Posted on 01/15/2006 11:28:30 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has supplemented the salaries of at least four of his top government aides with private campaign money, a practice that means a piece of their overall pay has come from donations by corporations and others that do business in the Capitol.
Schwarzenegger set up a standing agreement in which three present and former aides received a monthly $5,000 check from his political accounts to moonlight as campaign aides, on top of what they earned in salary as government employees, the governor's office said.
The combination boosted their overall annual compensation rates from the $120,000-to-$130,000 range to $180,000 to $190,000. That's more than the governor's job pays, although Schwarzenegger waives his $175,000 state salary.
The payments went to three of Schwarzenegger's most influential advisors: Patricia Clarey, who left her job as chief of staff in December; Rob Stutzman, who stepped down as communications director Friday; and Richard Costigan, who continues to serve as the governor's chief liaison to the Legislature.
Last week, Schwarzenegger's office confirmed that his new chief of staff, Susan P. Kennedy, would double as a campaign aide and be paid campaign funds in addition to her $131,000 government salary.
--snip--
Bob White, chief of staff to former Gov. Pete Wilson, acknowledged through a spokesman that he received a campaign salary in addition to his state pay during Wilson's 1994 reelection campaign. ...
But Gray Davis, whom Schwarzenegger ousted in the 2003 recall campaign, barred the mixing of campaign and state pay. So did former Gov. George Deukmejian, ...
--snip--
State law prohibits government aides from engaging in political work on state time, although they are permitted to "exercise their 1st Amendment rights and participate in politics on their own time," said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Not a mention of Kennedy's share of every campaign dollar she snags
So much for Openness in Gubamint, one of the lynchpins of the Gub's first foray into politics.
Rewarding piss-poor performance with pay raises... just the thug unions and DimRat way....Arnold is a bit of a RINO anyway. Kalifornicate at it's shining best again.
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