On the Capitol: How much Walker appointees make, and political fashion advice - Capital Times (blog)

In his first budget, Gov. Scott Walker shifted more than three dozen department positions from civil service to political appointment starting Jan. 1, 2012.

That group is now making $87,215 more than the people who held those same positions before the change, a 2.6 percent increase, according to an OTC analysis of salary figures provided by the Department of Administration.

Though that’s not a very big increase (it includes a 1 percent raise that all employees received this year), there was a lot of variation.

Eight positions have seen double-digit raises over what the previous position paid, with Department of Financial Institutions spokesman George Althoff at $90,901 seeing the biggest increase, 89.6 percent, from his predecessor. Six positions have seen a double-digit dip from the previous position.

Of the 38 positions identified as having changed, 27 were filled by employees who previously worked in executive branch departments. Comparing their new salaries to what they were making before, they received altogether a 10.3 percent raise, with 12 seeing double-digit increases. Of those, Department of Health Services communications director Stephanie Smiley has seen the biggest bump, 42.2 percent, to a current salary of $92,012.

The shift to political appointments created three types of positions — chief legal counsels, communication directors and legislative aides.

Chief legal counsels made the most before and after, but as a group their salaries dropped from an average of $115,867 to $114,786, down 0.9 percent. The highest paid is Peter Davis of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, who makes $126,531, 3.6 percent more than he made in a similar position two years ago.

Communication directors are making on average $82,858, up from $79,124, a 4.7 percent increase. The highest paid is John Dipko of the Department of Workforce Development at $101,001, which is unchanged from what he made two years ago in a similar position.

Legislative aides saw the biggest bump, going from $69,558 to $74,823, a 7.6 percent increase. The highest paid is Joseph Wieske Jr. for the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, who makes $99,487, up 22 percent from his predecessor.

Fashion faux pas

In politics, as in fashion, one day you’re in, the next day you’re out.

Gov. Walker and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, may be rising political stars, at least among conservatives, but they received a dressing down this week from fashion consultant Tim Gunn, co-host of the popular fashion designer reality TV competition Project Runway.

Politico ran an article this week co-authored by Gunn and writer Ada Calhoun called Project Beltway, which critiqued 14 politicians who have been frequently mentioned as potential 2016 presidential hopefuls.

The fashionistas advised Walker to wear fitted and pressed suits and to sit up straight, because his jackets apparently tend to bunch up around his collar.

“Is his jacket ashamed of him?” they wrote. “If Walker is not the commander of his jacket, how can he be a commander in chief?”

Ryan, who ran for vice president last year alongside dapper former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, was called out for having “a nice wardrobe of preppy staples.” They noted he tends to wear “frat-boy khaki” a word derived from the Persian word for “dirt,” suggesting “he’d rather be drinking beers with his bros than commanding a dais.”

“To downplay his youthfulness, the 43-year-old Wisconsin congressman should dress in darker colors and more formal fabrics,” they wrote.

Gentlemen, make it work.

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