Calif. Office Holders Get 18 Pct. Raise

[Rose Siding]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An independent commission voted Friday to give statewide office holders in California an 18 percent raise, boosting pay for the governor's office to the highest in the nation with a salary of more than $200,000 a year.

The California Citizens Compensation Commission approved the first raises since 2000 for the governor, attorney general, school superintendent and five other statewide positions. The governor's salary will increase from $175,000 to $206,500 a year. New York Gov. George Pataki is the second-highest paid at $179,000.
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"Unlike the private sector, this is not intended to be a money reward for a job well done or poorly done," Commissioner Larry Gotlieb said. "We're looking at what is the fair thing to do for elected officials who are spending 24 hours a day on duty."

But Alfonso Ramirez, a former state employee with the Department of Personnel, said it was unfair to give elected officials a raise when state workers have been given pay hikes only six times in the last 15 years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/23/AR2006062301762.html