From land use to the energy crisis.
Gary Hunt, who left The Irvine Company in January after 25 years as Donald Bren’s go-to guy on government affairs, has joined California Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm whose principals, like Hunt, have close ties to former Gov. Pete Wilson.
Among several clients that Hunt said he is bringing with him as he opens an Orange County office for the firm is beleaguered Southern California Edison.
Hunt said he will join California Strategies July 1 as a principal partner and plans to open an Irvine office in August.
California Strategies already has offices in Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego.
Hunt is bringing along Sue Kappas, an assistant with him at the Irvine Co. He said he plans a few additional hires in the next six months.
In addition to Edison, Hunt said he is bringing aboard the California Business Roundtable and Catellus Development Corp. as clients, and he is talks to bring other clients aboard.
Formed in 1999, California Strategies focuses its efforts on assisting large companies and organizations.
Its existing clients include General Motors Corp., AT & T; Corp., The Hearst Corp. and Farallon Capital Management.
The firm’s three other principal partners are, like Hunt, GOP stalwarts: Bob White, who was chief of staff for Pete Wilson, both as governor and U.S. senator; Jack Flanigan, a former Irvine Co. vice president and public policy official with the Republican Party; and Camden McEfee, a former Wilson staffer.
California Strategies isn’t big on government lobbying. Instead, the firm focuses on working with executives and directors on major, long-term issues.
“What we do is help manage and strategically plan issues clients may have and help bring them to a resolution,” Hunt said. “And we offer that strategic counseling at the highest level.”
When a problem is beyond the firm’s purview, California Strategies will bring in other experts to deal with it, Hunt said.
At the Irvine Co., Hunt headed up the company’s federal, state and local government relations, an assignment that made him a player on the national and state, as well as local, political scene.
He served as vice chair of the Republican National Convention in 1996 and was the chief fundraiser for Dan Lungren’s unsuccessful 1998 gubernatorial campaign.
His contacts cross the political aisle,both Gray Davis and Willie Brown will take his calls.
He was a key figure in the OC bankruptcy recovery efforts as he helped formulate the investor pool settlement and recovery plan. n
