Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Aaron Read

34. Aaron Read

Aaron Read has been lobbying in Sacramento since before many of our readers were born and has been on this list every year. We’ve suggested kicking him off, but absolutely nobody thinks that’s a good idea, so Aaron Read and Associates stays. Rightly, too. His client list includes Dun & Bradstreet, 3M, Matson, the CHP officers’ credit union, PORAC, the government’s professional engineers and the Water Foundation, among others. He’s not handling AT&T anymore – he was close to AT&T’s Bill Devine, who retired – and since Jan. 1 has been lobbying for AT&T’s competition, Comcast. ARA, founded in 1978, handles campaign strategy and execution through a sister firm, Marketplace Communications, now in its 10th year. The entity advises candidates on everything from political positioning to ringing doorbells and walking precincts. As we’ve said before, this firm poses a dilemma: Why list just Read? Why not the other lobbyists in the firm, such as Randy Perry, Patrick Moran, Terry McHale, Steve Baker and Jennifer Tannehill? We don’t know either.

Updated Aug. 9, 2022.