications and was a member of the Council’s board of directors from 2018 to 2023. She previously served as vice president of government and public affairs at Cox and before that spent 14 years at Verizon, including as vice president of public policy. WHAT K STREET IS EXPECTING AFTER THE ELECTION: A couple new memos circulating downtown seek to offer a glimpse of what K Street should prepare for in the days — and perhaps more importantly weeks — following Nov. 5. — One, from Husch Blackwell Strategies’ Andy Blunt , drives home the point that barring some unexpected landslides, it could be as late as mid-December before the final tight races are called — and with them, potentially control of the House. “While the political world will be in great anticipation of Election Day,” according to Blunt, “that date may be only the start of what promises to be a laborious and contentious postelection period.” — Mehlman Consulting’s Bruce Mehlman echoes that in his weekly slide deck with a look at the past timelines for calling presidential elections. The deck previews the “slog” between Election Day and the Jan. 6 certification deadline that could prove more contentious than what we’re currently experiencing. — Congress already has an extremely full plate when the chambers return to work next month. But factor in “post-election politics & pre-2025 maneuvering,” and we’re in for “an intense and consequential nine weeks,” Mehlman argues. — If Trump wins, transition dynamics could prompt a flurry of efforts to confirm judges and get regulations and money out the door, Mehlman writes. If Harris wins, he predicts there could be a scramble to get her Cabinet nominees confirmed while the Senate is still controlled by Democrats. WHAT NSO’S LOBBYISTS ARE DOING: “Against the backdrop of Israel’s war efforts and the looming possibility of a Trump administration,” the Israeli spyware maker NSO Group “is doubling down on its efforts to connect with members of Congress — almost exclusively with Republicans — as it makes a bid to reverse its blacklisting” over its role in enabling human rights abuses, per The Intercept’s Georgia Gee. — From February to July, lobbyists for NSO Group met eight times with Texas GOP Rep. Pete Sessions , according to DOJ filings, and on one occasion a meeting with Sessions coincided with a $1,000 campaign check from NSO lobbyist and former Texas Rep. Greg Laughlin. Laughlin donated to several other Texas lawmakers who met with the spyware firm. — “The latest blitz in its yearslong campaign for delisting kicked off at the onset of the Israeli war in Gaza last year, when NSO tried to persuade Secretary of State Antony Blinken that its technology was of use to the American government.” MUSK READS: Billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk’s pledge to give away $1 million to swing state voters who sign his super PAC’s petition in support of the Constitution “is raising questions and alarms among some election experts who say it is a violation of the law to link a cash handout to signing a petition that also requires a person to be registered to vote,” the Associated Press’ Mike Catalini reports. — Meanwhile The New York Times’ Eric Lipton, David Fahrenthold, Aaron Krolik and Kirsten Grind took a look over the weekend at all of Musk’s business entanglements with the federal government, which ensure that “he will be a major player no matter who wins the election.” — But his support of Trump and Trump’s pledge, in turn, to appoint Musk as head of a panel on government efficiency “with the power to recommend wide-ranging cuts at federal agencies and changes to federal rules” would “essentially give the world’s richest man and a major government contractor the power to regulate the regulators who hold sway over his companies, amounting to a potentially enormous conflict of interest,” they write. — And Roll Call ’s Chris Johnson breaks down how Musk “has used his social media platform to communicate directly with members of Congress dozens of times on legislation and congressional activities in the months running up to the 2024 election, a megaphone that experts say is akin to lobbying even if it doesn’t meet the legal definition.” HARRIS WORKING TO WOO TECH: “Key members of Kamala Harris’s inner circle are deploying across the country for fundraisers, private meetings and meals as part of an aggressive charm offensive to win back the support of the tech industry leaders who say they felt burned by President Joe Biden,” The Washington Post’s Cat Zakrzewski, Nitasha Tiku and Elizabeth Dwoskin report. — “The overtures are intended to shore up support within a sector that was once viewed as a Democratic stronghold and helped propel Barack Obama to the White House in 2008” but has shifted toward the GOP this cycle. — “The focus of Harris’s push is to convince top tech executives and investors that the vice president will chart her own course on regulating Big Tech and cryptocurrency,” but the outreach “has raised uncomfortable questions for Harris as she faces pressure from tech donors to take a more business-friendly approach to antitrust enforcement and cryptocurrency — as well as wariness from party liberals that she would go easy on the sector.” Jobs report — Mason Heilman has joined Avery Dennison as senior manager for government affairs for North America. Heilman was previously vice president with FINN Partners. — Tyler Wiley has joined AxAdvocacy as a director. He was most recently director of political and public affairs and development at the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors and is a Trump HHS alum. — NetChoice has added Bartlett Cleland as general counsel and director of strategic initiatives and Patrick Hedger as director of policy, and promoted Robert Winterton to vice president of public affairs. — Sarah Kapnick is joining JPMorgan as global head of climate advisory. She previously was chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. — Stephen Gordon is now senior manager of government affairs for Chevron Phillips Chemical. He previously was director of government affairs for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and is a House Oversight and EPA alum. — Venn Strategies has added Joe Brady as a vice president in its critical infrastructure practice. Most recently, Brady served as director of government affairs for the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. — Beveridge & Diamond has added Taylor Ferrell as of counsel in its Washington office. Ferrell most recently served as deputy general counsel for environment, energy and installations at the Pentagon. — Democracy Forward has added Elena Goldstein as senior legal adviser and Michael Widomski as director of policy and public affairs. Goldstein previously was deputy solicitor of Labor. Widomski previously was chief of workforce engagement at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. — Jenny Schuetz and Sara Schaumburg are joining Arnold Ventures. Schuetz will be vice president of infrastructure and housing and previously was senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Schaumburg will be chief of staff for advocacy, communications and external affairs and previously was chief counsel and staff director for Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). — Marcia Johnson is now chief counsel at the League of Women Voters. She previously was co-director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ Voting Rights Project. New Joint Fundraisers None. New PACs None. New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Alignment Government Strategies: Alpha-Gal Alliance Action Fund Bgr Government Affairs: Academy Of Nutrition And Dietetics Bgr Government Affairs: Blinkly, Inc. Bgr Government Affairs: Direct Supply, Inc. Bgr Government Affairs: Fuse Energy Technologies Corp. Bgr Government Affairs: Smbc Americas Holdings, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Dci Group On Behalf Of Suzano Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Husch Blackwell Strategies LLC On Behalf Of Westway Enterprises LLC Cgcn Group, LLC: Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC Comtech Telecommunications Corp.: Comtech Telecommunications Corp. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: Ne Healthcare Services, Inc. Forward Global: Economic Innovation Group Forward Global: Texas Border Coalition Jim Massie & Partners, LLC: State Water Contractors Leblanc Government Relations, LLC: Desimone Consulting Group On Behalf Of Ina Tateuchi Strategic Marketing Innovations: Ferroglobe Thorn Run Partners: Thintronics Inc. Todd Strategy Group: Kalderos, Inc. Todd Strategy Group: U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center New Lobbying Terminations Alston & Bird LLP: Society Of Interventional Radiology Alston & Bird LLP: The Mathworks, Inc. Alston & Bird LLP: Trisalus Life Sciences Alston & Bird LLP: Troutman Pepper Strategies Obo Civitas Networks For Health (Fka Shiec) American Capitol Group: The Thacher School Arentfox Schiff LLP: Ns Brands, Ltd. Arentfox Schiff LLP: Society Of Hispanic Professional Engineers Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: Lockheed Martin Corporation Ballard Partners: Advanced Rx Pharmacy, LLC (F.K.A. Automated Healthcare Solutions) Ballard Partners: Baptist Health Care, Inc. Ballard Partners: Caresource Mission Ballard Partners: Gapingvoid Culture Design Group Ballard Partners: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. Ballard Partners: Radom Corporation Ballard Partners: U.S. Olympic Paralympic Committee Ballard Partners: Zeel Networks, Inc. Bgr Government Affairs: Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System Bgr Government Affairs: Alg Senior LLC Bgr Government Affairs: Undiagnosed Disease Network Foundation Bgr Government Affairs: Worldvu Development, LLC Blount Strategic Initiatives: Todd Strategy Group On Behalf Of Medical Claims Compliance Bracewell LLP: Britax Child Safety, Inc. Bracewell LLP: Tigo Energy, Inc. Broydrick & Associates: Exela Pharma Sciences Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: Belcher Pharmaceuticals, LLC Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP: Life Banc Calfee Strategic Solutions: Columbus Partnership Capitol Counsel LLC: Byd North America Capitol Counsel LLC: National Society Of Genetic Counselors Capitol Counsel LLC: Wireless Infrastructure Association Capitol Hill Partners: Service Year Alliance Capitol Hill Partners: University Of Laverne Cardinal Infrastructure LLC: City Of Fate Collective Strategies & Communications LLC (Formerly Collective Communications L: Vibrant Planet Pbc Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Chalet Navy Properties, Lp Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: John Bean Technologies Corporation Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Target Als Foundation, Inc. Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: The Catholic University Of America Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: The Phoenix Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies: Burr Smith Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. Crossroads Strategies, LLC: City Of Oak Harbor, Wa Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Taylors International Services, Inc. Dc Legislative And Regulatory Services, Inc.: Intuitech Dga Group Government Relations LLC (Formerly Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC): Kcp Holdings Limited Ehrlich & Associates: Centracom Interactive (Dba Of Central Utah Telephone) Ehrlich & Associates: Ponderosa Communications Inc. Empire Consulting Group: Sp Plus Corporation Foley Hoag LLP: American Glaucoma Society Foley Hoag LLP: Atricure Foley Hoag LLP: Coalition For The 21St Century Foley Hoag LLP: Elekta Inc Foley Hoag LLP: Happiest Baby, Inc. Foley Hoag LLP: Perspective Therapeutics, Inc. Fka Isoray Inc. Foley Hoag LLP: Procept Biorobotics Foley Hoag LLP: Sight Sciences Forward Global: Allegiant Airlines Forward Global: Authentic8, Inc. Franklin Square Group, LLC: Cohere Inc. Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Boys & Girls Clubs Of America Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Eb-5 Investment Coalition Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Guidepoint Systems Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Loudoun County, Virginia Hance Scarborough: Hyuk “Keith” Yoo Hance Scarborough: Sendero Clovis LLC Hance Scarborough: Texegy LLC High Street Strategies LLC: Cambium Carbon Pbc Holland & Knight LLP: Edison Electric Institute Holland & Knight LLP: Fca US LLC Holland & Knight LLP: Inductev Invariant LLC: Anduril Industries Invariant LLC: Bridge To Renewables, Inc. D/B/A Btr Energy Invariant LLC: Density Inc. Invariant LLC: Sharda USa Jeffrey J. Kimbell And Associates: Masimo J M Burkman & Associates: Adam Spindler J M Burkman & Associates: Jlgc Inc J M Burkman & Associates: Roseville Sportworld Inc. J M Burkman & Associates: Zona Specialties Kearney, Donovan & Mcgee: Commonwealth Zoological Corporation Kerry O’Brien: National Domestic Workers Alliance K&L Gates, LLP: Algae Biomass Organization Liberty Partners Group, LLC: Arise Vascular (Cardiovascular Coalition) Liberty Partners Group, LLC: National Cardiovascular Partners (Cardiovascular Coalition) Lsn Partners, LLC: Lifewallet Marshall Brachman: Grant Thornton Advisors LLC Fka Grant Thornton LLP Mayer Brown LLP: Ifm Investors Pty Ltd. Navigators Global LLC (Formerly Dc Navigators, LLC): Steptoe LLP On Behalf Of Vls Environmental Solutions Nossaman LLP: City Of Scranton Ogr: Entertainment Software Association Origin Materials Operating, Inc.: Origin Materials Operating, Inc. O’Rourke And Associates, LLC: International Game Technology And Its Subsidiaries O’Rourke And Associates, LLC: Minicap Coalition Parlay Strategies: Representation For The Bottom Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Euronet Worldwide, Inc. Polispace-James A.M. Muncy: Space Exploration Technologies Quinella Global LLC: Symbion Power Ridge Policy Group: Bipartisan Commission On Biodefense Ridge Policy Group: Ecomonic Development Council Of Mason County Ridge Policy Group: Pennsylvania Association Of Community Bankers Rubin Health Policy Consulting, LLC: National Quality Forum Sidley Austin LLP: Hindalco Industries Ltd. Sorini, Samet & Associates, LLC: Cintas Sorini, Samet & Associates, LLC: Floor And Decor Corporation Spinnaker Government Relations Fka C.H. Fisher LLC: Eugene O’Neill Theater Center Stewart Strategies And Solutions, LLC: National Installment Lenders Association Strategic Marketing Innovations: Dateline Resources Strategic Marketing Innovations: Loukus Technologies Strategic Marketing Innovations: Northwestern University Strategic Marketing Innovations: Nth Cycle Strategic Marketing Innovations: Nuvera Fuel Cells Strategic Marketing Innovations: Pavcon LLC Strategic Marketing Innovations: Pure Watercraft Strategic Marketing Innovations: Rmc 2021, LLC Strategic Marketing Innovations: US Vanadium Televisaunivision, Inc. (Fka Univision Communications Inc.): Televisaunivision, Inc. (Fka Univision Communications Inc.) The Conafay Group, LLC: Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Cormac Group, LLC: Intralot USa The Doerrer Group LLC: Team Hallahan LLC On Behalf Of Amazon Web Services, Inc. The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Coherus Biosciences The Vogel Group: Mr. Joe Sullivan Thorn Run Partners: National Association For Behavioral Healthcare Van Ness Feldman, LLP: Louisiana Coastal Protection And Restoration Authority Van Ness Feldman, LLP: Nextera Energy, Inc. Van Scoyoc Associates: National Association Of Councils On Developmental Disabilities Van Scoyoc Associates: Savox Communications Inc Van Scoyoc Associates: The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, Inc. Vincent Trometter: Capitol South, LLC On Behalf Of Brodart Co. West Front Strategies LLC: Boeing Company Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Victory Lane Aviation   Follow us

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