"A legislator's pay is inadequate to support a family." - Joe Zarelli, Republican State Senator of Washington State
From The Seattle Post Intelligencer, dated September 25, 2002
State tells Zarelli to repay unemployment
He received checks for lost job, but still worked as a state senator
By DAVID AMMONS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OLYMPIA -- State senator and Republican congressional challenger Joe Zarelli collected unemployment checks for months while drawing his legislative salary and expenses.
Zarelli confirmed reports obtained by The Associated Press -- not directly from Employment Security -- that he received unemployment checks and now has been ordered to repay the money.
He said he hopes voters will be understanding, acknowledging the pain of being thrown out of work and trying to pay family bills. A legislator's pay is inadequate to support a family, he said.
But in today's Seattle Times (2/27/11) there is a front page story headlined:
Have Washington state workers given their fair share?
State Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, Clark County, argues even more needs to be done to reduce state worker costs, either by lowering wages and benefits, or cutting the size of the general government work force.
Workers at private companies "have had a much more difficult time than those in state government," said Zarelli, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
So Joe Zarelli, the Republican, thinks that state workers ought to have their wages cut.
Interesting perspective, especially given the fact that Joe Zarelli, the Republican, was discovered to have fraudulently filed for Unemployment Benefits over the course of several months.
He claimed he was unemployed at a time when he was a Republican member of the Washington State Legislature. I guess his $45,000 annual salary and generous per diem allowances weren't enough for him. But then, the rules never apply to Republicans, do they?
I participated in yesterday's rally in support of the working families of Wisconsin and Ohio, et al, held on the lawn of the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, Washington.
A great crowd, decent weather, and tremendous positive energy in support of the Wisconsin state employees and middle-class working Americans everywhere.
I can't think of a more effective catalyst for resurrecting the energy and commitment progressives displayed in 2008 than this unvarnished power grab by the conservative oligarchy that is trying to take over this country. We must energize ourselves and turn out by the tens of millions on election day in 2012 or yield our government and our lives to the Conservative Oligarcy and their Tea Party/Republican minions.
Updated by ValleyForger at Sun Feb 27, 2011, 05:42:10 PM
Whoa doggies! I posted this diary and immediately left to take my son to Chuck E Cheese. It is my first diary since the format change and I didn't even think it would be seen. Thanks for the recs and I wish I had correctly spelled "hypocrisy".
Updated by ValleyForger at Sun Feb 27, 2011, 07:50:08 PM
Check out the diary by crystal_eyes about the Washington State rally in Olympia, WA. I am very tickled that she named my sign, "OLIGOPOLY", as one of her co-favorites. This has been a really fun day on DailyKos.
http://www.dailykos.com/...