Robert J. Philbin, who is handling the new PR campaign for Perzel, said the two started negotiating the contract in February 2005, months before the pay raise was passed in July. He acknowledged, however, that part of his job was to temper the fallout.
"Speaker Perzel does not dodge bullets. That's not what he does," said Philbin, the chief executive officer of Hershey-Philbin Associates of Camp Hill. "He needs strong communications counsel when he makes a move."
In March, Philbin created "The New Speaker John Perzel Press Kit" and had 1,500 copies of it printed at a cost to the state of $4,500. Perzel has been speaker since April 2003.
"You can't put lipstick on a pig," said Gene Stilp, a Harrisburg activist and one of the leading critics of the pay raise. "The first thing he should do if he wants to improve his image is not to spend this kind of money to improve his image."
Said Matthew J. Brouillette, president of the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative Harrisburg think tank: "It is going to take more than a $60,000-per-year PR firm to clean up the speaker's mess."
Perzel declined to be interviewed for this article.
Since Philbin started, getting access to Perzel - known by reporters for speaking his mind, often in raw and unfiltered ways - has been increasingly difficult for reporters.
He has declined many interview requests. Instead, at Philbin's insistence, reporters have had to take the unusual step of putting questions in writing. Philbin has argued that it allows Perzel to give more thoughtful answers.
It also, he has acknowledged, reduces the risk that Perzel will go off-script and say something inflammatory.
