Home  / News / Press Releases

Sep 30, 2011

Brewer tells taxpayers to eat $300K salary

Governor defends decision to lavish Arizona Commerce Authority's CEO with big money and perks

Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director, released the following statement in response to Gov. Jan Brewer's defense of the $300,000 salary of Arizona Commerce Authority Director Don Cardon:

"Governor Brewer has presided over the deepest cuts to public schools and critical services in Arizona history, so it's stunning that she would defend this level of excess on the taxpayer dime. The road to a stronger economy and better schools should not be paved with taxpayer payouts for CEOs."

###

In case you missed it:

Brewer defends $300,000 salary of commerce authority president

September 28, 2011

BY HOWARD FISCHER - CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

PHOENIX — Senate President Russell Pearce warned Tuesday there will likely be political repercussions from the decision by the Arizona Commerce Authority to pay its president and chief executive more than twice as much as he was earning as state commerce director.

Pearce told Capitol Media Services that he likes Don Cardon. And the Mesa Republican said he is supportive of Gov. Jan Brewer who voted not only to give the job to Cardon but to approve the $300,000 base salary but also a $50,000 signing bonus and a vehicle allowance of up to $1,000 per month.

And that's just the part being paid for by taxpayers.

The deal also provides another $30,000 to be funded by private donations and a performance bonus of up to $75,000 a year. And if Cardon stays on after three years he gets another $50,000 bonus.

“What they've done is opened the door for a lot of debate during (the upcoming) session,” Pearce said, with some senators looking at whether they gave the board of the new quasi-public authority too much power. “I've got a lot of members that have called me that are very upset.”

Pearce, a non-voting member of the authority's board, said he never would have supported the package.

That's also the assessment of House Speaker Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, who also is a non-voting member of the board.

Brewer, who does vote, acknowledged that Cardon was making $183,000 a year as a state employee. But she said Tuesday the comparison is invalid.

“We abolished the Department of Commerce and we then established the Arizona Commerce Authority,” the governor said. She said it was up to the board of this new authority — herself included — to screen applicants and determine what was an appropriate salary for the position.

The governor said it is irrelevant that the job went to Cardon. Anyway, she continued, he is not doing the same job now as he was before, saying that Arizona “has not been a leader” in economic development under the old Commerce Department.

Central to that, Brewer said, is the idea of this quasi-public agency and the board composed of people from both the public and private sectors.

Pearce agreed that the post Cardon is now in is “a unique position.” But he disputed Brewer's assertion that this is an entirely new job.

“He was in place,” Pearce said.

Cardon defended his salary.

“It's not about Don Cardon,” he said. “It's about the job.”

He said the board looked at all the positions in the agency and set salaries to “be as competitive as we can.”

Pearce was not swayed.

“I like Don,” he continued. “And I support the governor. But I think it's wrong.”