FRANKFORT — Judy Taylor is the matriarch of Kentucky's House.

        The 61-year-old lobbyist was the first woman in the state to make a career of representing businesses and organizations at the Capitol.

        Using a bright pink binder, kindness, intelligence and oatmeal-raisin cookies — Ms. Taylor takes home a six-figure salary lobbying for five groups, including the thoroughbred industry giant Keeneland Association.

Judy Taylor, 61, was the first woman to make a career as a Kentucky lobbyist 26 years ago. (Patrick Reddy photos) | ZOOM |

        She has no intention of retiring from the marbled hallways of the state House and Senate now — some 26 years after she started working for expenses only on behalf of senior citizens.

        “I like what I do,” she said on a recent day in Frankfort. “If you don't like what you're doing, it'll be the hardest money you've ever made.”

        Each morning of the session, Ms. Taylor reads through the Legislative Record and the previous day's bills in the smoke-filled Capitol annex room reserved for lobbyists.

        She talks to legislators by cell phone and updates her bill logbook, a pink binder.

        Lobbyists, including Ms. Taylor's daughter Maresa Fawns, pop in and out of the room to drop off coats and pick up messages from the office bulletin board.

        “Wester, your coat collar needs to be turned down!” Ms. Taylor admonishes lobbyist William Wester as he hurries out of the room.

        But her focus is on the pink binder. In it, she meticulously tracks bills that could affect any of her clients' interests. As other lobbyists in the office glance over the Legislative Record to track their bills, Ms. Taylor is busy updating the pink notebook. It's a system every lobbyist should have, Ms. Taylor says.
       

Read closely, work hard

        Puffing on a Carlton 100 and swilling her second Dr Pepper before 11 a.m., Ms. Taylor said that the key to being a good lobbyist is carefully reading each bill and thinking about possible unintended consequences.

Lobbyist Judy Taylor chats with (from left) Shelia Mason of the Legislative Research Committee, daughter Maresa Fawns, also a lobbyist, and David Sparrow of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, in the Kentucky Capitol, Frankfort. | ZOOM |

        Once she discovered, for example, that a bill regarding inmate lawsuits contained a clause about cosmetologists and barbers. If Ms. Taylor — who represents cosmetologists — hadn't read the bill and persuaded a representative to amend the cosmetologists clause, it would've affected them negatively, even though that was not the sponsor's intention.

        “Meeting with important people isn't what it's all about,” Ms. Taylor said. People who don't understand lobbying think it consists of schmoozing legislators over expensive dinners and cutting deals behind closed doors, she said.

        “This job just looks glamorous,” she said. “It's just bloody hard work.”

        Ms. Taylor represents automobile manufacturers, cosmetologists, physical therapists, the Rupp Coalition based at Lexington Center which includes Rupp Arena, and Keeneland, the premier thoroughbred association in the world. She has a bachelor's degree from University of Louisville with emphases in liberal arts, political science, business and communication.

        Lobbying is really about establishing credibility with legislators and juggling priorities, she said. Lobbyists like John Cooper, who represents at least 20 companies and organizations, including Toyota, Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch, need to have stamina and focus.

        Mr. Cooper said it was Ms. Taylor who taught him the importance of “staying on point.”

        Lobbyists have to know which legislators they need to approach and be ready to make their argument in two or three minutes.

        Ms. Taylor knows how to be honest about the fact she's being persuasive: “Am I blowing any smoke yet?” she said to a caller. “Not yet. I'm trying.”
       

Building credibility

        “It's horribly unorganized in some ways,” she said. The most important part of lobbying, though, is establishing trust and credibility with legislators.

        Kentucky's politics have had their share of ethics scandals, including the Operation Boptrot FBI investigation, which a decade ago sent legislators and lobbyists to jail and spawned the creation of the Legislative Ethics Commission.

        Then there are the 500 pages of depositions collected by Attorney General Ben Chandler's corruption team in more recent years.

        But most lobbyists rely on information and communication to persuade lawmakers, and all are required to be registered with the state. They must report the names of their clients and the amount of their income from each client.

        Lobbyist Greg Higdon, a Western Kentucky state senator from 1981 to 1991, said he focused on a lobbyist's credibility.

        “It's almost like being an elected official,” he said.

        Legislators can obtain information from a variety of sources, but they will only use what lobbyists tell them if trust has been established.
       

Legislators' trust

        Rep. Jim Callahan, D-Wilder, who has been dealing with lobbyists in Kentucky for 16 years, said with 300 to 400 bills to review every session, he does rely on Ms. Taylor and her colleagues for information.

        Lobbyists are required to be registered with the Legislative Ethics Commission. A listing of their income and clients are placed in the public record.

        Keeneland Association President Nick Nicholson said Ms. Taylor is very good at combing through a bill and determining whether it will affect his business.

        “She speaks English and "legislatese,'” he said. “She translates.”

        Above her credibility, expertise and skill, Mr. Nicholson said what makes Ms. Taylor stand out is her kindness.

        “It may be an old-fashioned virtue, but it's appreciated,” he said.
       

Agreement reached in racial profiling
Neighbor charged in 3 Reading killings
Hugs for all from new city manager
Lemmie faces 9 council agendas
UC hoop star back in trouble
Gambling bill dies in committee
CAN set to unveil plan today
Children's to get $1.9M in study on improving care
Fire destroys home; officials seek owner
Girl's trial may be first under new law
Luken plays the veto card
Tristate A.M. Report
UC losing transplant director to Chicago
BRONSON: Spring break
HOWARD: Some Good News
SAMPLES: Destroyed art grew from determination
SMITH AMOS: Unrest, rebellion?
Female cop says she was mistreated
Quilter memorializes victims
Rally set to promote senior levy
School aide fired over drug charge
Three held after robbery at bank on Kenwood Road
Trial begins in robbery, murder case
Ohio tourism ad contract facing review
Cleanup campaigns begin this weekend
Contractor cited over blast that killed man
Developers aim to keep open space
House withholds action on budget
Lobbyist earns trust, respect
Northern Kentucky spring cleanups
Schools group drops chief