If Newsom is able to hold onto his Governorship past the recall election this fall he’s going to see a $9,000/yr pay raise starting December 1st. Alongside other state lawmakers who are receiving a $5,000/yr raise from $114,877 to $119,700.
The annual pay raise or pay cut of the Legislature is decided by a group called the California Citizens Compensation Commission, they hold an annual meeting to decide the salary of state elected officials. Currently, the commission is dominated by Democrats, who gave out a pay raise for six consecutive years between 2013 and 2019. While in 2020 there was no change in pay.
Although Newsom promised to take a 9% pay cut in 2020, he never followed up on that promise. He instead decided to cut the pay of state employees. This now leads him to his current lack of support from California’s largest state employee union. Richard Louis Brown, the current president of SEIU Local 1000 stated “When I become president of Local 1000, he can look for somebody else to support him. He will not get any help from us. He’s on his own.” He continued by talking about his disdain with Newsom’s backstab against state unions claiming that Newsom would have never agreed to reverse a 9% pay cut on state employees “If he wasn’t under the threat of recall.”
Gavin Newsom can’t seem to make anyone happy this year, as the recall has been set to happen sometime this fall Newsom is attempting to gain any support he can as he faces being just the second California Governor ever recalled.
