Assembly GOP Gave Staff Raises in Excess of 30%

The new Republican leaders of the Assembly, after promising to slash costs and shun the spendthrift ways of their Democratic predecessors, have showered millions of dollars in pay increases on hundreds of staff members during the past 1 1/2 years, records show.

Scores of staffers received at least two raises--and some got as many as four. Many others were granted retroactive pay increases in apparent violation of the state Constitution.

In control of the Assembly for the first time in a quarter of a century, the Republicans used their power over the purse strings to bestow raises averaging in excess of 30% on more than 300 staffers, according to a Times analysis of payroll data.

The cost of these raises amounts to $2.7 million a year.

Insurance Committee Chairman David Knowles (R-Placerville) gave 11 members of his personal and committee staff pay increases averaging 40%. Many increases were retroactive, including one to a committee consultant who received 10 months of back pay.

Transportation Committee Chairman Larry Bowler (R-Elk Grove) rewarded six staffers with two back-to-back pay hikes this year. One committee aide got raises of 12% and 32% in a two-month span.

After assuming the speakership in January, Assemblyman Curt Pringle of Garden Grove handed out pay increases ranging from 10% to 47% to eight of his personal staff--five without any change in job title.

In an interview, Pringle acknowledged that the Republican raises averaged more than 30% and defended the increases, saying staff members assumed added responsibilities when the Republican majority took control.

“I believe that many of the staff members that have worked here for years have not been provided the salary level they deserve,” he said.

But the speaker said he will take steps to limit future merit raises to 10%. And he reiterated his vow to run the Assembly like a business and cut $3 million from its budget.

Despite promises of reform, the Republicans have preserved a political spoils system that delivers financial rewards to loyal staff as well as campaign workers at public expense, The Times found.

Utilizing their new access to the perks of power, some Republicans gave jobs to members’ relatives, hired staffers who run campaign businesses on the side and filled at least half a dozen key staff positions with former lobbyists.

The patronage was dispensed during 18 months of dynamic change after the GOP won a majority in November 1994. The Republican leaders were struggling to wrest power from Democratic Speaker Willie Brown and his allies. The state slowly was emerging from its budget crisis, and rank-and-file state workers were getting only minimal pay increases.

Against this backdrop, GOP staffers received massive pay raises from some of the same Republican leaders who had criticized Democratic spending.

“I’m outraged,” Assemblyman Bill Hoge (R-Pasadena) said in December 1994 when Democratic leaders gave raises of 5% to 10% to 41 staffers. Over the next year and a half, Hoge boosted the gross pay of six aides by an average of more than 50%.

In March, his district director, Brent R. ten Pas, received his third raise since 1994--a 50% increase, bringing his salary to $72,000 a year, and the increase was made retroactive 3 1/2 months, providing another $7,000.

Neither Hoge nor ten Pas, whose salary is paid out of the Republican Caucus, returned calls for comment.

Of the GOP’s 503 current Assembly staff members, 63% received pay increases, according to computerized payroll data. And half of those hikes exceeded 25%.

The recipients of raises had on average 2 1/2 years less service in the Assembly than Democratic aides, records show. And most GOP aides who did not get raises were hired recently.

Some pay hikes came as Republican aides displaced Democrats and were promoted to top committee positions, but most raises were not accompanied by any change in job classifications.

“Classifications here are loose; responsibilities aren’t,” Pringle said. “There are a lot of folks who may be called by the same title but have a lot more work to do.”

He and other Republican lawmakers said they have not rewarded their staffs as generously as the Democrats rewarded theirs while running the Assembly since 1971. “You look at what they [Democrats] did,” said Assemblywoman Barbara Alby (R-Fair Oaks). “We are Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.”

However, some observers believe that the new Assembly leaders squandered an opportunity to reform past practices.

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst with the Claremont Graduate School, said lawmakers in new positions of power probably will spend wildly unless there are strong leaders establishing parameters.

“For the Republicans, all of this is simply a function of being out of power for so long and not tasting the perks of that power,” said Jeffe, who once worked for legendary Democratic Speaker Jesse Unruh. “It’s a matter of you come into power and you get as much . . . as you possibly can. It’s human nature, unfortunately.”

Patronage: Upholding a Tradition

The rewarding of the faithful is nothing new in American politics. President Andrew Jackson is generally credited with introducing the spoils system to the federal government 164 years ago. And in California, Assembly speakers over the decades have used their appointment powers to reward party loyalists with good jobs and high pay.

No speaker may have been as adroit at this as Democrat Brown, who held the post for a record 14 1/2 years.

All that was supposed to be changed by passage in 1990 of Proposition 140, the term-limit initiative that backers said would end this “Sacramento web of special favors and patronage.”

Publicly, the new GOP leaders have echoed the voter sentiment. They capped staff salaries at $100,000 a year. They announced that Brown’s government cars--”three luxury Cadillacs”--were going up for sale, and Pringle said he would continue driving his 1991 Dodge Spirit. In another economy move, they eliminated the jobs of the Assembly’s elevator operators.

But earlier, when they still were splitting resources with the Democrats before their triumphant takeover, the Republican leaders complained in private memos that they were not getting an equal share.

“In every category, Republican staff is paid less than Democrat staff . . . for performing essentially the same functions,” Bowler wrote to Republican lawmakers in October.

Assemblyman Fred Aguiar (R-Chino) concluded, after a detailed analysis, that GOP members simply weren’t spending all the money available to them. “Bluntly put, the Democrats know how to spend and continue to do so,” he said.

As the Republican majority of 41 took full control of Assembly finances, the disparities faded away. By the spring of 1996, the Republican budget had increased by millions of dollars. The GOP staff surpassed the Democratic staff by 160, and the average Republican salary drew almost even with the Democrats’ pay. Records also show that the GOP doubled its staff on the highly partisan Republican Caucus, making it bigger and more costly than the Democratic Caucus had been under Brown.

Retroactive Pay Increases

The Republican spending pattern also featured questionable retroactive pay raises. Documents indicate that 118 employees received raises that were made more than a month retroactive, surpassing what the Democratic leadership had done during the same period.

The only Democrat among the 10 biggest recipients was Brian V. Perkins, an aide to Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame), who formerly chaired the Assembly’s consumer protection committee. Perkins said his retroactive pay of $8,116 was to rectify an error in his pay when he was hired.

By making pay raises retroactive, some Republicans in effect provided one-time bonuses often amounting to thousands of dollars. Since the first of the year, state controller’s records show they approved more than $70,000 in such payments.

When Mark R. Leonard, a senior consultant for the Insurance Committee, was given a $1,000-a-month pay increase in December, committee Chairman Knowles asked that the raise be made retroactive to April. This resulted in a year-end bonus of $8,500.

Knowles also gave the chief consultant for the committee, John Caldwell, $4,208 for a 6% raise backdated 10 months.

In an interview, Knowles said he observed the performance of committee employees before deciding whether they were entitled to raises and whether to make them retroactive.

“I wasn’t handing out money like candy,” he said. “If you want a raise, you have to work smarter and harder than anyone else in the building, and to my general surprise, they did.”

For Caldwell, he said, the retroactive pay was to compensate for the fact that Republican leaders initially had promised the consultant a higher salary than he was first paid.

Legal experts said retroactive pay increases are generally prohibited by the California Constitution in a section that says the “Legislature has no power to grant . . . extra compensation or extra allowance to a public officer, public employee or contractor after service has been rendered. . . .” No sanctions are specified.

Stewart Weinberg, a San Francisco attorney and expert in labor law, said that although he is not familiar with the facts surrounding the payments to legislative staff, it is clear that the framers of the Constitution intended to prevent government from paying people retroactively.

“The idea is to protect the public from having to pay twice for the same thing whether it’s wages or purchases or services,” Weinberg said. To pay an additional amount for services already received, he added, “is a gift of public funds,” which also is barred by the state Constitution.

Knowles said that he did not seek a legal opinion, but that Republican Rules Committee staff informed him that the constitutional provision was “not necessarily airtight” and might allow certain retroactive raises, such as Caldwell’s.

Knowles said there was a state attorney general’s opinion that supported this view. The latest such opinion, issued in 1982 and provided by a spokesman, supported the ban on retroactive raises for individuals.

Multiple Raises; Jobs for Relatives

Hundreds of staffers were rewarded with a succession of salary hikes, records show.

When Assemblyman Brian Setencich (R-Fresno) became speaker in September, his top aide, Marc Jackson, rose with him as his chief consultant. Jackson got two raises last year, doubling his salary to more than $108,000 a year. In an interview, Jackson said the raises were to compensate him for the “big increase in responsibility.”

Despite Setencich’s ouster by Pringle in January, Jackson’s salary remained at the same level for months--in violation of the new Assembly $100,000-a-year salary cap. In mid-May, records show, his salary was reduced to $99,996, bringing it into compliance.

Pringle also showed generosity toward his own staff. Deborah K. Gonzalez, his principal assistant, received three pay increases, including a 47.2% boost in February, records show. Since the Republicans won the majority, her salary has nearly doubled, to $73,596, after being promoted. Her husband, Anthony Gonzalez, deputy director of the Republican Caucus, has received pay increases totaling 67% since February 1995, raising his income to $84,000.

Pringle said both are “good examples of Republican staff that has been working this building for years in the minority position and who have been underpaid and now . . . deserve to receive in salary what they’re worth.”

As their patronage power expanded, the Assembly GOP resorted to an age-old practice--giving jobs to relatives of members.

Internal Assembly policy prohibits individual lawmakers from supervising relatives--including relatives by marriage--but the policy is written so narrowly that it has led to the employment of relatives of both Democratic and Republican members.

David S. Reade, the son-in-law of Assemblyman Bernie Richter (R-Chico), serves as Richter’s chief of staff and is directly supervised by his father-in-law. Reade--who already was employed by the assemblyman when he married Richter’s daughter, Suzanne, in 1994--has received pay increases in the past 1 1/2 years totaling 36% to bring his salary to $70,000.

Richter did not return calls. Reade, noting that he was not a “blood relative,” said he did not believe that his case violated the policy. “If I don’t do my job, I’m on the street,” he said. “Bernie Richter keeps me around because I’m the best person for the job.”

Dennis Alby, 22, the son of Assemblywoman Alby, was hired in April 1995 to work as a legislative aide in Assembly Computer Services. Since then, he has received two raises totaling 56%.

The most recent raise was three months retroactive, giving him an extra $2,000. At the time, his mother served as a member of the Assembly Rules Committee, which oversees computer services.

This month, his 17-year-old sister, Darcy, was given a $1,000-a-month summer job by Knowles, who said he had known her since her childhood as a hard-working person.

Alby said she did not intervene on behalf of her children and saw no problem in their working for colleagues.

Other jobs have gone to William E. Hoge Jr., son of Assemblyman Hoge, and Mary E. Cortese, daughter of Assemblyman Dominic L. Cortese of San Jose.

When her father was a Democrat, Mary Cortese worked as a field representative for the Assembly’s Office of Democratic Services. Shortly after Dominic Cortese switched to Ross Perot’s Reform Party and cast a key vote giving the Republicans control of the powerful Rules Committee, she was laid off by the Democrats in a general staffing cutback. Six weeks later, she was hired by the Republican Caucus as a senior consultant at $45,000 a year.

“We certainly don’t want to turn down talented people,” Pringle said of Mary Cortese, noting that she would be arranging broadcast spots for Assembly Republicans.

Hiring Political Consultants

Another long-standing tradition unchanged under the Republicans is the practice of providing jobs for political consultants and former campaign workers.

Shortly after consulting for the successful Republican effort to recall former Assemblyman Paul V. Horcher last year, James Languis, owner of James Languis and Associates, was hired by Republican legislators as a $36,000-a-year researcher. The defeat of Horcher was crucial to the election of a Republican speaker. Last month, Languis was promoted and given an 11% state pay raise.

L. Donald Ediger, who runs a consulting firm called Votes R Us, became an administrative assistant to Assemblyman Bowler in 1993 after working on Bowler’s campaign. Ediger has continued to work on campaigns for Bowler, according to campaign reports and Ediger’s disclosure forms. Over the past year and a half, he has received four state pay increases totaling 27%, and now makes $70,000 a year.

Ronald A. Ridderbusch was a partner in Capitol Gains Politech, a computer consulting business, while holding a succession of Assembly jobs. Last year, he was promoted to director of Assembly Computer Services and given an 82.7% pay boost to $89,640 a year. He left the Assembly in April.

His disclosure reports show that the firm’s clients have included the California Republican Party and numerous Republican legislative candidates.

Languis declined comment. Ediger could not be reached. Ridderbusch confirmed his raises.

The hiring of campaign consultants “creates a climate where there can be very serious conflicts of interest,” said Ruth Holton, executive director of California Common Cause, a campaign watchdog group.

It is nearly impossible for campaign consultants to keep the political needs of lawmakers separate from the advice they give on important public issues facing the Legislature, Holton said. “Whether it’s Democrats or Republicans, we have long been very critical about having all these political people who are paid with taxpayers’ dollars.”

With their takeover of the Assembly, the Republicans have hired scores of new people. But financial disclosure reports show that dozens failed to divulge their sources of income for the 12 months before being hired.

The disclosure of previous employment is designed in part to alert the public to potential conflicts of interest regarding the employee’s public duties and past ties to the private sector.

When John Caldwell served a year as the Assembly’s chief insurance committee consultant, he did not report that he previously had worked as a lobbyist for the Personal Insurance Federation of California, records show.

Caldwell said he was unaware of the filing requirement but felt that his previous employment was well-known because he was listed in the official Capitol lobbying directory. “I didn’t know I was suppose to do that [disclose earlier income]. Had I known, I would have done it,” said Caldwell, who since February has worked with another capital lobbying firm that represents several insurance industry clients.

A spokesman for the Fair Political Practices Commission, the chief enforcer of the state’s political reform act, said the failure to disclose previous employment is punishable by fines of up to $2,000.

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The Spoils System

Republicans won a 41-39 majority in the state Assembly in November 1994 and with it an increased share of the lower house’s $77-million annual budget. In the 18 months since, the GOP has increased both the size of its staff and salary levels, while the Democratic payroll has declined sharply.

DOLLAR DISTRIBUTION

The split of funding established by the old Democratic majority was still in place in December 1994, giving Republicans a small share of the Assembly’s staff payroll of $42 million.

December, 1994:

Democrats: 52%

Republicans: 17%

Independents: 1%

Not identified: 30%

April, 1996:

Democrats: 31%

Republicans: 45% Independents: 1%

Not identified: 23%

* NOTE: Party labels for employees correspond to party of their bosses as listed by the state controller’s office. Those working for committees were labeled “not identified’.’

POWER SHIFT

1. GOP members’ annual spending for staff payroll now exceeds that of their Democratic counterparts.

December, 1994

Democrats: $22 million

Republicans: $7 million

April, 1996

Democrats: $13 million

Republicans: $19 million

2. The Republican takeover forced Democratic layoffs, but the GOP has been building its number of employees.

December, 1994

Democrats: 575

Republicans: 229

April, 1996

Democrats: 343

Republicans: 503

3. Average Republican staff income trailed Democratic staff pay in 1994. But by giving substantial raises and hiring new people at higher salaries, the GOP has caught up.

December, 1994

Democrats: $38,184

Republicans: $30,419

April, 1996

Democrats: $37,660

Republicans: $37, 506

* Source: State controller’s office payroll records; Assembly Rules Committee salary lists.

Key Dates in the GOP

Takeover of the Assembly

The Republicans gained a larger share of the Assembly’s finances shortly after they won a majority of seats. But it was not until this year that they took full control. Here’s how the takeover occurred:

Nov. 8, 1994: Democrats lose their commanding 47-33 majority in the Assembly. After close races are settled, Republicans have a 41-39 majority and are positioned to unseat Assembly Speaker Willie Brown of San Francisco and replace him with a GOP lawmaker.

Dec. 5, 1994: Assemblyman Paul V. Horcher, a Republican from Diamond Bar, votes for Democrat Brown as speaker and declares himself an independent. The Assembly is unable to elect a speaker; Brown clings to power.

Jan. 24, 1995: Brown is elected speaker with just 40 votes. He and Assembly Republican leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga work out a power-sharing deal--splitting chairmanships of committees and dividing financial resources.

May 5, 1995: Horcher is recalled.

June 5, 1995: Brown steps down as speaker and is replaced by Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress). Allen, elected speaker with Democratic support, is ostracized from her party. She fires the Assembly Republican Caucus staff a few days later.

Sept. 14, 1995: Facing a recall election, Speaker Allen steps down. She is replaced by Fresno Republican Assemblyman Brian Setencich, who like Allen owes his election to Democrats. Power-sharing continues.

Nov. 28, 1995: Allen loses a recall election to Republican Scott Baugh of Huntington Beach.

Jan. 4, 1996: More than a year after their election triumph, the Republicans finally take control of the Assembly. GOP Assemblyman Curt Pringle of Garden Grove is elected speaker. Republicans are appointed to chair all but one of the 26 major Assembly committees.

Fatter Paychecks

With its increased share of Assembly resources, the new GOP majority has been generous to its own staff. The top 10 Assembly staff pay hikes:

1. NAME: Marc M. Jackson

JOB TITLE: Chief Consultant

EMPLOYER: Brian Setencich (R)

1994 PAY: $34,992

1996 PAY: $108,408

% INCREASE: 210%

2. NAME: Stephen J. Greene Jr.

JOB TITLE: Senior Consultant

EMPLOYER: GOP Caucus

1994 PAY: $24,864

1996 PAY: $49,992

% INCREASE:101%

3. NAME: Julia King

JOB TITLE: Principal Consultant

EMPLOYER: Nao Takasugi (R)

1994 PAY: $34,944

1996 PAY: $69,984

% INCREASE: 100%

4. NAME: Beauregard Biller

JOB TITLE: Senior Consultant

EMPLOYER: Banking & Finance Comm.

1994 PAY: $28,814

1996 PAY: $57,504

% INCREASE: 100%

5. NAME: James S. Richardson

JOB TITLE: Chief Adm. Officer

EMPLOYER: Rules Committee

1994 PAY: $47,568

1996 PAY: $91,992

% INCREASE: 93%

6. NAME: Lance W. Hastings

JOB TITLE: Chief Consultant

EMPLOYER: Natural Resources Comm.

1994 PAY: $39,696

1996 PAY: $75,000

% INCREASE: 89%

7. NAME: N. David Stefanides

JOB TITLE: Adm. Assistant

EMPLOYER: Jim Morrisey (R)

1994 PAY: $31,752

1996 PAY: $60,000

% INCREASE: 89%7

8. NAME: Brent R. ten Pas

JOB TITLE: Principal Consultant

EMPLOYER: GOP Caucus

1994 PAY: $38,496

1996 PAY: $72,000

% INCREASE: 87%

9. NAME: Deborah K. Gonzalez

JOB TITLE: Principal Assistant

EMPLOYER: Curt Pringle (R)

1994 PAY: $39,600

1996 PAY: $73,596

% INCREASE: 86%

10. NAME: David L. Reynolds

JOB TITLE: Adm. Assistant

EMPLOYER: Bruce Thompson (R)

1994 PAY: $30,000

1996 PAY: $54,000

% INCREASE: 80%

A large number of GOP staff members were given retroactive pay increases, in possible violation of the state Constitution. The top 10 retroactive increases:

1. NAME: Mark R. Leonard

JOB TITLE: Senior Consultant

EMPLOYER: Insurance Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $48,000

BACK PAY: $8,500

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 8.5

2. NAME: Brian V. Perkins*

JOB TITLE: Senior Consultant

EMPLOYER: Consumer Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $51,504

BACK PAY: $8,116

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 10.3

3. NAME: Brent R. ten Pas

JOB TITLE: Principal Consultant

EMPLOYER: GOP Caucus

ANNUAL INCOME: $72,000

BACK PAY: $7,000

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 3.5

4. NAME: David D. Weiher

JOB TITLE: Principal Assistant

EMPLOYER: Rules Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $60,000

BACK PAY: $4,727

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 2.4

5. NAME: Kevin Hanley

JOB TITLE: Principal Consultant

EMPLOYER: Insurance Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $57,984

BACK PAY: $4,726

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 8.5

6. NAME: Carrie L. Early

JOB TITLE: Senior Consultant

EMPLOYER: Insurance Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $54,000

BACK PAY: $4,250

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 8.5

7. NAME: John P. Caldwell

JOB TITLE: Chief Consultant

EMPLOYER: Insurance Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $94,992

BACK PAY: $4,208

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 10.0

8. NAME: Jose-Luis Angeles

JOB TITLE: Adm. Assistant

EMPLOYER: Phil Hawkins (R)

ANNUAL INCOME: $42,000

BACK PAY: $3,850

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 3.5

9. NAME: Laura G. Colby

JOB TITLE: Secretary

EMPLOYER: Insurance Committee

ANNUAL INCOME: $40,992

BACK PAY: $3,536

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 8.5

10. NAME: Michael J. D’Arelli

JOB TITLE: Chief Consultant

EMPLOYER: Public Employees Comm.

ANNUAL INCOME: $59,784

BACK PAY: $3,440

MONTHS RETROACTIVE: 2.0

NOTE: Title, employer and salary are as of the date of retroactive pay for each employee. Dates range from Dec. 31, 1995, to March 31, 1996.

* Now works as a consultant to Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame).

Sources: State controller’s office payroll records; Assembly Rules Committee salary lists

How This Story Was Prepared

To research this story, The Times assembled computerized payroll records from the state controller’s office for all state Assembly and Senate employees dating back to December, 1994, the final days of full Democratic control. These records, obtained under the California Public Records Act, show gross income for all employees, as well as any retroactive pay. The Times also obtained printouts of legislative salary records from the Senate and the Assembly.

Employees were labeled “Republican” if they were identified on state controller’s records as working directly for a Republican member or for the GOP caucus. The same method was used to classify other staff members as “Democrat,” “Reform Party” or “independent.” Employees listed as working for a committee or a support unit were classified as “not identified.”

These records--making up several hundred thousand entries--showed changes in the income of individuals and expenditures by political party. Employees earning less $600 a month were excluded from the analysis since most worked part time.

In addition, thousands of financial disclosure documents filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission were reviewed. Campaign records on file with the secretary of state provided additional information about the political activities of Assembly staff members. Listings of personnel changes kept by the Assembly Rules Committee helped document numerous cases of retroactive payments and promotions.

About This Series

In this presidential election year, control of the state Legislature is once again on the line. In addition, two major initiatives seeking to reform campaign fund-raising are proposed for the November ballot.

This is also the year that term limits for the state Assembly kick in--prompted in part by rising public concern about the way politicians use incumbency to advance their careers.

In this occasional series, The Times explores how money influences government action and how elected officials reward those who help them maintain power. A previous article revealed that many of Gov. Pete Wilson’s aides were given raises after leaving state service temporarily to work on his ill-fated presidential campaign.

TODAY: How the new Republican majority in the Assembly used its patronage power to give out jobs and substantial raises.