Hervey: Nixon failing basic test of fiscal responsibility

In the latest attack against Gov. Jay Nixon, GOP spokeswoman Tina Hervey sharply criticizes the higher wages Nixon is paying to employees at a time he is talking about cutting payroll. The following news release was issued today:

Less than a week after announcing plans to fire more than 1,300 state employees, Governor Jay Nixon’s office disclosed that some of his high-level staff members have been granted pay hikes of up to 45%. These egregious raises come at a time of extreme economic difficulty that have forced Nixon to seek a bailout worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Governor Nixon has failed the basic test of fiscal responsibility,” said Tina Hervey, Communications Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Across the state, Missourians are tightening their belts. Is it too much to ask that Jay Nixon do the same?”

Jay Nixon doesn’t seem interested in following the fiscally-prudent example set by members of both parties who are searching for ways to curb government excess. Just last week, the Missouri House and Senate rejected salary increases for the state’s elected officials, and President Obama announced that he was freezing wages for his senior staff.

“Jay Nixon is firing more that 1,300 state employees and begging Washington for a bailout, yet he has managed to dole out pay hikes as high as 45% for some of his senior staff,” said Hervey. “If Nixon is searching for a place to cut the budget, I suggest he simply look out his office door.”

A few examples of Gov. Nixon’s excesses, according to records obtained and reported by the Columbia Tribune:


* General Council Ted Ardini: $125,000 (an increase of $22,097, or 21%, from his predecessor)

* Director of Boards and Commissions Mary Nelson: $110,000 (an increase of $33,985, or 45%, from her predecessor)


* Director of Constituent Services Mayme Young Miller: $60,000 (an increase of $14,431, or 32%, from her predecessor)