Wilson Asks Appointees to Forgo Back Pay

Gov. Pete Wilson on Tuesday asked his estimated 2,500 political appointees to voluntarily continue giving up 5% of their salaries to help reduce the costs of state government.

Aides to the governor said the appointees are being asked to forgo participation in a pay restoration program next spring and to give up any claims they have to back pay and vacation credits.

The Wilson Administration recently decided to restore the salaries of about 25,000 high-level workers who took a 5% pay cut last year. The cut was imposed in anticipation of unionized state workers also losing 5% of their salary, but unions did not agree to the plan.

Administration officials had said that political appointees, including such top-level officials as department directors, would be eligible for back pay or vacation time, like civil service supervisors and managers who had taken the pay cut.

But Dan Schnur, the governor’s communications director, said Tuesday that the information was incorrect. He said the appointees were not included in the program to restore the salaries.

In a memo to the Wilson appointees, gubernatorial Chief of Staff Bob White said Tuesday that the governor will continue receiving 5% less of his gross salary for economic reasons. He asked the appointees to “continue to forgo the same percentage of your gross monthly salary as well.”