EUREKA, Calif. – As news came out this week that a state legislator is suing the state over a pay cut, the North Coast's representative in the state Assembly said that pay cuts for legislators were the right step to take last year
Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) said he accepted the 18 percent legislator pay cut in 2009 because it was the right thing – for him – to do and criticized an attempt by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo to undo it.
“My goal is to restore paychecks for my district, not for myself,” Chesbro said. “I accepted that pay cut in 2009. I accept it now. We should be leading by example. And that example should not include complaining about lost pay when so many of the people we represent are dealing with hard times.”
The California Citizens Compensation Commission sets the salaries of state legislators.
In December 2009 the Commission voted to cut legislators’ pay and benefits by 18 percent.
Cedillo, a Democrat from Los Angeles, represents the 45th District in the state Assembly.
He has filed a claim with the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board alleging the cuts are illegal.
Cedillo wants the Claims Board to restore the 18 percent, retroactively, for all 120 legislators.
“We go into the new year with a new governor and the hope and commitment to finally resolve the budget mess,” said Chesbro. “We need to get off on the right foot. And thinking about our own paychecks is not the right way to do that.”
Cedillo is being roundly criticized statewide for taking the action, which critics point out is being taken at a time when the state is struggling financially.
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