News Dec 18, 2013 at 4:00 am

Murray Spends More

The New Mayor Boosts Salaries for Top Staff at City Hall by Tens of Thousands of Dollars

Anna Minard
Back to article

Comments

1
Get over it, McGinn is over. Most of his staff of unqualified dilatants wouldn't even merit $15/hour.
ralph on December 18, 2013 at 1:06 PM Report this
3
Why is this story being ran as a separate story to the $15/hour minimum wage issue? These "salary rises" for people who are already making a ton of money as a "public servant" are as much as some people are hoping to make in an entire year if they could only get a $15/hour minimum wage.
sophisticatedlittlebear on December 19, 2013 at 6:32 AM Report this
4
Anna... (or a knowledgeable commentator) - it would be cool explain how the Mayor-elect can determine salaries for his staff in some detail. Is this a zero-sum decision? (...if so, who or what is going to take a hit as a result of these salary increases).
Sean Kinney on December 21, 2013 at 11:30 AM Report this
5
What, slog is now against run away government spending? You're a little late, but welcome to the party.
on December 21, 2013 at 11:36 AM Report this
6
Any idea how many of them are still taking a salary cut to leave the private sector for a public job?
NotYourStrawMan on December 21, 2013 at 12:03 PM Report this
7
For some reason, his smile in this picture really bothers me.
kooshball on December 21, 2013 at 12:03 PM Report this
8
@#3- absolutely correct. Family of five, poverty level is 27,570. Elected officials seem to be incapable of understanding where I'm coming from.
Scarecrow on December 21, 2013 at 12:04 PM Report this
9
1, you'd have fought for the redcoats 240 years ago. Because aristocrats know better how to run things, instead of those nasty peons.
Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on December 21, 2013 at 12:13 PM Report this
10
I'm afraid not even a bad-City-Hall-reporter-at-Times versus very-good-City-Hall-reporter-at-Stranger takeaway contrast can make me worry about this very much.
TomJohnsonJr on December 21, 2013 at 12:13 PM Report this
11
Hate to break it to you, Anna, but $170K doesn't even get you to parity with the total compensation necessary to attract highly qualified executive talent in this city. By the way, did you do any reporting for this story, beyond re-using quotes from other news outlets, reviewing public records, and calling McGinn to give him an opportunity to whine?
on December 21, 2013 at 12:18 PM Report this
12
And McGinn took his "savings" to create a spot for and then hire a fricking bike club advocacy director to advise on policy decisions. As if we all didn't know McGinn's policy was "if it doesn't make a bike lane or bus lane, we don't care".
ChefJoe on December 21, 2013 at 12:21 PM Report this
13
But it is amusing to see a paper advocating that the least experienced workers deserve $15/hr (a greater than 50% pay bump) complain that the people who would create the plan to implement that shouldn't be well compensated (Noble would go from 125 to 170k, a 36% increase).
ChefJoe on December 21, 2013 at 12:27 PM Report this
14
Ed Murray has no executive experience and frankly isn't very bright, and therefore has to overpay for good advisors.
DOUG. on December 21, 2013 at 12:54 PM Report this
15
@14 for the win.
ratcityreprobate on December 21, 2013 at 1:02 PM Report this
16
@14
Ed Murray was a legislative assistant a city council person, then went on to the state legislative branch (where he has a staff to manage) for nearly two decades now. If you want to talk about lack of any sort of governing/executive experience (beyond advocacy clubs) I think it would be McGinn.
ChefJoe on December 21, 2013 at 1:40 PM Report this
17
You should see the salaries at Seattle Schools for administration. Not too shabby either.
westello on December 21, 2013 at 1:40 PM Report this
18
@17 Its hard work hiring consultants and running studies for four year terms end to end.

They should just rename all the offices under the mayor the department of favors to mayor donors and "democratic party values"
meanie on December 21, 2013 at 1:48 PM Report this
19
@16, @14's right (in both respects). Being a "staff assistant" doesn't impart executive experience; in his Legislative tenure, he had a staff handler to run his staff. No legislator is an executive. Murray has zip experience for his new position.

@6, "notyourtrawman" makes a strawman argument.
sarah70 on December 21, 2013 at 1:51 PM Report this
20
did they budget any money to spruce up murray's teeth?
on December 21, 2013 at 2:08 PM Report this
21
@19, so McGinn has no government executive experience because he had a chief of staff in the mayor's office. Got it. President Obama also fails the executive test for a similar chief of staff running the day-to-day.
ChefJoe on December 21, 2013 at 2:38 PM Report this
22
@21

Give it a rest. Murray is already in a committed relationship.
seatackled on December 21, 2013 at 2:48 PM Report this
23
@22 8^D
ScrawnyKayaker on December 21, 2013 at 2:56 PM Report this
24
Everytime I read anything about Murray, I like him less. If he's going to spend all that money, he ought to hire a PR flack to keep him out of the news.
Pol Pot on December 21, 2013 at 4:18 PM Report this
25
No amount of money, or helicopter parenting by the city council, can make Murray's administration successful for him. He's going to have to do that himself, using whatever hidden talents he's been saving up all these years to wow us with after January 1st.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn on December 21, 2013 at 4:33 PM Report this
26
@1. Your spelling says it all.
DawginExile on December 21, 2013 at 4:46 PM Report this
27
So goons on the last city council pulled a GOPt on McGinn from the start? They've got their boy Murray now. All's well...
Juno on December 21, 2013 at 9:07 PM Report this
28
Murray is just Nickels 2.0 and his most authentic ideology is almost exclusively identity based. He's a member of the establishment and was able to run a successful campaign against an incumbent because of that reason, not because he had a strong case against McGinn. McGinn certainly committed himself to a populist agenda by comparison. Murray's success has more to do with his political connections and his ability to outspend than it does with any special qualification or mandate.

Kshama Sawant will hopefully be a big thorn in his side. She ran a campaign in particular opposition to corporate pandering. If she successfully brings about the $15/hr raise, she has a real chance of sending Murray packing if she goes after the mayor's office.
stilettov on December 21, 2013 at 9:43 PM Report this
29

Anyone know what Bertha's cost overruns are costing Washington State taxpayers per day?
Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on December 21, 2013 at 11:11 PM Report this
30
@29

Other than Washington State taxpayers who are Seattle residents, zero dollars per day.
seatackled on December 21, 2013 at 11:23 PM Report this
31
Wow Ralph @1, that was feeble. I guess you must be pretty embarrassed that the guy you supported isn't as fiscally disciplined as McGinn.
Puty on December 22, 2013 at 1:04 AM Report this
32
Where the fuck did all this extra money come from? I already hate this guy.
tabletop_joe on December 22, 2013 at 8:01 AM Report this
33
Does it really matter? What's the effective difference between $110,000 a year and $140,000 a year? Better (or a higher quantity of) fancy cheese in your Mercedes?
Foonken2 on December 22, 2013 at 8:50 AM Report this
34
so fun watching you little bitches whine about Murray.

McGinn was a well intentioned but utterly useless mayor. Good riddance.
dak7e on December 22, 2013 at 9:51 AM Report this
35
@32
From the city council! Boom, instant budget change
Lack Thereof on December 22, 2013 at 11:32 PM Report this
36

He has such an unfortunate case of old-lady-face. Like, what is this
on December 23, 2013 at 6:21 AM Report this
37
Fiber internet isn't going to kill itself you know. It takes a guy making at least 50% more than McGuinn would ever value another human being to make sure Comcast has a monopoly over our city. They need the protection too, without the city propping up their business model every step of the way there's no way they survive fiber internet. Best they can hope for is the ability to get in on the action.
watchout5 on December 23, 2013 at 10:31 AM Report this
38
What is he going to cut in order to pay for that? More bus routes? Slash library hours? Close a school?
funnylittlemunki on December 24, 2013 at 1:11 PM Report this
39
were not in a recession still????????????? fucking politicians. next we'll hear about raising taxes and fines because their broke.
mrblack38 on December 24, 2013 at 5:32 PM Report this
40
So while Im very literally being taxed out of my home being a public servant makes you a million in 5 years? Pathetic. I hope the Tunnel boring machine drops a building downtown on these leaches.
on December 28, 2013 at 11:22 AM Report this

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview
Posted by (your name here)

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

More In News

Make Sure Your Vote Got Counted
KING 5 and Seattle Times Misrepresent Bill to Dismiss Low-Level Misdemeanor Cases
Seattle City Council Picks from Crowd of Simps to Fill Vacancy
Proposed Contract Kills Any Hope for Real Police Alternatives in Seattle
SPD Is Having Trouble Retaining Women Officers
Ballot Drop Update

Editors' Picks

Why a City without Graffiti Is Not a City
So You Want a Vagina
Can Seattle Do for August Wilson What Lake Forest Park Did for Octavia Butler?
Duvall Removes Pride Installation After Extremists Attacked It
The Need for Rent Control
Six Takeaways from Seattle's 2023 Primary Elections
The Stranger
is a proud member of the media network
Masthead Ad Info & Rates Jobs at The Stranger Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Use Takedown Policy Find The Stranger Near You
Support The Stranger
All contents © Index Newspapers LLC
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134