David C. Simons is president of Simons
Political Group, a government relations and business consulting
firm. His experience as a corporate lobbyist and a congressional
aide has allowed him to successfully integrate the business
community with the legislative arena.
As a senior legislative aide for a member of the
House of Representatives serving on the Ways and Means Committee,
Simons was instrumental in several key congressional initiatives.
One of his accomplishments included working on the repeal of
section 89. This tax provision would have increased the regulatory
bureaucracy regarding non-discrimination rules for employer
provided healthcare. Simons' work with a capital gains
differential also included his creation and organization of the
much publicized capital gains hearings of 1988.
After leaving Capitol Hill, Simons became Manager of
Congressional Affairs with Eaton Corporation, a Fortune 100
company. Serving as the top lobbyist, Simons advocated the
corporation's position on legislative initiatives to Members of
Congress, federal government agencies and the administration. He
worked with various trade associations and business advocacy groups
to influence legislation. Simons also served as Eaton Corporation's
political action committee (PAC) coordinator.
Locally, as a member of the Savannah Area Chamber of
Commerce, Simons serves on the Board of Directors. In 1999, the
Chamber presented the "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" to his
political consulting firm. The following year, he was named a 40
under 40 business leader by the Savannah Business Report &
Journal. He has also received the Small Business Advocate of the
Year from the Small Business Chamber. He recently joined the corporate advisory board of the Spine & Sport Company.
A graduate of MacMurray College with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Business and a Bachelor of Science degree
in Political Science, Simons also earned a Masters of Business
Administration from Golden Gate University. He is a graduate
of Leadership Savannah.
He has served on active duty with the U.S. Army
Special Forces ("Green Berets") and currently serves as a public
affairs officer in the Georgia Air National Guard. In 2005, he
completed a tour of duty with the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing in
Southwest Asia where he flew 35 combat sorties as a public affairs
officer. He recently completed a second tour of duty in Afghanistan as the Director of Public
Affairs for the NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan. He lives in Savannah with his wife and two children.
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