Naifeh’s wife attends closed GOP meeting

The lobbyist-wife of Democratic House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh attended a closed-door House Republican Caucus meeting today, a gathering she thought was open.

Republicans were meeting in the legislative library this afternoon in which only GOP lawmakers and staff could attend. Reporters were barred from entry.

Much to the Republicans’ surprise, however, Betty Anderson, a lobbyist and Naifeh’s wife, was watching the meeting from the second story balcony along with another lobbyist.

“It’s just a comedy of errors,” Anderson explained.

Anderson said she and the other lobbyist, Brandy Bivins, initially went to the open House Democratic Caucus meeting. The pair then elected to go to the Republicans’ gathering.

The two lobbyists were going up on the elevator with two Capitol Hill staffers, who had a key to go to a normally restricted floor. They were going to “store boxes,” she said.

Anderson and Bivens got off on a floor that allowed them to overlook the Republicans’ caucus meeting from above.

The lobbyists decided to watch what they thought was an open meeting, but the GOP was unaware of their presence.

Anderson said she didn’t know the meeting was closed.

“It wasn’t a spying conspiracy,” she said.

A Republican staffer discovered Anderson and Bivens and asked them to leave after initially thinking they were reporters.

House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower said of the incident involving Anderson: “I think she got off the elevator at the wrong floor.”

As to why the Republicans saw fit to close their meeting to reporters when the Democrats' opened theirs, Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove), the chairman of the GOP Caucus, said the Republicans closed their meeting so lawmakers could “talk freely and not say something that would get themselves in trouble.”