Hey, Baby, How About A 14.5% Raise? : Lone Star Times

Hey, Baby, How About A 14.5% Raise?

by David Jennings · 01/24/2008 9:44 am

You will recall that in one of his famous emails, ClusterChuck emailed his “assistant”:

“The very next time I see you, I want to kiss you behind your right ear,” Rosenthal writes to Stevens in a note dated Aug. 10, 2007.

What would a lady want more than a kiss from UpChuck?

The raise, part of a package of support staff pay hikes for which Rosenthal had crusaded before the scandal, went into effect last Saturday, according to county payroll records. It boosts Stevens’ annual salary from about $78,000 to about $89,500, roughly the maximum salary allowed for her position.

Don’t you love that Republican fiscal restraint? Now, this being a governmental position and all, you’d think that there would be some type of process to review “merit” raises. Nope.

Most merit raises are recommended by a committee of top-level supervisors within the district attorney’s office, then approved or adjusted by Rosenthal.

However, Stevens’ raise was decided solely by Rosenthal, as is customary for executive assistant and several other high-level positions, said Bert Graham, Rosenthal’s first assistant and a member of the executive committee.

“We left that to Chuck. She works for him,” Graham said.

Works for him? Is that all? Hmm. Remember this email when Ms. Stevens wanted a day off?

Rosenthal responds, “You do not have to ask. Just tell me what you plan to do. You have to know by now that I’m not going to tell you ‘no’ about anything you want.”

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Comments

13 Responses to “Hey, Baby, How About A 14.5% Raise?”

Dov on January 24th, 2008 at 9:57 am

Rosenthal. The end is nowhere in sight. He should resign and move out of Harris County.
Bannable Lecturer on January 24th, 2008 at 10:03 am

About as accurate as a Huckabee answer during a debate

You missed this

Many of Rosenthal’s support staff, including Stevens, saw their maximum pay rise from 12 to 15 percent, according to payroll records. The last sweeping increase in salary ceilings for the DA’s office came about 10 years ago, Graham said.

“I know (Rosenthal) felt very strongly that support staff should get the same raises as the attorneys and investigators,” Graham said.

And this

This month, after the new salary ceilings had been approved by Commissioners Court, Rosenthal and his executive committee set to work deciding who would receive raises within the new boundaries.

Some employees who previously had been denied merit raises, because they had reached their old pay ceiling, received large raises this year to compensate, Graham said.

Of the 167 support staff positions in Rosenthal’s office, 47, including Stevens, are now making their maximum salaries, according to numbers provided by Graham.

To Quote Huckabee I’m for a Federal Ban on smoking - or am I?

I guess you missed the part that for 10 years they did not receive Merit raises just COLA

The last sweeping increase in salary ceilings for the DA’s office came about 10 years ago, Graham said.

Yeah he slept with her, yeah it was wrong, yeah he didn’t lie about it and yeah yeah yeah nothings going to happen
Robert 1 on January 24th, 2008 at 10:18 am

Paying more than a job is worth, no wonder the cost of things keeps going up and in this case why our taxes have to go up. Maybe that’s why people tell me to get a government job???
Bannable Lecturer on January 24th, 2008 at 10:19 am

Most secretaries in law firms with that many years make that and much much more
T-Hawkk on January 24th, 2008 at 10:38 am

How could he be so stupid as to write this in emails?? He needs a brain scan immediately.
vlou on January 24th, 2008 at 11:03 am

If she really loved her job, she would refuse the raise, so I guess she doesn’t love her job as much as she loves the D.A.
vlou on January 24th, 2008 at 11:03 am

No one person who is very efficient needs that kind of pay raise.
hamous on January 24th, 2008 at 11:15 am

Bannable, the Huckabash is next door. Focus.
radiovixen on January 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

Dang! I’m an Executive Assistant for the President/CEO of a large Houston company and I don’t make NEAR that! Of course I’m not doing those “extra jobs” either…
Robert 1 on January 24th, 2008 at 1:18 pm

Reply to No. 9: Your job is with the private sector where accountablility is to the stockholders. The D.A. (aka Dumb A$$) is covered by taxpayer dollars and we all know they don’t care its not their money.
Maltboy! on January 24th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

She works for him.

I bet she does. If there is any justice, Rosenthal will see the same fate as Mike Nifong - and that would work for me.
Adee on January 24th, 2008 at 4:38 pm

You couldn’t make this ever-expanding scenario up. Talk about dominoes crashing–wow. And they keep a fallin’.
fat albert on January 24th, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Okay, let me get this straight,

1. The Grand Jury indicts a supreme count judge.
2. The District Attorney refuses to accept the indictment.
3. The Grand Jury members are outraged and complain publicly
4. Another Judge discovers that, just by coincidence, the paperwork for the indicting grand jury was never completed correctly BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY! and so the Grand Jury was never properly seated and thus their work means nothing.

Am I missing anything????