Schwarzenegger Aides Land Plum Jobs
By AARON C. DAVIS, The Associated Press
http://www.examiner.com/a-412452~Schwarzenegger_Aides_Land_Plum_Jobs.htmlSACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed or assigned dozens of staff members this year to high-paying jobs elsewhere in state government - some of them to six-figure posts he once said were a waste of taxpayer money and should be eliminated.
An Associated Press investigation of Schwarzenegger's staff turnover after last year's disastrous special election revealed that he moved 40 people to other state positions, and at least half of them saw their salaries increase, some by more than $30,000 a year.
Schwarzenegger also gave six former staffers jobs with state boards and commissions he previously tried to dismantle. Rewarding loyal aides with plum jobs is a long-standing political practice. But many of the appointments run counter to Schwarzenegger's own pronouncements and raise questions about his willingness to make future cuts in state agencies where many of his former staffers now draw paychecks.
"Schwarzenegger promised to clean up and streamline the bureaucracy that is California government," said Ned Wigglesworth, spokesman for California Common Cause. "Now he's stacking the deck with his folks, and they're making a pretty penny off taxpayers in the process. We're disappointed comparing the rhetoric to the reality."