Catherine Cortez Masto addressed the Nevada Raising Wages summit today, a Las Vegas conference hosted by union leaders. Cortez Masto pitched higher pay for Nevada workers but predictably failed to address her own shameless hypocrisy.
During Cortez Masto’s tenure in statewide office, Nevada state workers experienced a pay freeze as the state faced ongoing financial challenges. In addition to frozen salaries, workers dealt with furloughs that further cut into their take home pay. At the same time, then-Attorney General Cortez Masto accepted a taxpayer-funded six percent pay raise, increasing her salary from $133,000 to $141,086 annually – even as other Nevada elected officials declined the salary hike.
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In 2011, Masto was 1 of 2 statewide officials who accepted a 6% pay raise that increased her salary from $133,000 to $141,086. [Splitting from Gov. Sandoval, Controller Wallin and] Masto are going to keep the 6% pay raise they will receive this month. Sandoval last week told a news conference he wouldn’t accept the raise and encouraged other constitutional officers to do the same thing…Under state law, the constitutional officers are entitled to an increase in salary of 6% this month, but Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki said this isn’t the time to take a pay increase. Krolicki and Secretary of State Ross Miller won’t take the 6% raise. State Treasurer Kate Marshall also won’t take the pay increase, but she said she won’t continue voluntarily giving up the 4.6% reduction. . . . [Masto] will accept her new salary of $141,086, up from $133,000. (Las Vegas Sun, January 6, 2011)
- Masto accepted a 6% pay raise while rank-and-file state employees coped with a pay freeze and furloughs. “Today, Nevada constitutional officers and legislators receive a 6% pay raise while state employees are still under a pay freeze…State workers received 2% raises in 2007 and 4% in 2008. However, those increases were diminished because of furloughs in 2009 and 2010 and those furloughs probably won’t end with the New Year.” (Elko Daily Free Press, Editorial, December 31, 2010)
When it comes to higher pay, Cortez Masto leads by example – in all the wrong ways. The political insider was happy to line her own pockets with taxpayer dollars when state employees were slammed with frozen salaries. Harry Reid’s handpicked Senate candidate couldn’t be any less interested in fighting for Nevada families. She’s too busy helping herself.