Episode 66 - Does Virginia really have a "shadow government" of lobbyists? (reprise)

It turns out that Virginia is... interesting when it comes to lobbyists. We have a LOT of them. More than 2,800 lobbyists are registered in Virginia, hired on behalf of more than 1,100 clients. These lobbyists vary in size -- anywhere from single individuals to enormous many-armed law firms.

It's those many-armed law firms that we're focusing on today. Longtime Richmond Times-Dispatch journalist Jeff Schapiro has a sort of shorthand on Twitter that I appreciate. When he tweets about the consulting firm McGuireWoods, he refers to it as The Shadow Government. Such is the influence that McGuireWoods holds over policymaking in Virginia. Plus, McGuire Woods counts so many former state officials on its payroll that it's hard to keep track.

In today's episode, we're re-airing an episode from last April. Virginia may have a new governor, but the Shadow Government is the same as last year.

In the second half of today's show, we talk with Jeff Schapiro about how government and lobbying have changed in Virginia. But first, we sit down with journalist Robert Zullo. When this was recorded, he was the editor-in-chief of Virginia Mercury. He sat down with former Bold Dominion producer Aaryan Balu to explain what makes Virginia unique when it comes to lobbying.