Comments on: Troy King and the Amazing Incredible Expanding Paychecks

By: Don

Don — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:25:00 +0000

The unusually high salaries of some staffers in AG Troy King’s office are rightfully being scrutinized by bloggers and MSM, but let’s not forget the 140 members of the Alabama legislature.

The National Conference of State Legislatures classifies our legislature as a hybrid legislature, meaning that members say that their legislative work requires them to spend more than two-thirds of the time that would be required for a full time job as legislators.

The NCSL @ http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2004/backgrounder_fullandpart.htm shows that, on average, legislators in hybrid legislatures spend 70% of their time, which includes time spent campaigning for office, being legislators and that they are compensated by less than $36,000 per year.

Compare that with what our legislators receive.

And some people wonder why I think Alabama needs to become the 25th Initiative and Referendum state?

By: Michael in Irondale

Michael in Irondale — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:28:16 +0000

I think that the only reason that the papers in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile have not run with this story is the lack of hard evidence. It is entirely possible that this is a first class smear job. I don’t believe it, but it’s possible.

That said, this story gives the papers a thread to pull on and a way to edge the story out into the light and see who goes scurrying for cover.

Short of Mrs. King filing for divorce or a sex tape surfacing I think this one will emerge by degrees. Hopefully the AP getting involved will raise the temperature a little.

By: Lisa in Hoover

Lisa in Hoover — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:53:11 +0000

Does anyone remember when Nancy Worley was raked over the coals for having a big-ass car? She claimed she needed it to haul ballots, which was at least a somewhat believable rationale. She was excoriated unmercifully over a car. But Troy King gets away with the kind of behavior that looks an awful lot like what cost Jim McGreevy a governorship, and it just floats right over everyone’s head.

By: Loretta Nall

Loretta Nall — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:10:58 +0000

THe innuendo in the following was abundantly clear…
“Not receiving raises has not been a problem for another King employee — 24-year-old John W. Godwin.”

That nearly bout says it all in my book.

I also find it interesting that all of King’s blog supporters from a few weeks ago seem to have vanished! I note that the one and only response that I did get tried to redirect attention to John Edwards…who is not important in Alabama state politics….even though she has a point….and then says in my opinion at least, the equivalent of “we took our toys and went home” when the BHAM News article surfaced”

They don’t want to play anymore now that hard evidence is beginning to surface.

I was more than a little surprised that the state’s larger newspapers didn’t have editorials about the BHAM News story today. I noted that late this afternoon the AP picked up the story….so we shall see what tomorrow brings.