The Strategist
For more than two decades, Dan Lavey has provided strategic counsel to businesses, elected officials and political candidates in Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest. Based in the firm’s Portland office, Dan is a shareholder and serves as company President. He specializes in the development and application of public opinion research to complex communications, legislative and issue advocacy campaigns.
For sixteen years, Dan was a top advisor and senior strategist to U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, guiding his campaigns and serving on his staff in Washington, D.C. He also served as Smith’s chief of staff during his term as Oregon Senate President. In the early 1990s Dan was the chief strategist for Republicans in the Oregon Senate where he helped engineer a gain of four seats for the GOP in 1992, laying the groundwork for a Republican majority in the Oregon Senate two years later.
Dan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oregon and is a member of the Arlington Club and Multnomah Athletic Club. Active in civic life, he serves on the boards of directors of the University of Oregon Alumni Association, Pioneer Courthouse Square, and the Portland Business Alliance. Dan and his wife, Lori Hardwick, live in Portland with their two children.
Expertise
Strategy and messaging
Crisis communications
Oregon politics & economy
Political analysis & commentary
Background
Top aide to U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Strategist/Manager for statewide campaigns
High-level staff positions, Oregon Legislature
“Effective advocacy is finding the intersection of what’s good for your client, policy-makers and the public. The relationships I’ve built and the strategies I use to advance legislative issues and run big campaigns, I put to work every day for our clients. Whether it’s helping secure federal funds for a deeper Columbia River shipping channel or working with a local arts college to realize its expansion plans, communicating a compelling public rationale and building diverse coalitions from the bottom up are the keys to success.”