“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”
The Rafferty Group has over 25 years of experience working with the legislative, executive and judicial branches of Iowa state government. The principal, Bob Rafferty, is a former legislator. He served as Chief of Staff and Director of the Department of Management under former Governor Terry Branstad and worked as a consultant for former Governor Tom Vilsack's administration.
Rachel Ong has over two decades of public policy experierence. In addition to work at the State Capitol, Rachel is an experienced grassroots organizer, with extensive work on healthcare intiatives. Rob Szalay has focused on education, veterans and public safety and economic development initiatives.
The Rafferty Group works in strategic partnership with Advocacy Strategies, and their lobby team of Threase Harms and Maddie Miller, to provide both personal attention to our clients' critical issues, as well as a breadth and depth of experience.
The Rafferty Group also has extensive experience working with local governments across Iowa. Those activities often focused on economic development activities, but also included providing direct consulting assistance with government agencies, as well as local government associations.
The Rafferty Group represents clients in a broad range of areas, including health care, transportation, children’s mental health, economic development, real estate services, utilities, and education issues.