Posted on: Saturday, May 28, 2005

Microsoft dismisses lobbyist

By Elizabeth M. Gillespie
Associated Press

SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. said yesterday it has severed ties with Ralph Reed, a Republican lobbyist who once headed the Christian Coalition and who is running for lieutenant governor in Georgia.

"Ralph Reed is no longer on retainer with Microsoft," company spokeswoman Ginny Terzano told the Associated Press.

The move came a month after liberal activists urged Microsoft to quit using Reed as a political consultant, upset that the huge software company had withdrawn its support for a gay-rights bill it had backed in the past. The company has since said it will support such legislation in the future. The bill would have made it illegal to discriminate against gay people in housing, employment and insurance.

"Microsoft has a wide range of consultants on retainer, both Democrats and Republicans, and they are brought on based on need and for various reasons, but it's not our policy to discuss specifics," Terzano said.

She said Century Strategies, a public relations and lobbying firm Reed founded in 1997, lobbied for Microsoft on international trade and competition, not social issues.

While she said she wouldn't comment on Reed's candidacy for lieutenant governor, Terzano said: "It would not be appropriate to have a consultant on retainer that is seeking elective office at the same time."

Century Strategies did not immediately return a call for comment.

Reed was executive director of the Christian Coalition from 1989 to 1997. He was credited with being the major force behind the organization's fund-raising success. Last year, he was the southeast regional chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign.