How Payroll of Paterson Dwarfs All

Governor's Aides Earning More Than Judges, Lawmakers Governor Paterson has been paying his aides more money than do governors in other states and paying some of them more than many New York state lawmakers or judges make. Mr. Paterson's 28-year-old director of communications, Risa Heller, makes more money than New York's 69-year-old chief judge, Judith Kaye. Ms. Heller, a former top press aide to Senator Schumer who joined the administration in the spring, earns $175,000, which is $19,000 more than Chief Judge Kaye, who occupies the state judiciary's highest office, makes. It is more than the $168,000 the White House press secretary, Tony Snow, earned in 2007. Of the 176 employees who work in the executive chamber, 62 of them take home an annual salary of at least $100,000, including Mr. Paterson, who earns $179,000,... [read full story]