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State Senate Gave Staff Raises During Stalemate
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 13, 2009
Modified Jul 13, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 13, 2009
Modified Jul 13, 2009
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Guess some State Senators weren't doing nothing during the 5-week State Senate—they actually gave staffers big raises! According to the Daily News, "Records released by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli show that 11 top staffers have gotten pay hikes of as much as 51% since the June 8 Republican-led coup." Here's some of the raises, all to Democratic aides: "Mortimer Lawrence, special counsel to the Senate majority leader and the highest-paid Senate staffer," got an increase of "16% to $177,231," while Senate Majority Deputy Secretaries Meredith Henderson and Patricia Rubens got 30.6% raises—"their annual pay skyrocket[ed] nearly $33,000, to $140,382. Legislative Analyst Despina Moraitou's salary climbed 51.1% to $75,787 - a $25,651 bump." A Senate Democrat tells the Post, "This is one of the most outrageous things I've ever seen. Frankly, I'm ashamed of it." Senate spokesman Austin Shafran claims the raises were scheduled before the coup.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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