Gerald "Gerry" Cassidy (born 1940) is a prominent lobbyist in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He is the co-founder and CEO of

Cassidy & Associates Cassidy & Associates is a government-relations firm based in Washington, D.C. In 2018, the company received $14,170,000 in income from various companies for lobbying of the United States government. According to The Washington Post its founder, Ge ...

. Cassidy is a central figure in the 2009 book on lobbying, ''So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government''. Cassidy was born 1940, the son of a self-reliant practical nurse with a shakey marriage; she moved him and his three sisters from house to house in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

throughout his childhood. He is a graduate of

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

(B.S. 1963) and Cornell Law (J.D. 1967). Cassidy & Associates pioneered the use of congressional earmarks, used to obtain grants for university clients; Cassidy himself sat on the board of

and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. Cassidy was also an aide to Sen.

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

and general counsel of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

's Party Reform Commission. In March 2000, Cassidy was named #52 on the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' "The Power 100." In early 2007, he became the subject of an extensive ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' series, addressing details of his personal life and professional success. In 2013, Cassidy stepped down from the day-to-day leadership of Cassidy & Associates and became chairman emeritus.

References

External links

Gerry Cassidy
press release
Washington Post
series index Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Villanova University alumni Cornell Law School alumni Boston University people Living people United States congressional aides American chief executives 1940 births {{US-law-bio-stub