Who We Are

Numerous types of consulting firms attempt to work in the arena of land use politics. At first glance many of these consultants appear similar. Their resumes, services and fees don't differ much, but they can be very different to work with. They also have very different track records.

We are not your typical consulting firm.  We focus exclusively on winning land use campaigns.  Winning for our clients is our only job.  Most consulting firms spend a significant amount of time figuring out how to generate additional fees from their clients - we focus on winning our clients land use campaign in the most efficient manner possible.  We only bill a client when we have created value for their project.

Our success is tied to the success of our clients

Land Use Experts was founded based on our genuine passion for achieving results for our clients - winning the most difficult land use battles is our only business.

• We don't just talk about winning, we put our money where our mouth is. Whenever possible, we seek to align our economics with that of our clients so that we prosper only if our clients prosper. If we serve our clients well, our own success will follow.
• We take great pride in the professional quality of our work. We have an uncompromising determination to achieve victories for our clients. We always put our clients interests ahead of our own. We would rather win for our clients than increase our profits.
• We are clear and direct in our recommendations and actions. We do not use "consultant speak" or jargon that complicates the clear path to victory for our clients.
• We tell it like it is - even if that means telling the client something they don't want to hear.
• Our strongest asset is our people. We take extraordinary measures to identify and recruit only the very best people.  We do not employ any "B" players. We know that without the best people we cannot be the best firm. We provide our staff with unmatched training and resources to ensure they excel for our clients. Excellence is our standard, mere competence is unacceptable.

Our staff

Land Use Experts campaign managers are experienced political campaign operatives – they have worked on and won the most difficult city, county, state and national political campaigns. Every one of our campaign managers has the experience, knowledge and skills required to accurately assess how the local political landscape will impact a clients land use project and then rearrange the political landscape in a way that benefits the client.

We do not accept resumes for new campaign managers – we actively recruit and keep only the best political professionals. We go to extraordinary lengths to support the people we hire to succeed. We provide our campaign managers with unparalleled training in the land use process, regulatory, zoning and legal issues and combine that knowledge with their political campaign skills to make them Land Use Experts.

Our campaign managers are hungry and driven – on this we are consistent and unrelenting. They love hard work and have no fear of tackling the biggest challenges. Their singular focus is on winning land use battles for our clients.

Leadership

Leigh Mayo is founder, President and CEO of Land Use Experts – a national political consulting firm focused exclusively on managing the politics of land use.  Leigh and Land Use Experts work with clients across a broad range of industries including energy, retail and industrial developments, hospitals, landfills, aggregates and mineral extraction.  Land Use Experts focuses on securing public approval of controversial land use projects and protecting clients real estate assets from unwanted competition.

While the field of land use political consulting is relatively new, Leigh has substantial experience managing the politics of land use.  For his clients, he has developed and implemented integrated land use campaigns where the strategies and tactics include gathering accurate political intelligence that allows him to access how the local political situation will impact a proposed land use project; developing and coordinating the message strategy to ensure the most effective means of educating and persuading citizens to support a proposed development are employed; creating visible and vocal broad based support for proposed clients proposals through grassroots organizing and coalition building; and generating large crowds of supporters for clients projects at public hearings.  He is more than a strategic thinker – Leigh has been on the ground and in the trenches implementing the campaign plan necessary to win controversial land use battles.

Prior to founding Land Use Experts, Leigh was a Project Manager at the Saint Consulting Group where he won the firms most difficult land use projects across 16 states.  In 2005, he served as the Executive Director of the Texas Legislative Study Group House Caucus where he led a staff of policy analysts to provide vote recommendations and floor strategy for Caucus members.  In 2004, he was the National Association of REALTORS Political Director for seven western states where he organized grassroots lobbying campaigns and created the campaign strategy for REALTOR political efforts on behalf of thirteen members of Congress.  In 2003, Leigh directed self and opposition research activities used to create campaign messaging materials, policy proposals and media releases on the Gephardt for President campaign.  A veteran political operative, prior to 2004 Leigh managed field and political operations on more than a dozen political campaigns for every level of political office.