A former city councilman is using his political consulting firm to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors.
Former Hollister Councilman Victor Gomez is gearing up a new political consulting firm called Pinnacle Strategy. Gomez served on the council from 2008 until late 2016. He also previously owned the local Papa Murphy’s before moving into consulting.
“After doing quite a bit of work up in Silicon Valley, I essentially decided to kick off my own consulting firm down in San Benito County,” Gomez said. “Though it’s going to be stationed in Hollister, I’m going to be doing work in Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay.”
The consulting firm’s first focus area is government affairs, Gomez said.
“I’m doing what I can to help companies go through the labyrinth of city departments and county departments, helping the private sector navigate through government,” Gomez said. “There are a lot of folks in the private sector who don’t communicate with government and don’t know the path to successfully complete development projects or they need representation.”
San Benito County Chamber of Commerce CEO Juli Vieira said Pinnacle Strategy is a positive development thing that willl help keep the county informed.
“I think right now San Benito County is out here on an island,” Vieira said. “It will help keep us more informed with what’s going on in Sacramento that may affect our local businesses. I think it’s a good thing. I think he’ll help bring more information to our businesses.”
In addition to tackling government affairs, Pinnacle Strategy will work on targeted lobbying and campaign management.
“Any group of business folks that need an ordinance revised or something completed, I’d be their registered representative to help them with that,” Gomez said. “Another component I’ll be working on is campaign management and consulting. I’ve run numerous campaigns and a super PAC in the Bay Area. I’m doing what I can to help candidates run for public office.”
The cannabis industry will be one target Gomez sets his sights on.
“I will be assisting jurisdictions that have not adopted cannabis policies to guide them through, help cities and counties adopt cannabis policy that fits their jurisdiction,” he said. “I know a lot of folks in the cannabis industry and I’ve been on the other side. I’ll be essentially playing mediator to make sure we adopt policies that are friendly and safe depending on the community. Every community is different.”
Additionally, Gomez said he’ll be doing labor consulting as well.
“I just picked up the Hollister Police Officers Association and will be helping that union with public relations,” Gomez said. “Once my sunset clause closes in December, I’ll be doing lobbying for the union as well, helping them through their labor negotiations.”
Gomez said his history of independence and self-employment was a driving factor for going into political consulting.
“I’ve always been self employed,” he said. “I spent over a decade as a pizza franchisee. I was always used to being independent. I think the independence of work is great. My key motivator was, I know what it’s like to be in the private sector. I understand the struggles of developers, or labor unions. But I also understand the government side as being an elected official. I understand what an elected official has to be confronted with when making tough decisions.”
