More from Jeff Denham: "Rearanging deck chairs is a great idea!"

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I just wrote about Jeff Denham a couple of hours ago, but apparently Shane Goldmacher at CapAlert did a bit more digging on the Senator from the Central Valley. It seems that Mr. Denham loves taking credit for cutting his own salary, but still likes the money. You see but he puts some nice spin on it. He eats the cake from the back of the freezer, and keeps the new one for later.  Want me to break off the metaphors?

Ok, so here's what's up. The general theory of how Denham played these games is that he would, very publicly, refuse a pay raise. Then a month or two later, he would accept an earlier pay raise. Very sly you see. He stays just one pay raise behind the scale. A few thou a year, nothing too big. And he gets the good press for rejecting the pay raises. All very smooth, unless you have some meddling reporter following your acceptance of these pay raises. So, he gets to complain how awful those other legislators are, and how bad the budget is, all at the same time.  

Unfortunately, someone caught him.  Darn that meddling Goldmacher! Anyway, FYI, the Recall committee has now spent over $200K getting the recall going. Looks like it might actually happen.

Mr. Goldmacher even provided a handy timetable, check it over the flip...

2002

Denham is elected to the state Senate and accepts a voluntary 5 percent pay cut. "At the time, that's what my Republican caucus was saying, we needed to cut five percent across the board," Denham said in an interview about why he slashed his own salary to $94,286.

2005

The independent citizens panel that sets salaries for lawmakers voted to approve a 12 percent raise, the first pay increase for legislators in seven years. Denham declines the raise. He tells the Bee in September 2005, "State employees and other Californians are facing tough times right now. We've seen state budget deficits over the last several years. The timing for a legislative pay increase isn't right."

As for fellow lawmakers who accepted the raise, he said, "That's something they'll have to live with. That's a decision they'll have to make. I don't want to be critical of my colleagues."

2006

The independent panel raises lawmakers' salaries for the second year in a row, this time by 2 percent. Denham declines the most recent raise.

In a July newsletter to his constituents, Denham's office reports, "Jeff is the lowest paid member of the Legislature. When he first took office in December 2002, he actually took a voluntary legislative pay cut of 5%. At that time, the state was facing a deficit of over $30 billion. He also rejected a 12% pay raise last year."

In November, Denham wins reelection to the Senate with almost 60 percent of the vote. In December, he accepts the previous year's 12 percent raise and rescinds his voluntary 5 percent reduction effective Jan. 1, 2007. His salary rises from $94,286 to $110,880, according to the state controller's office.

2007

On Nov. 29, Denham writes the state controller's office to decline the latest 2.75 percent raise approved by the independent salary commission. Less than a month later, on Dec. 27, he again writes the controller's office, accepting the 2 percent pay raise approved in 2006. His salary is currently $113,098. That is below the full $116,208 many of his colleagues earn. (CapAlert 1/25/08)