Gov.'s Top Aides' Pay Bolstered by Donors

[Rose Siding]

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has supplemented the salaries of at least four of his top government aides with private campaign money, a practice that means a piece of their overall pay has come from donations by corporations and others that do business in the Capitol.

Schwarzenegger set up a standing agreement in which three present and former aides received a monthly $5,000 check from his political accounts to moonlight as campaign aides, on top of what they earned in salary as government employees, the governor's office said.

The combination boosted their overall annual compensation rates from the $120,000-to-$130,000 range to $180,000 to $190,000. That's more than the governor's job pays, although Schwarzenegger waives his $175,000 state salary.

The payments went to three of Schwarzenegger's most influential advisors: Patricia Clarey, who left her job as chief of staff in December; Rob Stutzman, who stepped down as communications director Friday; and Richard Costigan, who continues to serve as the governor's chief liaison to the Legislature.
.....
...Gray Davis, whom Schwarzenegger ousted in the 2003 recall campaign, barred the mixing of campaign and state pay. So did former Gov. George Deukmejian, according to one of his senior advisors. And former Gov. Jerry Brown said through a spokesman that no one on his government payroll earned such a dual income.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-money15jan15,0,1131355.story?coll=la-home-headlines

I don't understand how anyone could even suggest this, much less implement and defend it.