Stephen Horton
Senior Vice President and Director
Grassroots Issue Management
Stephen A. Horton is a senior vice president and directs grassroots operations and runs public issue campaigns for McGuireWoods Consulting. Since joining the firm in 2000, his team has assisted over 100 clients on a variety of issues across the country. Steve has personally assisted various energy, telecom, hospital, education and manufacturing clients over the past 11 years at McGuireWoods Consulting.
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Steve has been involved in a number of projects for energy and regulated industries including efforts to build regional support for offshore access to oil and natural gas; developing strategies for creating public support for electronic transmission networks; generating support for cable competition through local franchise agreements; and legislative efforts for the coal and natural gas industries.
Additionally, his efforts in the public and private sectors have resulted in over $2.5 billion in annual savings for taxpaying businesses and families.
In 2003, Steve worked helped defeat a $1.3 Billion tax increase referendum in Alabama known as Amendment One.
He has also coordinated the defeat of a number of significant tax increase referenda threatening restaurants.
Steve spearheaded the successful effort to repeal Virginia’s Death Tax, a quarter billion dollar tax cut that was the second largest cut in Virginia history.
Steve also assists clients with key political organizations, and has been active with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Republican Governor’s Association, the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee and the National Conference of State Legislators.
Prior to his time at McGuireWoods, Steve was Deputy Chief of Staff for Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, directing legislative affairs and serving as political liaison with the Governor’s external political operation.
Education
- Virginia Commonwealth University, B.A. in Political Science, 1991
Past Positions
- Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs to Governor James S. Gilmore, III of Virginia, 1998-2000
- Policy Assistant to the Chief Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, 1995-1997
- Organization & Grassroots Director for four statewide campaigns (1992, 1993, 1994, 1997)
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Steering Committee, Virginia Governor’s Energy Conference (2010, 2011)
- Member, Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority (2000 - 2004)
- Board of Directors, Virginia Public Access Project (2002 - 2006 )
- Advisory Board Member, Excellence in Virginia Government Awards, L. Douglas Wilder School of Public Policy, VCU, (2005 - current)
- Board of Directors, Blogs United (2009 – current)
Speaking Engagements
- Financial Executives of Northern Florida, “Impact of Governors on National Policy after the 2010 Elections”, Jacksonville, Florida, February 15, 2011
- Virginia Agribusiness Council, “Repeal of Virginia’s Estate Tax in 2006”, Richmond, Virginia, January 12, 2006.
- American for Freedom & Prosperity “Arming the Citizen Lobbyist”, Richmond, Virginia, January 7, 2006.
- Jennifer Byler Institute, “Teamwork & Loyalty”, Richmond, Virginia, April 9, 2005.
- Republican Governor's Association, "Update on the 2001 Gubernatorial Election", July 16, 2001, Mackinaw Island, MI
- Virginia Resources Authority, "A Review of the 2001 General Assembly and the Current Budget Situation," 2001 Annual Conference, Roanoke, Virginia, April 24, 2001
- Virginia Executive Institute Alumni Association, “Preview of the 2001 General Assembly Session”, Richmond, Virginia, December 2000.
- The Bond Buyer, "Winning Grassroots Strategy for Bond Referenda Campaigns," 2000 Mid-Atlantic Public Finance Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2000
- Coalition Development
- Crisis Communications
- Digital Media
- Executive and Legislative Affairs
- Local Government Relations
- Media Relations
- Multi-state Government Relations
- Referenda Campaigns
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Strategic Communications & Grassroots
- Strategic Positioning
- Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility
- Strategic Communications & Grassroots
- State Government Relations
