CBIA adds 3 lobbyists ahead of 2021 legislative session

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association has filled out its lobbying team ahead of the 2021 legislative session, when tough tax and business issues could dominate as the state struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
 
CBIA said it has hired three new lobbyists to its government affairs staff: John Blair, Wyatt Bosworth and Ashley Zane.
 
The trio filled open positions and now make up CBIA’s six-person lobbying team, which also includes vice president of government affairs Eric Gjede, Paul Pescatello, senior counsel and executive director of Connecticut Bioscience Growth Council, and Eric Brown, vice president of manufacturing policy and outreach. 
 

Blair serves as associate counsel, covering workers’ compensation, banking, energy and judiciary issues. 
 
Prior to joining CBIA, he worked for more than 20 years in various roles at the state Capitol, serving as clerk of the finance committee, as chief of staff in the Office of Health Strategy, and operating his own lobbying and law firm.
 
Zane joins as government affairs associate, covering issues around the state budget and spending, higher education, environment, and commerce.
 
She was previously a policy analyst with the House Republican Office covering the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding, Appropriations, and Commerce committees.
 
Bosworth joins CBIA as assistant counsel and will cover the General Assembly’s Public Health, Insurance, and Real Estate, Transportation, Government Administration and Elections, and Planning and Development committees.
 
He previously worked as a registered lobbyist with Brown Rudnick LLP, representing corporations and nonprofit organizations. He also served as staff assistant to House Majority Leader Matt Ritter and has years of municipal and statewide campaign consulting experience.