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Even though the state is supposedly broke, top officials in Gov. Scott Walker’s team were able to scrape together enough money to give a state job to the woman identified as Sen. Randy Hopper’s girlfriend.
Anything for a political ally.
Valerie Cass, a former Republican legislative staffer, was hired Feb. 7 as a communications specialist with the state Department of Regulation and Licensing. She is being paid $20.35 per hour.
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Here’s more on it, including a copy of the wife’s statement (!): http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/536071/girlfriend_of_wi_gop_state_senator_gets_state_job,_36_raise/
Pretty hard to defend, hiring someone as a replacement and giving her a 35% raise, when you’re asking thousands of other citizens to take a pay cut.
That’s lame.
Like they say…………it’s not who you know………it’s who you……..
And I’m sure the Dems have never done anything like this ever!!!! :laugh:
Quote:“But who exactly recommended her for the post?Cullen Werwie, spokesman for the governor, confirmed that it was Keith Gilkes, Walker’s chief of staff. She was then interviewed by the Department of Regulations and Licensing’s executive assistant and deputy and hired by Secretary Dave Ross, a Walker cabinet member.”
I don’t know how one can be “recommended” for a competitive, state service position. In my experience, there were always many candidates competing to fill a single position, especially a well paying position,such as this.
It is clear to me that the fix was in on this hiring, and Gov Walker’s Chief of Staff or an underling made it happen.
You guys are funny……………..when the Dems are in control they hire people who have been friendly to there cause, not people from the opposition party, and when the Rebublicans are in control they do the same thing, so what’s the big deal??? They both do it…….it shouldn’t be a big surprise now.
I can’t wait until the dems get back in power again and the republicans run away from an issue instead of voting on it. The people who are republicans now will call them “hero’s” while when the dems did it they were “zero’s”. Same old party BS.
Quote:And I’m sure the Dems have never done anything like this ever!!!!Um, well they didn’t do it after forcing all the other public employees to take a pay cut.
But I guess you don’t see anything wrong with expecting thousands of people to accept a pay cut, while some politician appoints his girlfriend to a job and gives her a 35% higher salary than the previous person.
I think you’ve missed the point.
35% huh………………….is this just heresay or do you have proof?
She is being paid $12,000 per year more than the previous person in the position. Read article in link posted above.
Stormeaston wrote:
Quote:35% huh………………….is this just heresay or do you have proof?OOPS!! You’re right, I was mistaken. It’s a 38% increase.
I just did the math again. Using the reported numbers:$31,200 previously, v. $43,200 currently, that’s over 38% according to the math I was taught by those greedy liberal teachers.
43200/31200 =1.38
Why? What did you hear?
I believe articles written in the Milwaukee Journal as much as you would believe in news storys from Fox News.
As I said before, the republicans aren’t doing anything different than what the democrats did when they ran things, they(dems) hired people they wanted to hire and gave raises to those they wanted…..pretty simple system of you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
I thought the real issue was over collective bargaining, not someone’s goofy girlfriend getting a job. You Dems. better keep your eyes on the prize. This ain’t it.
I probably shouldn’t be taking the time to even respond to the last 2 posts, but since we’ve flogged this horse this far, I might as well.
I have never portrayed the Democrats as being perfect. Yes, abuses from both parties have occurred, are occurring, and will continue to occur. It ain’t right no matter who’s doing it.
Stormeastern,
YOU asked if it was simply hearsay or if I have proof, as if you were challenging my statement. What proof can you offer that the numbers are any different? Even a Fox news report?? Or just hearsay?
PT50Man,
As is typical for too many Republican supporters, you’d prefer to switch subjects instead of addressing a potentially troubling issue.
The real issue isn’t over somebody’s girlfriend getting hired, or even that she gets paid substantially more than the previous person, or even that this is all happening in a really tough economy, or even (shock! gasp!) simply over collective bargaining rights. The real issue at stake is that we’ve gotten stuck with a governor who thinks that what he’s doing is a good thing for your average citizen.
Each of these “issues” are merely symptoms of the “prize”.
Did Gov. Walker’s staff pull strings to secure a plum job for someone’s “girlfriend”, and pay her 38% more than the previous worker made, at the same time as the governor is ramming his budget cuts and other changes through in the name of a “crisis”? Yes, or No? That’s what this thread is about.
Can anyone here offer up some facts to refute the MJS article, or not?
One question I have is…….. was this against the law or unethical as your making it sound or was it just party politics as practiced by both sides? Would it have been ok if he had hired a union bosses daughter instead and paid her the extra 35-38%?
The MJ article is presenting the facts as HE(author) see’s it. Which can lead to alot of gray area reporting, like this…..
This happens………….Gov Walker farts in the capital building, the usual headline should read “Gov. Walker passes gas in the capital building”. Another headline could read, “Gov. Walker uses toxic gas on protesters”.
Ya can’t believe everything you read in the MJ.
You’re right, you can’t trust just one source.
Here’s how one of many sources chose to express it: The problem is, Scott Walker spent the last couple of months telling anyone who would listen that the state Wisconsin was broke and everyone had to sacrifice. Apparently that does not apply to his administration. Not only did they not sacrifice, they found an additional $11,000 to pay Cass. The governor and his administration seem to not walk the walk.
http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979152494I merely googled “Valery Cass salary” and got 803,000+ hits. Here are 3 more:
WKOW: http://www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=14297886
http://www.dailykos.com/news/valerie%20cass
http://www.examiner.com/cultural-issues-in-national/wisconsin-sen-randy-hopper-s-mistress-lands-state-job-at-higher-payNobody seems to be denying the amounts mentioned.
STORMEASTON wrote:
Quote:paid her the extra 35-38%?When folks jump jobs at the state level typically it takes a lot of justifications to give someone a raise of more than 10%. Why? Well it is their to help protect you the tax payer to make sure their aren’t any backroom deals going on to bring in someone who isn’t qualified for a job.
As a state worker (and a supervisor of 20 other state workers) myself I have jumped through many extra hoops to justify why I want to pay someone more than 10% than what they were making at their last state job. Sometimes it takes months of negotiations and multiple recommendations. I’m pretty well connected, but I don’t have the power to ask the cabinet of Walkers staff to review and recommend a 35% pay increase for a new staff member …
-Ryan (state worker)
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