SACRAMENTO: Mercury Public Affairs said it will not re-bid a $9 million PR contract with the California High-Speed Rail Authority although it had been invited to pitch for the account for a second time.
The firm had been awarded the account by the state agency, which was then criticized by the media and some board members in September for selecting a firm that had close ties to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's office.
Brian Jones, MD at Mercury Public Affairs, released a statement to PRWeek that said:
"Mercury followed the initial RFP process to a tee but we were ultimately sidelined because of internal politics. Because of this, along with a recent increase in our client workload, we have decided to not invest our time, energy or resources into a process we no longer have confidence in, nor believe in.”
Participating firms gave oral interviews October 22 and the communications team will present its selection to the board of directors on November 5, according to the Rail Authority's Web site.
Jeffrey Barker, deputy director for communications, policy, and public outreach for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, declined to comment.
