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California governor candidates are asking California Governor Gavin Newsom to turn down an $8,800 salary increase.
The California Citizens Compensation Commission (CCCC) voted unanimously Tuesday to increase the salaries of Newsom and 132 other elected state officials by 4.2%, effective December.
The Communications Regulatory Commission (CCCC) confirmed that it will meet each year by June 30 to decide whether or not to make any changes to the salaries of elected state officials.
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Newsom’s salary will get a boost of $8,800 to $218,500 annually, the Los Angeles Times first reported.
The bid to withdraw Newsom began last June over accusations of mishandling the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
That effort was prompted by state COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and places of worship, school closures, and even state opposition to higher taxes. But discontent escalated in the fall after Newsom was seen dining at a very exclusive restaurant, which – at best – bypassed rules imposed by the governor to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
State election officials announced in April that the impeachment effort had collected more than 1.5 million valid signatures needed to hold the ballot.
California Governor Gavin Newsom listens to questions as he speaks at a news conference at Ruby Bridges Elementary School in Alameda, California (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Newsom’s rivals responded to news of the governor’s raise in comments Thursday.
Republican candidate for governor and business owner John Cox called the news an “insult to taxpayers” in a press release, and noted that California’s elected officials are already the highest paid in the country.
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“Over the past year, millions of Californians have lost their jobs and thousands of small businesses have closed forever,” Cox said in a statement Thursday. “The last thing Newsom and political insiders should do is accept higher government salaries.”
He added that Newsom should “apologize to Californians” who “have suffered from the pandemic” while Newsom and his family have earned “millions from a charitable foundation that raises money from businesses and individuals who do business with the state,” referring to the April Times report.
Republican gubernatorial candidate and former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer suggested Newsom should reject the increase on Twitter.
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“Now is not the time to increase Governor Newsom’s salaries,” he said in a video. “Millions of Californians have lost their jobs. We have $30 billion in unemployment fraud. Governor Newsom, rejects a salary increase today.”
Republican governor and media personality Caitlyn Jenner did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News.
Tom Dalziel, head of the Counterterrorism Coordination Center, told The Times that since other state employees had already received bonuses, he “didn’t know the rationale for not giving” raises to elected officials.
“By all accounts, California is doing very well in terms of vaccination and infection containment,” he said. “The economy is moving backwards.”
Newsom on May 10 proposed tax deductions of up to $1,100 for millions of families and more than $7 billion to help people affected by the pandemic to cover rent and utilities after the state announced it had a budget surplus of nearly $76 billion.
It was Newsom’s first in a week of rolling out pandemic recovery proposals totaling $100 billion, potentially boosting his political fortune ahead of recall efforts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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