Sonnie Elliott has been a member of the firm’s government relations team for more than a decade, representing businesses, education, nonprofit organizations, and trade and professional associations before the Minnesota Legislature, state agencies and local units of government.

Governmental Relations Services

Clients for whom Sonnie has provided government relations services — and the issues in which she has been involved — include:

• Financial Services Coordinating Council — Privacy regulation
• Medical Transportation Management— State and county contract issues
• Minneapolis Downtown Council — Transportation and transit
• Minnesota Broadcasters Association — Tax and regulatory issues
• Minnesota Private College Council — Financial aid
• Minnesota Public Radio — Funding for outstate capital projects and legacy funding
• Minnesota Retailers —Recycling and sales taxes
• Minnesota Shopping Center Association — Property tax and transportation funding
• Minnesota Vikings Football Club — Stadium issues
• National Association of Office and Industrial Properties — Commercial industrial property taxes and Smart Growth
• Ordway — Capital bonding appropriations
• Prime Therapeutics — Pharmacy audit procedures
• Ticketmaster —Anti-Bot and ticket legislation
• Unimin — Silica sand mining, regulatory issues
• Walker Arts Center — Funding for educational website

Secured Funding Approval

Sonnie also has led efforts to secure approval for funding for clients and initiatives that include:

• $200,000 for the Minnesota Council on Economic Education for teacher training
• $3 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and $4 million in general fund appropriations for Hearth Connection to provide supportive housing and services for disabled homeless persons
• $4.5 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the City of Mendota Heights
• $2 million for the Walker Arts Center and Minneapolis Institute of Arts for their educational internet site
• $5.5 million for Children’s Theatre

Minnesota Governor’s Senior Staff

Prior to joining the firm, Sonnie was deputy director for Cabinet Affairs in the office of Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson. As a member of the governor's senior staff, she advised the governor on legislative issues and lobbied legislators on behalf of the Carlson administration. Prior to working with Governor Carlson, Sonnie worked at the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1990-95.

Presentations

• Chamber Town Talk: Legislative Predications - The 2016 Session
  Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 11, 2016

Published Articles

• Minnesota Legislative Weekly Update
  Co-author, Faegre Baker Daniels In-Session Updates, 2009-present