Voting in the first round of TallyMadness — an online competition to determine Florida’s best lobbyist.
Here’s a preview of the first-round matchups.
Former House Speaker Dean Cannon, a former journalism student at University of Florida, will face off against Brady Benford of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, a Florida State alum, in the first round. Neither team made the NCAA Tournament this year, so this will be one of several proxy battles for Florida bragging rights.
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NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer faces off against Marc Reichenfelder in an early matchup of heavy-hitting Capitol fixtures. Whether Hammer can get more voters to pull the lever for her over Reichenfelder, the consummate operator, remains to be seen.
Jennifer Green, head of Liberty Partners of Tallahassee and former chair of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists was a #9 seed back in 2013 and moves up to a #6 seed this year, as she faces off in a first-round battle vs #11 seed John Holley, in-house lobbyist for the powerful Florida Power & Light Company, who hopes to generate enough TallyMadness to pull off the upset.
#1 seed Brian Ballard will face #16 seed and Jon Hamm look-alike Jon Costello. Though most bets are likely to be placed on Ballard, this is the end of March: anything can happen, in the Process or in TallyMadness.
#1 seed Nick Iarossi of Capital City Consulting gets plenty of street cred in this tournament for his Tally-centric practice, but there’s no counting out his first-round opponent, Steve Uhlfelder, whose campaign could be bolstered by some of his media friends at the Florida Press Association.
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An intriguing 8- vs. 9-seed matchup is shaping up between Gaston Cantens and Brecht Heuchan, respectively. Heuchan, whose ContributionLink is reported expanding into Ohio, hopes he can tap into Ohio State’s first-round upset over slight favorite VCU in his opening clash with the prominent sugar lobbyist.
Bill Rubin also commands a #1 seed this year, but his burgeoning Rubin Group practice is no guarantee of first-round victory against Ballard Partners consultant Monica Rodriguez. Rodriguez will hope to tap into her clients in early childhood education to attain a “head start” over the favorite.
A favorite in the first round of action, Rhett O’Doski of Advantage Consulting Team, hopes to leverage his early advantage into a W. But anyone who has seen #9 seed Sean Pittman cheer on his Dallas Cowboys knows he can certainly get excited about the prospect of advancing in a playoff.
#5 seed Jeff Hartley‘s Twitter account will turn one year old, and it will be put to the test when whipping votes against his opponent in the first round of TallyMadness, the 12th-seeded Adam Babington, who may just bring some Disney magic with him from Orlando and re-enact a Cinderella story.
#5 seed Ron LaFace, who cruised to victory over the lower-seeded Patrick Bell to advance to the round of 32 back in 2013 will need more of the same competitive instinct to take on #12 seed Lori Killinger, who looks to emulate her friend Majority Leader Dana Young and leapfrog a few men on her to TallyMadness greatness.
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Corocoran & Johnston’s Tallahassee managing partner #5 seed Jeff Johnston will take on 12th-seeded Richard Coates in the first round of TallyMadness. Coates, of the Tidewater Consulting Group, hopes his chances will be buoyed by the same friendly currents that lead University of Virginia to its early success this season.
The fourth-seeded Paul Bradshaw isn’t as great a favorite over #13 seed Monesia Brown as his old friend Jeb Bush is over Marco Rubio in 2016, but it might be close. Though Brown could always employ her Wal-Mart informed economies of scale to get the word out to vote for her fast and furiously.
#4 seed and Gator alum (and U. of Florida Foundation lobbyist) Matt Bryan takes on #13 seed Bill Peebles, who represents the City of Gainesville among his extensive portfolio of localities. The Battle for Gaines Vegas will rage on throughout the first round of TallyMadness. Both are hoping to channel their inner Tim Tebow and “just win.”
When SaintPetersBlog hears “Hayden Dempsey,” we are reminded of Gov. Hayden Burns and state Sen. Dempsey Barron, the great Florida politicos. #13 seed Chris Flack‘s name evokes, well, a lobbyist. Everyone knows the lobbyists win battles against public officials all the time in Tallahassee, so Flack’s chances of advancing are quite real.
#6 seed Claudia Devant represents major business interests in both Jacksonville and Tallahassee, as does #11 seed Martin Fiorentino. The two will duke it out along I-10 eastbound as the votes pour in over the weekend and Fiorentino likely makes his way back to Duval — maybe while listening to his recent appearance on the Scripps Political Fix’s new podcast.
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#11 seed Frank Mayernick said back in 2013 that his success in TallyMadness was the first success he’d ever had without the backing of his wife Tracey, who was also in the running. Well this year they’ll work together as he alone pulls the sled for the Mayernick Group, facing off against #6 seed Frank Karlinsky, an insurance industry lobbyist you can bet is doubly indemnified against a first-round upset.
Lobbyist for 1-800-Contacts and #11 seed Richard Heffley is hoping his supporters won’t give in to the myopia of waiting to cast their votes on TallyMadness.com in his bid against #6 seed Gary Rutledge, founding partner of the Rutledge Ecenia. Perhaps in turn the favorite might call in a favor from the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association to get his bid for TallyMadness champion some primetime exposure.
#3 seed Mark Delegal of white-shoe Florida law firm Holland & Knight hopes his feet won’t fail him now, as he takes on 14th-seeded underdog Albert Balido of Anfield Consulting. Balido’s Auburn Tigers lost to Delegal’s Gators in basketball this year, but TallyMadness will provide the re-match.
Third-seeded Charlie Dudley of Floridian Partners takes on #14 seed Will McKinley. Dudley represents Associated Industries of Florida while McKinley’s client lists includes some industries that favor the Florida Chamber. One of many the proxy battles in the Round of 64 will two Tallahassee staples in Dudley and McKinley.
#3 seed Travis Blanton hopes his clients Florida Crystals and Florida Dentists and stop arguing among themselves to successfully take on #14 seed Scott Ross, whose relationship with Las Vegas Sands Corps and the Criminal Defense Attorneys means any weekend can get more than interesting enough for an upset.
#3 seed Robert Coker‘s interest in citrus would go pretty well with #14 seed Teye Reeves‘ perks with the Bonefish & Trout Trust, but first the two will face off in first-round TallyMadness action.
#7 seed and 2011 TallyMadness championship contender Gus Corbella will take on #10 seed Chris Carmody, whose Orlando City soccer clients are hungry for the first Orange County championship in any major sport — lobbying, the ultimate bloodsport, would do just fine.
The matchup between #7 Tim Meenan and #10 Missy Timmins is one between Capitol heavyweights who have hung out their own shingles. Timmins may have to call up her clients with the Teamsters Joint Council for some backup muscle in her quest for a first-round upset.
#7 Slater Bayliss, a native Iowan who sports one of the influence-dense slates of clients in the business, will face off in the first round of TallyMadness against #10 Brewster Bevis, senior vice president of state and federal affairs for Associated Industries of Florida and 9th-generation Floridian.
Katie Webb, a #7 seed in this year’s TallyMadness may not have the name recognition of her 10th-seeded first-round foe Mac Stipanovich, but she does have the magical kingdom of Disney on her side. Stipanovich, for his part, represents Universal Orlando. It’s a small world, after all.
The second-seeded Jon Johnson will face off against #15 seed Andy Palmer, an underdog for sure but yet another of our TallyMadness contenders with constituents on Space Mountain. The magic might come through for Palmer against Johnson & Blanton co-founder, but it remains to be seen so far.
Who makes it to the top? Be heard with your Tally Madness 2015 ballot today!
#2 seed Chris Dudley of Southern Strategy Group will square off against #15 seed Richard Reeves, who lobbies for the relatively new Capitol Insights, setting up a matchup with implications not just in the TallyMadness playoffs, but in the broader Process. An intriguing early-round battle to be sure.
#2 seed David Ramba, whose high-flying personal style typifies to many the Platonic ideal of the Capitol lobbyist, will square off in the Round of 64 against #15 seed Jim Magill, a fellow Governors Club denizen and Adams Street court-holder. Whoever wins here has a Tallahassee feather in their cap to show for it.
This deceptively lopsided-seeming battle is closer than it may appear, as two fellow co-founders of major Tallahassee influence institutions will face one another early on in this year’s TallyMadness: #2 seed Michael Corcoran and #15 seed Steven Metz.
First-round voting ends at midnight on March 31. Click here now to vote in Tally Madness.
