Former employees of a Harrisburg lobbyist are now working for the state Senate’s Republican majority, further closing the lobbyist-government loop and piquing concerns about the level of influence the "cozy" arrangement might afford, Spotlight PA and The Caucus report. 

Here are the key players: 

• Ray Zaborney, leader of Red Maverick Media, whose companies help elect public officials and then lobby them once they're in office
• Cody Harbaugh, a one-time Red Maverick strategist, who was hired as executive director of the influential Senate Republican Campaign Committee (SRCC) this year
• Jake Corman, a Centre County lawmaker and president pro tempore of the state Senate, who is Red Maverick's marquee client and whose chief of staff is also a former Zaborney associate

Zaborney rejects any notion that having former employees in key policy and fundraising positions would give his businesses or clients an advantage. But the moves have raised concerns about whether Zaborney and his firms are gaining outsize influence with Republicans now in control of both chambers and the state's legislative agenda. 

THE CONTEXT: The Senate’s top leaders, Corman among them, and the SRCC’s executive director — that's Cody Harbaugh — get to decide which campaigns to spend SRCC money on and how much each will receive.

Any concerns that Harbaugh's involvement could yield preferential treatment for Zaborney clients was dismissed by state Sen. Dave Argall (R., Schuylkill), who said favoritism does not and will not play a role when deciding which campaigns receive SRCC funding. There will be, he said, “no special treatment at all." 

Zaborney said Harbaugh has cut professional ties with Red Maverick — even though Harbaugh was still listed as an employee on the firm’s website until earlier this week.

At a minimum, though, critics say the close relationships showcase the tangled nexus between politics, policy, and campaign fundraising, perpetuated by the state’s weak lobbying and campaign disclosure rules, and little appetite among the legislative majority to prioritize changes or take up reforms.

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