What started 19 years ago as a contract between NAIOP Maryland and Manis Canning & Associates to mount a lobbying effort on a single bill has flourished into expansive advocacy effort that tackles hundreds of pieces of legislation annually and ensures the perspective of the commercial real estate industry is heard in Annapolis.
This year, NAIOP Maryland honored those legislative efforts by awarding the F. Patrick Hughes Legislative Award to Manis Canning & Associates.
John Favazza and Nick Manis accept the 2024 F. Patrick Hughes Award from NAIOP Maryland’s Tom Pilon and Kate Jordan.
Recognized as one of the premier lobbying firms in Annapolis, “the firm has achieved superior results by adhering to the fundamental principles of hard work, ethics and professionalism rooted in the firm by co-founder George Manis in 1974,” said Tom Pilon, Chair of the NAIOP Maryland Legislative Committee. “Today, managing partner Nick Manis has assembled a team with more than 100 years of experience at the highest levels of state and local government… They have been a trusted advisor and legislative partner [to NAIOP Maryland], consistently exhibiting creative, insightful problem-solving skills and the ability to manage the complex, high-profile issues that commercial real estate faces every year in Annapolis.”
Effective representation of the CRE industry to state legislators and officials has hinged on several things, Nick Manis said.
NAIOP Maryland’s legislative efforts have worked to steadily educate seasoned and new legislators about the realities of the CRE industry.
This year, NAIOP Maryland awarded the F. Patrick Hughes Legislative Award to Manis Canning & Associates. Manis Canning & Associates have been making their mark on Annapolis for 50 years. Photo courtesy of Manis Canning & Associates.
“Part of the challenge is people just see the end result of the industry’s work — a new office building or warehouse on a site — and they don’t understand the risks that go into turning a piece of raw ground into a building,” Manis said.
Not only does NAIOP Maryland need to educate legislators about commercial real estate, it also has to consistently demonstrate that it is providing accurate information to legislators.
“Even though we might not see eye-to-eye with some legislators on some topics, they at least need to know that they are getting honest facts from us,” Manis said.
NAIOP Maryland’s legislative efforts have helped establish that reputation, he added.
Manis Canning & Associates have been making their mark on Annapolis for 50 years. Photo courtesy of Manis Canning & Associates.
“Tom Ballentine, over the years, has built a great reputation. Knowing the industry inside and out, he is regarded by legislators as an expert,” Manis said. “It is beneficial to have someone with that level of knowledge talk with legislators and testify on bills.”
Furthermore, “NAIOP Maryland’s Legislative Committee is one of the best legislative committees among the clients we work with,” Manis said. “They have dedicated committee members from all parts of the industry – engineers, attorneys, developers – who meet weekly during session and analyze a few hundred bills each year.”
That effort helps identify legislation that could impact the industry, including some impacts that aren’t obvious or expected, and craft best efforts to avert or minimize negative impacts.
NAIOP Maryland’s membership, Manis added, can and do help legislative efforts by calling their elected officials about key bills.
“Legislators need to hear about the impact of bills not only from lobbyists, but also from their constituents because, at the end of the day, it’s the voters who put them in office. They may agree with us in part on an issue, but it is very hard for them to support anything that their constituents are opposing.”