For those of you familiar with this blog, you know that we've written extensively on Troy King's confusing history with staff raises. We've talked about Chris Bence, King's spokesman and chief of staff who is paid as a paralegal even though he has no training as a paralegal. According to the Mongtomery Advertiser, King effectively gamed the system in order to raise Bence's salary from $94,000 to $104,400 a year. Then, there is Tyler Godwin, the intern who had a meteoric rise in the AG's office from unpaid intern to executive assistant ten months later making $57,000 a year. Another aid saw his salary increase from $67,000 to $95,000 after a stint on King's campaign. Well, that is the personnel issue in King's office, and it has generated plenty of criticism. Back when King was openly considering a run for Governor, David Prather of The Huntsville Times wrote: "King will have some problems with voters in 2010 if he seeks the Republican nomination for governor. It's pretty clear that fiscal responsibility is going to be a hard sell as a platform plank, that's for sure." So, that's the personnel issue.
Unfortunately, the personnel issue has also become a personal issue for Mr. King. As many of you know and a simple internet search will demonstrate, rumors began to surround King's possible homosexual relationship with his male aide in 2008. King supporters will be quick to note that nothing was ever substantiated, but there were certainly some strange occurrences. One day, King was displayed on John McCain's website heading up his Alabama leadership efforts. The next day, he was nowhere to be found. King managed to weather the initial storm, but he decided to run for re-election as AG instead.
Robert Stacy McCain has an intriguing blog about the scandal on his website today (http://theothermccain.com/2010/02/05/troy-king-and-the-scandal-that-dare-not-speak-its-name/). McCain brings up the scandal and the importance that conservatives work to address it. The gist of his story is that Alabama's political reporters owe it to the people of Alabama to cover this story and address these issues. McCain writes that right now King as "a major Republican scandal just waiting to happen." This is serious business.
Let's think for a minute about what brought the Republicans down in 2006. Sure, there were a number of problems, but when Florida Congressman Mark Foley was publicly exposed in a scandal involving Congressional pages, Republicans tanked everywhere. Images of him on the cover of Time and Newsweek came to symbolize the struggles of the GOP. Now, the GOP is rebuilding, and a lot of momentum is taking shape heading into 2010. That is especially important here in Alabama, where a major Governor's race, a series of judicial races, and several Congressional races will require major attention. These Republican candidates don't deserve to deal with a political powderkeg which frankly could explode at absolutely any moment.
The problem with King is that the allegations are not strictly personal--it also has to do with personnel. The rumor mill (reinforced in the sudden dumping by McCain) alleges that King has carried on a relationship with a male employee. Were this a heterosexual relationship, it would immediately be a subject of scrutiny. This is not just a question of morality; it's also a question of professional ethics in the workplace. Unfortunately, the Alabama press has not covered this story, and the Republican Party has taken no action to vet Troy King's story.
As conservatives, it is our job to vet our own candidate and make certain that they uphold to high standards of personal and professional integrity. If we don't do that job, the liberals will do it for us. The result is only scandal and struggle. It undid the Republicans nationally in 2006. It is our job now to make sure this scandal does not harm good conservative candidates in Alabama in 2010.
Showing posts with label Staff Salaries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Staff Salaries. Show all posts
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday, August 28, 2009
Troy King and Ever-Expanding Staff Pay
It's a tough economy out there these days, and a whole lot of Alabamians are looking for jobs. The other day I thought about a possibility--I wondered if I could perhaps find a new job with a few criteria. Namely, my new job would be tailored around me, and it wouldn't matter if I could actually do the job as its description read. I'd also instantly receive a significant raise, just by taking the job, and my experience wouldn't matter in the slightest, as long as I was loyal enough to my boss. Sounds pretty unrealistic, right? Well, not in Troy King's world.
Turns out, our AG Troy King has a history of "fitting" his loyal supporters into special roles on his staff. Take Chris Bence, as one example. Once you start reading stories about Troy King, you'll find that Bence's name always seems to come up. Sometimes, he's referred to as a "spokesman," and other times he is referred to as the "chief of staff." However, to AG Troy King, Bence is neither of these things. AG King classifies Chris Bence as a "paralegal," even though he has no training as a paralegal and at least doesn't appear to perform paralegal functions in the office. Why? Well, Troy King wanted to give Bence a big raise, and this move to "paralegal" allowed Bence to go from making $94,000 to $104,400 a year, according to the Montgomery Advertiser and other papers which covered the story, including Birmingham, Huntsville, Gadsden, and points around Alabama. When Bence was asked about this by the Birmingham News, he responded that 'the titles are all flexible.' However, as the Montgomery Advertiser muses: "We wonder how that makes trained paralegals feel." It also seems funny, that as Troy King is regularly hiring outside lawyers for "help" on legal issues, he is filling his professional staff with political operatives. Maybe that's why taxpayers are shelling out over $100,000 for his legal defense.
However, the issue gets even worse. Take Tyler Godwin, Troy King's executive assistant. He started out as an unpaid intern in college, and suddenly 10 months later saw himself making $57,000. Now, that is one great entry-level job. Of course, we haven't even talked about the salary of King himself. Even though it was set by the legislature before he arrived, Troy King is the second-highest paid Attorney General in the country, second only to Jerry Brown of California.
This whole situation reeks, particularly in a time of economic crisis. Conservatives are supposed to be about responsible government, and doing more with less. When Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor were AG, they were focused on "public service," not the "public dole." Troy King is trying to convince us that his intern-turned-executive assistant and political operative paralegal are more important than funding for better teachers in our schools or perhaps, even returning more tax dollars to us, the people. Well, I don't buy it.
I close with these words from a Decatur Daily News editorial from July 30, 2008: "Alabama Attorney General Troy King is doing his best to counter the economic downturn--at least among his staff...Maybe Mr. King doesn't understand the struggle many working men and women are experiencing in this sluggish economy. After all, he is the second highest paid attorney general in the country. And he has friends like Alabama Power Co. who pay for his family baseball tickets and food at the game." Folks, it is past time to hold Troy King accountable for his misuse of his office, and his arrogance in the face of a suffering state.
Turns out, our AG Troy King has a history of "fitting" his loyal supporters into special roles on his staff. Take Chris Bence, as one example. Once you start reading stories about Troy King, you'll find that Bence's name always seems to come up. Sometimes, he's referred to as a "spokesman," and other times he is referred to as the "chief of staff." However, to AG Troy King, Bence is neither of these things. AG King classifies Chris Bence as a "paralegal," even though he has no training as a paralegal and at least doesn't appear to perform paralegal functions in the office. Why? Well, Troy King wanted to give Bence a big raise, and this move to "paralegal" allowed Bence to go from making $94,000 to $104,400 a year, according to the Montgomery Advertiser and other papers which covered the story, including Birmingham, Huntsville, Gadsden, and points around Alabama. When Bence was asked about this by the Birmingham News, he responded that 'the titles are all flexible.' However, as the Montgomery Advertiser muses: "We wonder how that makes trained paralegals feel." It also seems funny, that as Troy King is regularly hiring outside lawyers for "help" on legal issues, he is filling his professional staff with political operatives. Maybe that's why taxpayers are shelling out over $100,000 for his legal defense.
However, the issue gets even worse. Take Tyler Godwin, Troy King's executive assistant. He started out as an unpaid intern in college, and suddenly 10 months later saw himself making $57,000. Now, that is one great entry-level job. Of course, we haven't even talked about the salary of King himself. Even though it was set by the legislature before he arrived, Troy King is the second-highest paid Attorney General in the country, second only to Jerry Brown of California.
This whole situation reeks, particularly in a time of economic crisis. Conservatives are supposed to be about responsible government, and doing more with less. When Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor were AG, they were focused on "public service," not the "public dole." Troy King is trying to convince us that his intern-turned-executive assistant and political operative paralegal are more important than funding for better teachers in our schools or perhaps, even returning more tax dollars to us, the people. Well, I don't buy it.
I close with these words from a Decatur Daily News editorial from July 30, 2008: "Alabama Attorney General Troy King is doing his best to counter the economic downturn--at least among his staff...Maybe Mr. King doesn't understand the struggle many working men and women are experiencing in this sluggish economy. After all, he is the second highest paid attorney general in the country. And he has friends like Alabama Power Co. who pay for his family baseball tickets and food at the game." Folks, it is past time to hold Troy King accountable for his misuse of his office, and his arrogance in the face of a suffering state.
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