Former Gov. Tom Ridge is returning to Harrisburg – kind of.
The two-term GOP governor who left the state Capitol in 2001 to become the nation’s first homeland security czar is opening a new lobbying firm – The Ridge Policy Group -- in Harrisburg and Washington next month.
Joining him as partners are two former gubernatorial chiefs of staff, Mark Holman and Mark Campbell.
Holman, 52, will depart as a lobbyist for Blank Rome in Washington to head up the new firm’s D.C. office while Campbell, 49, will run the Harrisburg operations.
“We are a full-service firm that will represent a gamut of potential clients with issues in both capitols,’’ said Campbell, who for the past 14 months has worked as a senior vice president for the Swarthmore Group, a Philadelphia-based investment company.
The new firm has not lined up any clients so far, he added.
Ridge plans to continue focusing on his Washington-based security consulting firm – Ridge Global. He will serve as a strategic advisor to the new lobbying venture but will not do any lobbying personally, said Campbell.
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