Tuesday, December 05, 2006
BONANZA FOR ELIOT STAFFERS
New York Post KENNETH LOVETT
Nobody can argue with success......not even PIRG......a job well done!!!!!!..........andy
December 5, 2006 -- ALBANY - Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer doled out $1.35 million in post-election bonuses to his campaign staff, new records show.
The payments went out on Nov. 10, just three days after Spitzer's record-setting win, according to the filing released yesterday.
Of the 49 staffers who received a bonus, no one did better than Richard Baum, Spitzer's soft-spoken senior campaign adviser, who got $200,000.
Baum, who is heading Spitzer's transition team, was his chief of staff in the Attorney General's Office and is expected to hold the same job in the governor's office.
Ryan Toohey, Spitzer's campaign manager, received $150,000, according to the campaign.
Toohey was taken off the payroll toward the end of the campaign after it was learned he had been charged with drunken driving in Buffalo and initially failed to tell Spitzer about it.
Spitzer's finance director, Cynthia Darrison, and his communication director, Christine Anderson, were each given $100,000.
In all, more than 20 staffers received at least $10,000 from Spitzer as a thank-you.
The smallest bonus was $3,000 to a low-level staffer. Several interns received small stipends, including one for $92.
"The bonuses reflect the hard work and determination of a remarkable campaign staff," Spitzer said.
Those getting at least five figures include policy advisers Andrew Warshaw ($65,000) and Priscilla Almodovar ($60,000); fund-raisers Kristian Stiles, Celeste Wolter and Allyson Giard (all $40,000); deputy campaign manager Patrick Jenkins ($31,000); and director of advance Rich Dziepak ($20,000).
"It's hard to argue [with the bonuses] given their success," said Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "It's a lot of money, but given the loopholes in New York state's campaign-finance law, this isn't one we'd necessarily object to."
Nobody can argue with success......not even PIRG......a job well done!!!!!!..........andy
December 5, 2006 -- ALBANY - Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer doled out $1.35 million in post-election bonuses to his campaign staff, new records show.
The payments went out on Nov. 10, just three days after Spitzer's record-setting win, according to the filing released yesterday.
Of the 49 staffers who received a bonus, no one did better than Richard Baum, Spitzer's soft-spoken senior campaign adviser, who got $200,000.
Baum, who is heading Spitzer's transition team, was his chief of staff in the Attorney General's Office and is expected to hold the same job in the governor's office.
Ryan Toohey, Spitzer's campaign manager, received $150,000, according to the campaign.
Toohey was taken off the payroll toward the end of the campaign after it was learned he had been charged with drunken driving in Buffalo and initially failed to tell Spitzer about it.
Spitzer's finance director, Cynthia Darrison, and his communication director, Christine Anderson, were each given $100,000.
In all, more than 20 staffers received at least $10,000 from Spitzer as a thank-you.
The smallest bonus was $3,000 to a low-level staffer. Several interns received small stipends, including one for $92.
"The bonuses reflect the hard work and determination of a remarkable campaign staff," Spitzer said.
Those getting at least five figures include policy advisers Andrew Warshaw ($65,000) and Priscilla Almodovar ($60,000); fund-raisers Kristian Stiles, Celeste Wolter and Allyson Giard (all $40,000); deputy campaign manager Patrick Jenkins ($31,000); and director of advance Rich Dziepak ($20,000).
"It's hard to argue [with the bonuses] given their success," said Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "It's a lot of money, but given the loopholes in New York state's campaign-finance law, this isn't one we'd necessarily object to."