Former Ambassador to Ireland joins lobbying firm representing Irish service plaza bid winner
Former Massachusetts state rep Claire Cronin was Irish Ambassador when Applegreen announced big NJ deal
Claire Cronin, the former Brockton area state representative and Biden Administration ambassador to Ireland, has landed a position with the influential lobbying firm of Smith, Costello and Crawford which counts Applegreen, an Irish company, among its clients.
Applegreen is currently embroiled in a controversial 35 year lease to manage rest stops in the Commonwealth.
In 2022, when Cronin was the Irish Ambassador, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced a deal to have Applegreen “redevelop all of New Jersey’s 21 on-highway service plazas” which they took over in 2021 and build a corporate HQ in the Garden State, according to NJBiz.com.
Governor Murphy made the 2022 Applegreen announcement in Dublin while on a four day trade trip to the Emerald Isle. Ambassador Cronin hosted a meeting with the New Jersey Governor on the day of the announcement.
Global Partners, which lost the service plaza management bid on June 18th, when MassDOT awarded the contract to Applegreen, has since filed a state ethics complaint and a civil case against the Commonwealth in Suffolk Superior Court.
Applegreen is not technically a party to the ethics complaint or the lawsuit.
Smith, Costello and Crawford touts itself as “Boston’s premier public policy law firm” which “offers consulting and lobbying services to navigate the Massachusetts legislative landscape, connect stakeholders across industries and facilitate long-lasting partnerships for our clients.”
Three former state legislators now work at the firm, Cronin, Michael Costello and Carlo Basile, an East Boston Democrat who also served in the Baker Administration.
Partner Jim Smith at Smith, Costello and Crawford told the MassterList that Cronin is joining the firm “as a business consultant” only, adding there are “no plans for Cronin to lobby ‘at this time,’ pointing to her skills as a lawyer.”
Thursday’s glowing MassterList piece made no mention of Applegreen’s status as a Smith, Costello and Crawford client.
The “business consultant” position at one of Boston’s most powerful lobbying firms isn’t the only new gig for Ambassador Cronin, in July she was appointed as a “Scholar in Residence” at the UMass Mount Ida Campus. “Cronin will support UMass Amherst initiatives in global education, global partnerships and international student and scholar services.”
