Rutledge foe rips staff pay raises

Democratic attorney general candidate Mike Lee on Monday took issue with the pay raises incumbent Attorney General Leslie Rutledge doled out to her staff last year, which were among the most generous in state government.

Lee’s critique came in response to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette analysis of state pay raises which found that eight employees in the attorney general’s office received raises of $10,000 or more, the most of any state agency outside of public colleges and universities.

Defending the pay increases before questioning by her political opponent, Rutledge’s office said the raises went toward promotions and making salaries in the attorney general’s office more competitive.

But in a press statement released Monday afternoon, Lee suggested the raises were hypocritical after Rutledge earlier this year declined to authorize a ballot proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage. Rutledge did eventually authorize a ballot question after being pressured to do so by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

“The hard working people of Arkansas deserve good pay,” Lee, a former federal toy regulator, said in a statement. “It’s unseemly of my opponent to deny Arkansans the right to vote on the minimum wage, while using state coffers to give her own team a pay raise.”

A spokesman for Lee’s campaign declined to clarify whether the candidate believed any of the raises in the attorney general’s office were excessive or unnecessary.

In response to Lee’s criticisms, Rutledge released a statement Monday saying the raises were in response to a change in the state’s pay plan and an effort to remain competitive with other public and private employers.

The newspaper found that the single largest increase in state government went to Nicholas Bronni, who got a $23,833 raise along with a promotion to solicitor general, the top trial attorney posting within the office. Bronni is earning the same $140,000 salary as his predecessor, Lee Rudofsky, who left state government to take a job at Walmart Inc.

Other attorney general’s office employees who received $10,000-plus pay raises included five assistant attorneys general who were all bumped up to $110,000 annual salaries and two deputy attorneys general who will each now be earning $120,000.

The total cost of pay raises at the 154-employee office was $526,999, which averaged out to a $3,400 raise per employee. Attorneys at the office earn an average of $89,000 per year.

The mean annual salary for lawyers in Arkansas is $99,100, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Suzanne Clark, the president of the Arkansas Bar Association, said the public salaries for attorneys working under Rutledge were “certainly within market rate.”

“The Attorney General recognizes that her office must remain the top law firm in the State and attract the most talented lawyers, investigators and other professionals to defend the State in the courtroom and protect Arkansans from criminals and con artists,” said Amanda Priest, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, in an email response to earlier questions about the department’s pay raises.

Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.