The Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham administration is no stranger to seeing hefty pay raises for staffers, as we have reported for years, such as in 2021 when she gave a $32,000 raise to a special assistant to New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney, who also got a hefty raise.
But new figures from the governor’s office show extravagance in raises to staffers after her 2022 reelection.
According to figures from the New Mexico Sunshine Portal, her new chief of staff =, Daniel Schlegel, got a staggering $72,524 pay raise — a 64 percent increase.
Administrative assistant Sheila Nelson got a 50 percent pay increase of $28,462, senior advisor Courtney Kerster got a 30 percent pay bump of $41,100, cabinet director Mariana Padilla was raised 28 percent or $37,850 in pay, and deputy chief of staff Diego Arencon and director of cabinet affairs Caroline Buerkle both got a 19 percent pay increase totaling $28,218.
Many other instances of lavish pay raises happened across the board from legal assistants to senior-level staffers, who made up to a mind-boggling $185,000.
The governor’s spokeswoman Maddy Hayden claimed, “Merit-based raises are standard practice across virtually every workplace, and the governor recognizes the extremely hard work employees in her office do every day, which routinely includes work on holidays, late into the evening and over weekends, to serve the people of New Mexico,” as reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
“Hayden did not respond when asked why some employees in the Governor’s Office, such as Martin Chavez, a former mayor of Albuquerque who has served as Lujan Grisham’s infrastructure adviser since November, or administrative assistant Shiela Nelson, didn’t get salary increases,” the outlet reported.
The median income in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office is $131,950.00, with the lowest-salaried person, a constituent services deputy director, receiving $41,600.00 with the next-highest salary being $58,760 for a “special assistant.” The highest-paid positions in the office are tied at $185,000.
The median household income in New Mexico is $54,020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
No fan of MLG, but truth be told NM is not know for it’s salaries. Heck some of our law enforcement start a $17 an hour. I would think that if NM paid a decent salary we would have people that could run a government competently. With our current band of idiots in Santa Fe, no amount of cash can fix them. Elections have consequences, maybe if they could improve our schools, take the woke out, maybe folks will read and realize the damage the Marxist Democrats are causing.
Mike, it’s called ELECTION FRAUD! Until that is recognized & fixed things will continue in the same fashion. Democrat Rule…
If pay was something that made the government run better, all of our problems would be solved. Both at State levels and Fed levels, our political “leaders” are living lavish lifestyles at the expense of the populace. It is absolutely disgusting.
MLG eats what she wants! Meanwhile is it pay the bills or eat?
My, and all others, Social Security “COLA” raise wasn’t even equal to the inflation rate that keeps on increasing. She’s tied for the lowest rated governor in the country and still got re-elected.
It’s called cheating.
Explain your rationale….!
What a slap in the face to those who lost their businesses and jobs during the pandemic.
Those kind of pay raise should go to people that REALLY work for a living and not those on the dole, they can’t get you, Michelle, elected to what ever office you aspire to.
In socialism, the elites always do well, Russian dachas, ie summer homes, for communist hierarchy, for example. Black Lives Matter organizers went out and bought million-dollar homes in Chicago and Los Angles for themselves.
Even with these raises MLG has difficulty keeping her staff on board.
How about the Epidemiologists that worked weekends and holidays when the pandemic was going on. How about them? And how about State employees that are food stamp’s because they don’t make enough money while your chosen one’s getting those fat raises?
How about the Epidemiologists that worked weekends and holidays when the pandemic was going on. How about them? And how about State employees that are on food stamp’s because they don’t make enough money while your chosen one’s getting those fat raises?
The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Proverbs 15:3
No one hides from God!!
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him who must give account. Hebrews 4:13
For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their enquiry hidden from my eyes.
Jeremiah 16:17
Very appropriate verses for this issue. We have to put our trust in God and HIS future plans for government and their mishandling of appropriations.
Disgusting! What else can I say? How many New Mexican’s voted for MLG and received those kind of pay raises.
shameful and even more shameful we’re allowing this to happen