Daniel Bates, the government relations director for the city of Portland, Ore., is joining Thorn Run Partners.
Bates will split his time between Portland and Washington, he said Monday, adding that "my sense is that, as Congress is in session, I'll wind up spending a majority of my time [in Washington], and we'll follow the clients." He starts with Thorn Run on April 1.
Thorn Run Partners was founded at the beginning of the year by Andrew Rosenberg and Christopher Lamond, formerly of Ogilvy Government Relations. Bates is the first new hire at the firm. Rosenberg said he thinks the Portland presence will "be an interesting selling point for our firm. But I think a stronger selling point is Dan's experience." Rosenberg and Bates worked together at Patton Boggs earlier this decade.
Bates' clients at Patton Boggs included cities, states and other public sector entities—the state of Wyoming and the city of Philadelphia among them. Bates said he expects to work with public clients again. Rosenberg said Bates' ties to Thorn Run will also "provide a beachhead for Dan in Washington, a way for him to market to all the Pacific Northwest companies he's developed ties with."
Thorn Run clients already include Roche Diagnostics, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, and Millenium Pharmaceuticals.
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