11.21.2012

Mike Kahl, Influential and Respected Sacramento Lobbyist, Dead at 71

Mike Kahl, one of Sacramento’s most effective and influential lobbyists for more than a quarter century died November 18 of Parkinson’s disease. He was 71.

Principled, strategic and tenacious, Kahl and his partner Fred Pownall, built one of the most respected and one of the biggest grossing lobbying firms in Sacramento, representing the oil industry, water districts, and timber concerns, among many other clients.

Kahl pioneered a lobbying style grounded more in the policy of an issue than in political contacts.  He was successful at it because, in most cases, he had studied the homework twice while his opponents were skimming the Cliff Notes.

“He preached to all of us that you had to deal with good public policy. This wasn’t going to be about whether you were a good guy or if people liked you,” said K.C. Bishop, a long-time Chevron lobbyist who worked closely with Kahl. “Good, solid public policy would win in the end but you needed to do the work to get there.”

Members of the firm he created still joke about Kahl’s penchant for filling up a whiteboard with script, boxes and arrows highlighting and linking the myriad aspects of an issue and ways to accomplish a client’s objectives.

“He’d spend a lot of time on the front end and not jump into an issue without thinking through very angle,” said Ed Manning, who first met Kahl on the other side of the negotiating table on 1990 legislation to create an oil spill prevention program then, years later, was asked by Kahl to join his firm.

Kahl’s approach to lobbying is still practiced by several of the state Capitol’s most skilled lobbyists.

“Mike was a dear friend and a fellow Californian,” said US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta who first met Kahl in 1968. “He was an influential and beloved figure in Sacramento, and he will be missed.”

Kahl’s entry into politics began 50 years ago when he received a fellowship from a graduate program at the University of California at Berkeley. Kahl got one of the fellowships earmarked for Republicans and Kirk West, the former head of the state Chamber of Commerce received the other one. “I think because Mike and I were about the only Republicans in the program,” West recalled.

Kahl went to work for John McCarthy, a Bay Area Republican who carried the 1957 legislation creating the Bay Area Rapid Transit District.

He then became assistant to Bob Finch, tapped by President Nixon as Health, Education and Welfare Secretary, in 1968.

Kahl was also close to Jack Veneman, a moderate GOP lawmaker from Modesto, who was one of Finch’s undersecretaries.

The White House referred to the younger more activist elements at HEW as “Finch’s crowd.”

Kahl had “Finch’s Crowd” lapel pins made as a badge of honor. After the first news story about the badges’ existence ran, the pins vanished from lapels.

It’s at HEW where Kahl and Panetta’s lives intersected.

“I still remember meeting with Mike in 1968 when I was first thinking about going to work for (HEW),” Panetta said. “The first thing he did was offer me a scotch and water.  He was only in his late 20s, but I remember he had the quiet confidence of someone twice his age.  We worked closely together at HEW, and I grew to deeply admire and respect his commitment to improving the lives of his fellow citizens through public service.”

Panetta was hired to run HEW’s Civil Rights Office.

Kahl, Finch, Veneman and Lew Butler, another California undersecretary, tried to protect Panetta from the ire of the White House, which felt he was enforcing the federal Civil Rights Act too “overzealously.”

Panetta was eventually forced out, returned to California, re-registered and successfully won a seat in Congress representing the Central Coast in 1976.

Among Kahl’s tasks in Washington D.C. was helping create the US Environmental Protection Agency. He returned to Sacramento in the early 1980s and opened his own firm.

One of his first clients was the Western States Petroleum Association, which remains a client of the firm he created, now known as KP Public Affairs.

“He had an ability to sit back and view the political landscape and figure out a way to accomplish whatever his objective was in a really effective, balanced way,” said Cathy Reheis-Boyd of WSPA.

Kahl was adept at building — and harnessing — coalitions often comprised of odd allies, like environmental groups and timber companies.

While his lobbying strategy didn’t center on realtionships with lawmakers, several were personal friends. He often went fishing with former Assemblywoman Sally Tanner, a Democrat. 

Kahl’s influence was felt throughout the Capitol. When West headed the Chamber of Commerce, Kahl recommended he hire Alan Zaremberg, then Gov. Pete Wilson’s legislative secretary, and now the leader the state chamber since West’s retirement. 

Kahl merged with Pownall in 1996, creating a lobbying firm that was to become the biggest in California. The two were an odd-couple. Kahl — tall, athletic, stoic. Pownall — short and sociable.

A photo of the two is in the hallway at KP Public Affairs. Pownall is standing wearing a signature bow tie. Kahl, in shirtsleeves, suspenders and tie, sits on a stool to make himself the same height.

“Even though everybody knew he was a powerful guy, Mike always had time for the most junior staff person,” said Bishop.

Echoed Reheis-Boyd: “If you walked into his office and said, ‘Can I talk to you for a minute?’ he’d sit down with you at his conference table and take as much time as it took.”

Kahl was remembered by several lobbying colleagues as one of the first to store files on a computer.

A sailor, relaxation for him was taking out his boat, Nordic Reach.

“The final weekends of his life were spent sailing on Mission Bay and taking a final flight in a helicopter to view the beautiful San Diego coast,” wrote Kahl’s son, Brian, in an email circulated to family friends.

“He was respectful. He was unflappable. He was thoughtful. And he was an example for a whole bunch of people,” Bishop said. “In the true Aristotelian sense, Mike was a good man.”

Memorial services and a celebration of life will be held Saturday November 24, 2012 at 11 am at the East County Mortuary Chapel, 374 N. Magnolia Avenue, El Cajon, California.

The burial service will take place after the memorial at Singing Hills Memorial Park, 2800 Dehesa Road, El Cajon, California.

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11 Comments »

  1. GREG

    THANKS FOR THE PIECE ON MIKE KAHL–HE WAS A GREAT GUY—ONE OF THE BEST LOBBYIST THAT I HAD THE PLEASURE WORKING WITH DURING MY 30 YEARS IN THE CAPITOL. MIKE HAD A VISION THAT PROFESSIONAL LOBBYIST NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC MAKERS. HE WAS A SPECIAL MAN.

    Comment by DAVID TAKASHIMA — 11.22.2012 @ 7:09 am

  2. Thanks, Greg, for a beautiful tribute to a splendid man. He was such a good friend.

    Comment by Nancy Burt — 11.22.2012 @ 8:01 am

  3. In the fall of 1966 I was working in LA on the Hugh Flournoy for State Controller campaign, and the Bob Finch for Lieutenant Governor campaign called to see if I had any extra bedrooms. I had two, and they asked if Mike Kahl and Dana Reed could bunk there.

    The three of us became friends, and when both candidates and Reagan won, we rented an apartment in Sacramento and continued our friendships, and later overlapping professional relationships, to today.

    Greg’s article accurately summarizes a class act life of a fine person, whose presence in the Capitol has been sorely missed. Best to Judy and the family.

    Comment by Chip Nielsen — 11.22.2012 @ 8:08 am

  4. Mike was a real good person, honest, and hard working.

    Comment by Pat Henning Sr — 11.22.2012 @ 8:41 am

  5. It is very sad to hear of Mike’s passing. He fought a brave fight with dignity.
    I want to pay tribute to him as a person who taught me to listen and then act. He took me to lunch in 1996 to ask what he should know about the Latino Caucus and its impact (I was staff for the Caucus). In return, he promised to diversify his firm. He maintained his high standards with the new personnel and the firm prospered and continued to be influential.
    I also learnt from Mike to first learn policy before turning to its politics – the hard way. He was gentle in consoling me on my losses and I thank him.
    He is a part of California’s greatness and I will miss him

    Saeed

    Comment by Saeed Ali — 11.22.2012 @ 9:50 am

  6. Mike was one of my dearest and closest friends. I watched him build his Sacramento lobbying firm with great pride. I also listened to him talk about his family with great love.

    I am sorry that today’s Sacramento community is not around to learn from Mike. He left us far too soon.

    Karen

    Comment by Karen Spencer — 11.22.2012 @ 12:15 pm

  7. Greg,
    Thanks for sharing Mike’s passing. He was a mentor and friend. I treasured his advice and it was always value added to any policy discussion. Mike and Fred have been model mentors for the lobbying community and both have important impacts on California’s policy future. His knowledge and vision will be greatly missed.
    Chuck

    Comment by Chuck Cole — 11.22.2012 @ 2:39 pm

  8. Thank you Greg for your piece on Mike. He will be sorely missed. I had the opportunity to work for Mike after leaving the Senate. He was what is the best example of what being a smart, decent and honest lobbyist is all about. Those of us who knew and worked with him will always remember what a quality person he was, and those who never knew him have indeed lost an opportunity to witness the work and actions of a truly good man.

    Comment by Rick Rollens — 11.23.2012 @ 9:17 pm

  9. Mike was an outstanding lobbyist, but more importantly, he was a very good and decent person. I was fortunate to have been his friend.

    Comment by Fred Taugher — 11.24.2012 @ 2:09 pm

  10. Thank you, Greg, beautifully written. I was so lucky to have worked with and for Mike. He will be missed.

    Comment by Dina Burns — 11.24.2012 @ 5:28 pm

  11. I think I was Mike’s first employee when he started his firm In Sacramento. I still have the coffee cup Judy gave me when I joined in 1984 – “Welcome to the rat race”. It was a privilege to work with and learn from Mike. Everything said of him is true. He was always focused on policy, not politics. Thanks for everything Mike.

    Comment by Hank Martin — 11.25.2012 @ 6:52 pm

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