Legislature clerk’s salary was obscene

Re: “James departs after report says he improperly claimed benefits,” May 17.

With all the publicity about log splitters and thousand-dollar suits charged to the taxpayer, I am surprised that there has been little discussion about the obscene salary we have been

paying former legislature clerk Craig James — including the past six months when he has been sitting at home or perhaps in Palm Springs, since one of the magazine subscriptions we paid for was Palm Springs Monthly.

James was paid more than $347,000 per year, plus, as we have seen, some outrageous expense claims. One would think the basic salary would be enough so he could pay for his own subscription to Arizona Highways.

For a public servant, this salary is remarkable. It is not only a lot more than the salaries of MLAs or even ministers, but it is also $140,000 more than the premier himself.

It is more than the justices of the Supreme Court, more even than the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

It must have been tempting for former chief justice Beverly McLachlin, who conducted the review of James’s spending habits, to observe that his salary was greater than hers. James was even paid more than the prime minister.

And unlike politicians, who must answer to the electorate, and Supreme Court justices, who must retire at 75, James’s appointment was for life. The mind boggles. David Morris Victoria