Led by two veteran political and policy strategists with extensive local ties, Cornerstone Government Affairs has opened up shop in New Hampshire.
Cornerstone is a nationally branded bipartisan, employee-owned government relations company offering strategic communications, advisory services and lobbying. Its two principals are Marc Goldberg and Mike Vlacich.
For more than six years until Cornerstone opened here in July, Goldberg was chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH. He also served Hassan as communications director and campaign manager during her two terms as governor before she became a U.S. senator in 2017.
Vlacich, a native of Concord and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, was senior advisor to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, for more than two years until 2021, when he became the Small Business Administration (SBA) regional director in Boston before joining Cornerstone in September.
“New Hampshire has a lot of economic innovation, has a lot of connections, not just locally but nationally and around the world,” said Vlacich. “And so it seems that there’s a lot of opportunity to help people and help organizations navigate a more complicated policy landscape and a more complicated media landscape with more and more media demands and pressures and outlets.”
Marc Goldberg, left, and Mike Vlacich, right, principals of the new Cornerstone Government Affairs office in Concord. (Courtesy photos)
They agree that, at times, it can be a confusing political, policy and media landscape out there. Government bureaucracy can seem unnavigable at times, often undermined by partisanship. The media is splintered by a multitude of platforms, some trustworthy, some not.
Goldberg sees their job as helping clients filter out what he calls “the noise.”
“That’s a difficult dynamic for many of our potential clients out there,” he said. “We have a great deal of experience in that from years of running campaigns and working in government and things like that.”
“The loud does not equal the many,” Goldberg added. “So knowing when to react or be concerned about a dynamic in play is something that we bring to the table and we can help decipher.”
Though their past political experience revolved around Democrats, Goldberg and Vlacich insist on a nonpartisan approach to their Cornerstone clients and their issues. A new hire with a Republican-connected background is imminent, they said, as is the opening of a brick-and-mortar office on Main Street in Concord.
“Having worked in New Hampshire government, you learn very well that your word is your bond, and you have to work in a bipartisan and nonpartisan way to solve problems and address issues,” said Vlacich. “The New Hampshire approach to doing things, I think, ultimately also leads to a really good way of approaching government affairs work, that you find common ground of things in people’s mutual interests.” — PAUL BRIAND
