6 ) 43;
8,)
said, 219 representatives and 39 senators still signed on, which means in the House, Norquist still has considerable support despite the razor-thin majority. In addition, he has been a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, using his popular “Wednesday Meeting” model to gather select conservatives and Republicans to hash things out.
GREGORY O’DELL Few people have had the opportunity to affect the physical landscape of the nation’s capital as much as Gregory O’Dell. As president and CEO of Events DC, O’Dell joined the quasipublic convention and sports authority company a year into the building of Nationals Park — the first LEEDcertified major professional sports stadium in the U.S. — and was tasked with bringing the project to completion on time and within the city council-mandated budget constraints. He did both, completing construction in a total of 23 months, for $693 million. Between managing the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the surrounding Festival Grounds, the non-military functions of the D.C. Armory and, of course, Nationals Park, Events DC’s properties bring more than a million tourists and about $2 billion in revenue to the city each year, not to mention creating countless new employment opportunities for local residents. Never one to rest on his laurels, O’Dell keeps busy with the construction of Washington’s largest hotel, the 1,175-room, 46suite Washington Marriott Marquis Convention Center hotel, which broke ground in 2010.
Theodore B. Olson and David Boies
THEODORE B OLSON AND DAVID BOIES
Alyse Nelson
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Kojo Nnamdi
Their odd coupling could mean marriage for gay and lesbians in the state of California and maybe even across the land. Olson, who won Bush vs. Gore for “W” back in 2000, and Boies, then his liberal legal foe, teamed up to challenge the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, with Olson arguing the case before the Supreme Court this March. When the justices hand down a decision in late June, even a narrow ruling could mean victory for the duo since many believe the cases mark the beginning of the end of opposition to gay rights.
MILT PETERSON JON PETERSON Milt Peterson founded his family’s real estate development business in 1970, literally building it from the ground up, and these days he’s the face of Maryland’s National Harbor. In November, construction began on the Tanger Outlet complex there, bringing the first upscale retail complex to Prince George’s County by Christmas. Peterson used his political clout and his cash — $400,000 for an advertising campaign — to get Marylanders to vote yes on Question 7 to expand gambling legalization in the state. This allows a deal to go forward to bring an MGM Resorts casino to the riverfront facility as well. Son Jon has been with the family business since 1986.
ERICH PICA With the threat of the Keystone XL pipeline still looming and the company behind the project, TransCanada Corp., rerouting it to try to avoid opposition from Nebraska, Pica and his allies are trying to kill Keystone by showing how development of Canada’s dirty tar sands constitutes “a carbon bomb” in the words of famed NASA scientist Jim Hansen, and would be devastating for the climate security of our planet. The environmental group has also been instrumental in the fight to shut down dangerous old nuclear plants such as the troubled San Onofre facility in Southern California as well as working with Republicans and Democrats alike to fight wasteful government subsidies to polluting industries.
HEATHER PODESTA The beginning of 2013 marked the separation of one of Washington’s most prominent power couples, Heather and Tony Podesta. But the founder of Heather Podesta + Partners, the lobbying shop she started in 2007, has her own set of clients that she lobbies for and big wins she can tout. For example, at the end of last year Podesta’s client Uranium Energy was given Environmental Protection Agency approval to pollute an aquifer in Goliad County, Texas, as part of the process to mine for uranium. The plan, when first proposed, was deemed dead on arrival, but Podesta used her clout to take her plea to the No. 2 at the EPA with the agency eventually reversing its decision.
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