KSE Partners names Mackey new managing partner, practice leaders

KSE Partners LLP, Vermont’s leading government affairs, communications and research firm, today named Scott Mackey as managing partner. The firm also announced that new partner Todd Bailey has been named president of the strategic communications and government relations business and new partner Leif Johnson has been named president of KSE FOCUS, the firm’s 50-state government affairs business.
KSE Partners is a full service, 50-state strategic communications and government relations firm with employees in Vermont, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 1987 as a three-person Vermont lobbying practice, KSE Partners has been steadily expanding in Vermont and nationally. The firm now has 35 full-time and part-time employees, most at its Montpelier offices.
Mackey, a Middlebury College graduate and resident of Waterbury, Vermont, will manage the day-to-day operations of the firm. ‘I’m excited about the challenge of continuing our growth while providing the outstanding service that our clients expect from KSE,’ said Mackey. ‘We’ve built this firm by providing one-stop, integrated services to a diverse mix of demanding Vermont and multi-state clients. We intend to continue our growth by building on that success.’
During his tenure at KSE, Mackey has built a 50-state tax policy practice focused on the wireless communications industry. He has testified before Congress and state legislatures across the country and his studies on wireless taxation have been quoted extensively in major media outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Prior to joining KSE Partners in 2000, Mackey was the chief economist for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in Denver, Colorado. He also served on the staff of former U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords.
KSE Partner Todd Bailey will lead KSE’s lobbying and communications practice. Prior to joining KSE Partners in 2010, Bailey was the executive director for the Vermont League of Conservation Voters. He is widely regarded as one of the top political operatives in Vermont.
‘We have a deep roster of lobbyists and communications professionals,’ said Bailey. ‘Our goal is to ensure that the strong team at KSE continues to serve its clients extremely well.’
‘As a Vermont lobbyist and as former executive director of the League of Conservation Voters, Todd is a talented strategic thinker who understands how to integrate communications and State House lobbying to advance client goals,’ said senior partner Bob Sherman.
KSE Partner Leif Johnson will lead KSE FOCUS, the firm’s 50-state government affairs practice. Johnson joined KSE Partners in 2003 and has been instrumental in building KSE FOCUS into the leading national consulting and state legislative and regulatory tracking service. Johnson is also currently the managing director of The Advocacy Group (TAG), the leading association of state government and international public affairs professionals. TAG’s inter-firm network of independent companies consists of the best lobbyists, communicators and public affairs professionals in each state and country.
Before joining KSE, Johnson was the director of state and federal government relations and corporate communications for West Publishing ‘ Thomson Reuters in Eagan, Minnesota, and public relations manager at Cisco Systems in San Jose, California. He worked on Capitol Hill for U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana. He has also served as president of the Washington Area State Relations Group (WASRG), a D.C. trade association of state government affairs executives.