Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Mr.Tobin's Wild Salary Ride In 2015; Takes (At Least) 45% PAY CUT For Corporation Commissioner Position

A good deal of the focus of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's appointment of  Andy Tobin to the Corporation Commission today has been on the number of taxpayer-funded jobs he has had in the 2015 calendar year; however, also noteworthy has been his wild salary ride for the year.
(from Arizona Republic)

Channel 12's (KPNX, Phoenix) anchor/political-reporter-extraordinaire Brahm Resnik pointed out that it is his 4th gig. However, the former Speaker of the House held that position (through his Congressional campaign, and) through the new Legislators were sworn in on January 5.




Salary that first week: $24,000.

Governor Ducey then appointed Tobin to take over the Department of Weights and Measures. Tobin gave that up in October when Ducey tapped him to become the director of the Department of Insurance.

Salary for that job: $145,000

Two weeks ago, the Governor added Interim Superintendent of the Department of Financial Institutions to his portfolio.  There was no word as to whether he would be drawing a full salary for that well-paid position, in addition to the Insurance Department Director's paycheck.

The appointment to serve out resigned Chair Susan Bitter Smith's term on the Arizona Corporation Commission means that Tobin will surrender the other two department heads and will take the voter-set ACC salary of $79,500.

The pay cut from $145,000(+?) to $79,500 is 45%. Of course, you could also look at the 231% increase from his Jan. 1 legislative salary to his Dec. 30 Corporation Commissioner salary.

This also may make for an interesting decision for Tobin next year. Pension considerations could influence his choice as to whether or not to run for a full term on the Corporation Commission, or return to a higher-paid agency head position.

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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 31, 2015 at 11:42 AM

    The bigger question is Why Andy Tobin? What has he ever done to earn the Governor's Pet position filler? Further troubling is whether he is being promised something in the future - like a Senate appointment were McCain to win and then resign.

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  2. Mitch M.December 31, 2015 at 11:45 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Mitch M.December 31, 2015 at 11:46 AM

    Thanks, Anon! That IS an interesting thought, and it bears watching.

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