A public relations and lobbying firm opens this week in Century City with two former California congressmen as founding partners.
Vectis Strategies LLC, was co-founded by former House Democratic Whip Tony Coelho and Republican House subcommittee chairman Ron Packard along with Republican activist David Herbst and Peter Kelly, former state Democratic Party chairman.
“During our careers, we have been partisan, but we also came together to forge landmark solutions to complex challenges,” Coelho said.
The new firm is focusing on privacy/cybersecurity issues, municipal infrastructure and transportation, environmental initiatives and media relations. The firm has opened additional offices in San Diego and Washington D.C.
Coelho, 70, represented the Modesto area in Congress for just over 10 years. He resigned from Congress in 1989 after press reports surfaced that he had purchased $100,000 in junk bonds with loans from former Columbia Savings and Loan Association chief executive Thomas Spiegel. Coelho was never charged in the matter and was ultimately exonerated.
Packard, 82, served 18 years in the House, representing southern Orange County and northern San Diego County; he retired in 2001.
Herbst, 43, has held numerous public relations posts in the Los Angeles area. He’s currently with Mercury Air Group Inc., an aviation services company in Playa Vista; he will leave that post on June 30 to join Vectis full-time. He has also served as both a Los Angeles city and Los Angeles County commissioner and has served as president of two local chambers of commerce.
