LegiStorm

As their colleagues rolled out presidential campaign announcements over the last few weeks, many of Congress' rank and file spent their April recess holding constituent town hall meetings at regional airports, fire stations, senior centers and hospitals.

Members of Congress have held 845 town halls with constituents so far this year and roughly a third, or 257, came in the last two weeks. LegiStorm tracks town halls by monitoring press coverage and social media.

Republicans in the House held 141 events during the recess period since the end of March compared to 46 for Democrats, while senators hosted 69 town halls, with 44 Republican events and 25 hosted by Democrats.

House representatives sat down for coffee, met aviation "stakeholders and enthusiasts" in Reading, Pa., and went underground in a West Virginia mine during a stop for an above-ground town hall. Senators conducted listening tours, hosted discussions on women's and senior issues at community dinners in Rhode Island, and interacted online via Twitter. 

So far this year, Republicans hold four of the top five slots for lawmakers hosting the most town halls, according to LegiStorm tracking. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) leads with 38, followed by Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) with 26, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) with 21, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) with 21 and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) with 18.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee's Western Hemisphere Subcommittee has lost a professional staff member to Ford Motor Co.'s government affairs shop.

Ramon Zertuche started at the subcommittee in 2013 in his first job on the Hill and now serves as manager of international government affairs for the Americas at Ford. He has spent most of his career working at several organizations and agencies, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Inc., Inter-American Economic Council, Organization of American States and the Departments of Commerce and the Treasury.

Zertuche has not filed lobbying papers, but his new job takes him to a company that regularly lobbies on issues affecting the auto industry, from manufacturing to tax reform and highway funding. LegiStorm has tracked 65 former congressional staffers so far who have lobbied on Ford's behalf in the last 15 years.

Zertuche has a 2001 undergraduate degree in government, Latin American and Caribbean studies from Dartmouth College and a 2012 master's in international relations and international economics from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

Rep. Jared Polis' (D-Colo.) communications director has taken an influence position in the pet product business.

Scott Overland is now legislative representative at PetSmart Inc. after two years working for Polis. He also worked in the private sector between 2010 and 2013 for Bracewell and Giuliani LLP and as director of external affairs at GenOn Energy Inc.

During an earlier stint on the Hill, Overland worked for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in various press positions between 2006 and 2010. He also served as deputy press secretary for Lieberman's 2006 campaign and was an intern in his office in 2005.

Overland has a 2010 American University Washington College of Law degree and a bachelor's from Muhlenberg College. 

One legislative staffer's job got a little sweeter this month when she moved from Sen. John Hoeven's (R-N.D.) office to the U.S. Beet Sugar Association.

Cassie Bladow has filed a lobbying registration with her new employer, advocating on implementing the sugar program, sugar policy, combustible dust standards and GMO labeling. She joins the association after four years as a legislative correspondent and assistant to Hoeven.

Bladow, a 2009 North Dakota State University graduate, started in Hoeven's office in 2011. After college she also worked at Florida, Texas and Hawaii Sugarcane Growers as a trade association coordinator before starting with Hoeven.

At the U.S. Beet Sugar Association, Bladow now serves as director for government affairs.

Auction giant eBay Inc. placed a bid on a former legislative staffer for Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) and won, bringing him on board this month.

Travis Krogman has started as government affairs specialist at eBay about a year after leaving Green's office in June 2014. He has since worked in Maine as a field organizer for the Maine Democratic Party and U.S. House candidate Emily Cain, who lost to Republican Bruce Poliquin.

While working in a legislative role for Green starting in 2013, Krogman was assigned to environment, energy, health care, veterans and agriculture issues, according to his LinkedIn. He also worked as an executive assistant and scheduler at the office between 2011 and 2013. He started in Congress with two congressional internships, for Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

His new employer regularly registers to lobby on issues including internet sales tax, data privacy and cybersecurity.

Krogman has a bachelor's in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.