WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, who lost his re-election bid in November, has joined the law and lobby firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he is leading a strategic advisory unit with Barry Jackson, the former top aide for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Neither Begich nor Jackson, an influential Republican strategist who has worked at the firm since 2013, plan to register as lobbyists. The "strategic services" group they are leading is meant to offer corporate clients high-level advice about navigating regulations and legislation.
"Neither will lobby, but they will help us lay out the map," said Marc Lampkin, head of the lobbying group at Brownstein. "Then we'll have lawyers and the day-to-day lobbyists executing it."
Begich served one term in the Senate, from 2009 to 2015, and was mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009. He started at Brownstein on April 15 as a strategic adviser. He is not a lawyer and does not have an equity stake in the firm. He said he plans to split his time between Alaska and Washington and will continue his work with the Alaska consulting firm he formed earlier this year, Northern Compass Group, but that it will remain separate from Brownstein.
At Brownstein, Begich will initially focus on energy and natural resources issues.
During his time in office, Begich pushed to advance Shell's oil-drilling development in the Arctic and supported an agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Alaska's Native tribal health programs to allow veterans living in rural areas to seek medical treatment at tribal health facilities, in order to speed up the wait time for VA care. Begich cited those as examples of the type of work he hopes to accomplish in the private sector.
"We're not saying we need a new system," he said. "It's about seeing how to put the pieces together to solve a problem."
He said he has not ruled out running for public office again.
"I love public policy," he said. "This is exciting because in some ways, I can influence public policy faster (here) than the system down the street. We'll let the future say whatever it says."