How CA Sen. Roy Ashburn Scored a $100K+ Gig From Gov. Schwarzenegger
It so totally, absolutely, couldn’t be, no way in heck constitute a thank you from the just-exited Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Roy Ashburn, the anti-gay gay Republican state lawmaker who just termed out of office, has been appointed to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, where he’ll earn $128,109 a year responding to disability and unemployment claims. Ashburn was among a limited number of Republicans who backed the then-governor’s temporary sales tax increase, despite signing a “no new taxes” promise during his campaign. But this cushy gig couldn’t be Schwarzenegger’s way of showing gratitude, right? (Flip-flopping isn’t so surprising for a guy who voted against LGBT equality so he could hide his sexuality, but then came out and promised to do better.) Not that Ashburn’s appointment is entirely unique: the entire board is now filled with termed-out lawmakers.
Alas, this kind of thing is not unusual in Calif. Ashburn was “termed out” of the state senate. Cushy spots on one of many such boards in the state is where old politicians go when they can’t or choose not to run for office.