Capitol Strategies, LLC, one of the top lobbying firms in Annapolis, announced Monday that a founding partner, Robert Johnson, left the company last week. The other two partners, David H. Carroll Jr. and Sushant Sidh, remain at the firm.
Johnson founded Capitol Strategies with Carroll and the late Edward O. Wayson Jr. in 2000, with Johnson serving as managing partner from 2006 to 2015. Johnson had come to the state a few years earlier with his wife, Karen White ― who is now the deputy executive director of the National Education Association ― and both dove into Maryland political work, with Johnson serving as executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party.
“Rob, Ed and I started Capitol Strategies on the back of a napkin while the Florida recount was taking place,” Carroll, the firm’s current managing partner, recalled. “We built a firm based on the foundations of quality representation of clients’ interests, campaign style augmentation to public policy efforts, long term clients and strong relationships not only in Maryland but also across the country.”
In a statement, the firm said Johnson oversaw several high-profile public affairs campaigns and lobbying efforts such as the funding of stem cell research and Maryland’s Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement law, which bolstered natural gas infrastructure throughout the state. He is currently on the Biden for president campaign in Florida and Pennsylvania, the firm said.
“Rob and I share a love and respect for the DNA of this firm and for the long list of successes we’ve achieved over the last 20 plus years together,” Carroll said. “I’m grateful for our years together building the firm and for our longstanding friendship.”
Johnson, in a statement, said, “It was a pleasure to work with David, Sushant and the team we built over the years. I am proud to have helped to build it, and I’m proud of what we accomplished. I look forward to watching the company’s continued success and to the next chapter in my professional endeavors.”
Capitol Strategies, with the enviable address of 1 State Circle in Annapolis, has a lucrative client list that includes energy companies, gambling interests, health care entities, financial interests and transportation companies.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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