Do as I Say, Not as I Do .J.J. : State jobs for campaign aides run counter to Wilson’s rhetoric

Since the dawn of politics, patronage has been the preferred tool of officeholders who want to reward supporters while ensuring a loyal staff. That said, Gov. Pete Wilson’s decision to pad the payroll with campaign workers from his failed presidential campaign sends a poor message in a time of fiscal austerity, particularly because some are former staffers who have been given substantial pay raises.

Last year, thousands of state jobs went unfilled. The overall number of state employees dipped by 1.5%. For the Wilson administration, curbing government growth has been as much an attitude as a policy. But staff writers Virginia Ellis and Paul Jacobs pointed out in a Times report that this attitude did not extend to Wilson’s own office.

It was bad enough that Wilson’s full-time staff grew 5% when he was taking a hard line on state hiring. But Wilson also rewarded many of his campaign stalwarts by returning them to previously held state jobs with pay raises ranging from 7% to 80% and salaries from $30,000 to more than $100,000. In other instances he placed newcomers on the public payroll.

The 80% raise went to 26-year-old campaign worker Mitch Zak, whom Wilson appointed special assistant to the director of the Fish and Game Department. That must be some job.

We note that these pay boosts come at a time when many state employees have seen their wages stall. For instance, in the three years following January 1991, most state employees received no cost-of-living increases. And the governor has indicated there will be no increases this year.

There are many who support the notion of keeping state government growth in check, part of which means keeping a lid on state payrolls. There are others who say the $1.3-million cost of putting former campaign workers in state jobs isn’t much to pay for good staff members. What’s clear is that Wilson’s political payoff to more than two dozen former campaign staffers is inconsistent with his publicly stated message.

When Wilson quietly turned down a raise for himself last December, his office explained, “If you are going to articulate smaller government and fiscal discipline .J.J. you lead by example.” That’s good advice. The kind the governor’s office should give more attention.