In late 2019, Garry South was engaged by the California Metal Recyclers Coalition to develop and implement a public-information strategy to support a lawsuit the Coalition filed against the state Department of Toxic Substances Control. The litigation involves the department’s attempt to designate metal-recycling facilities as “hazardous waste treatment” sites. Scrap metal is not considered…
In 2018, the California Nurses Association asked Garry South to design and implement an independent expenditure campaign to support the gubernatorial candidacy of then-Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. In the top-two primary that June, Newsom was facing two very credible Democratic opponents: state Controller John Chiang, the first Asian American to hold that statewide office, and…
In November 2015, Garry South was hired as lead strategist to manage the campaign on behalf of Prop. 61, the California Drug Price Relief Act, which had qualified for the November 2016 ballot in California. As the first-ever statewide ballot measure in the nation that sought to lower the cost of prescription drugs, Prop. 61…
In 2014-15, Garry South was hired by DentaQuest, the nation's largest dental-benefits administrator in Medicaid, to design and execute a hard-hitting public-information campaign focusing on the woeful deficiencies of Denti-Cal, California's version of Medicaid's dental programs for low-income children. South put together a broad-based coalition of highly credible organizations in the children's health space, including…
In 2013, the Cooperative of American Physicians hired Garry South to help devise a comprehensive strategy for defeating Proposition 46, which was on the November 2014 ballot. This measure was designed and funded by the trial bar, with the purpose of quadrupling the limit on so-called “pain and suffering” (non-economic) damage awards in medical malpractice…
Garry South was engaged in 2010 by JM Eagle, the world’s largest producer of PVC pipe and one of Taiwan’s most well-known family conglomerates, to quarterback the Los Angeles-based company’s response to a so-called “whistleblower” lawsuit that had been filed against it in federal court by a fired ex-employee. South put together a team of…
Garry South was engaged in 2010 by City of Hope, the world-renowned, National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, California (suburban Los Angeles), to advise and help guide the institution through the intricacies of the state’s political environment and processes. Since then, he has brought a multitude of state elected officials and state legislators…
In 2007, East West Bank, the second-largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles, hired Garry South to work with it on its acquisition of Desert Community Bank, another California-based institution based in the High Desert area. Since the announcement of East West’s intent to purchase Desert Community Bank, several self-appointed activist groups located out of the…
In 2004, Garry South was hired by a consortium of telecommunications companies, including SBC, to lead the campaign against Proposition 67, the so-called “phone tax” initiative that would have imposed additional fees on phone calls to fund emergency-room services and doctors. He brought together an eye-popping bi-partisan team of strategists, including consultants for both former…
In 2004, Garry South was hired by a consortium of California Indian gaming tribes as co-strategist along with a prominent Republican consultant to lead the fight against Prop. 68. This measure was put on the ballot by card rooms and horse racing tracks in an attempt to gain full-fledged slot machines at their own facilities.…