Aubrey C. King, a Washington lobbyist, consultant and trade association executive for more than twenty-five years, will be retained by the FSC on a contractural basis, beginning with an initial six-month agreement effective April 1.
"He is going to be our eyes and ears in Washington," Michelle Freridge, executive director for the FSC, told XBiz, calling him a "skilled and tenacious lobbyist" and a Washington insider for many years.
Freridge added that King will help the FSC network with other organizations, including the ACLU and the Center For Democracy and Technology, in furthering its mission to defend the First Amendment rights of the adult entertainment industry.
The head of his own firm, Aubrey C. King & Associates, King's clients have included trade associations and major corporations. He was previously a partner in the firm of King & Gorin, a national public affairs firm for the tourism, recreation and transportation industries, which he founded with David Gorin in 2003.
"He will be looking at legislation as it is being developed and before it hits the Senate floor, informing us on what's going on and how to get the level of detailed information that we need so we can disseminate that information in a timely fashion and can respond and advocate for the rights of our members quickly," Freridge said.
Freridge added that with the environment in Washington right now, it was in the best interest of the FSC to find a non-partisan insider who can focus on the business issues of a trade association and then educate him going forward on the adult industry.
Citing incidents such as the recent Sen. Sam Brownback porn hearing before a judiciary subcommittee that deliberately shut out representatives from the FSC and other pro-adult organizations from acting as expert witnesses, Freridge said that King will help give the FSC more of an opportunity to participate in defending the rights of adult entertainment professionals.
"It's the business approach that we need to take right now," Freridge said.
King received his B.A. from Marshall University and his M.A. from Johns Hopkins University. He teaches public policy as an adjunct lecturer at the George Washington University.