GM replaces top D.C. lobbyist

General Motors is replacing its top lobbyist in Washington with two former AT&T lobbyists.

The troubled auto company, which has accepted tens of billions in taxpayer funds as it tries to restructure itself, named John Montford as its senior adviser for government relations and global public policy.

{mosads}Montford, a Democrat, was a senior vice president for state legislative affairs for AT&T, and previously had worked in external affairs for Southwestern Bell. He’s a former state senator from Texas who served as chairman of the state Senate’s Finance panel.

Montford replaces Ken Cole, the company’s vice president of government relations and public policy. In a release, GM said Cole would remain with the company for the next several months as an adviser before retiring later in 2010.

Cole had helped GM win a bailout from the Obama administration earlier this year. Cole was then involved in talks with the administration on additional federal aid for the automaker.

GM’s senior ranks in Detroit have gone through a series of changes this year. Former CEO Rick Wagoner was ousted at the request of the Obama administration in March, and his successor, Fritz Henderson, announced his own resignation in December.

Texas Monthly named Montford one of the top 10 legislators for five legislative sessions, according to a release from GM. Montford left the Texas Senate after winning election in 1994.

GM also announced that Robert Ferguson, another former AT&T lobbyist for state legislative and regulatory affairs, is joining the company as vice president of government relations.

Ferguson most recently served as a senior strategist for the business advisory firm Public Strategies Inc., in Austin, Texas.