The new Arizona Senate staff
See how much staffers for the Arizona State Senate are making
It’s Friday and the weekend is almost here so I am going to keep this post pretty brief.
I obtained a list of the Arizona Senate’s staff and their respective salaries as I have been doing lately for other agencies. I’m still waiting on the Arizona House and the Ninth Floor to complete the first round of these posts before moving into state agencies just so we all know who is working where. The salaries are mostly a bonus for those interested, but also salary transparency is important for those who may work in any of the listed offices and don’t know how much their colleagues are making in comparison.
Remember, without a public records request seeking this information we never would have learned about the pay disparities in the Legislature that led to two successful lawsuits against the Arizona Senate regarding Talonya Adams.
Last year, the Senate provided most of its staff with 3% raises (some received higher raises) and comparing those numbers to these show much larger increases in base salary and also some potential disparities.
Josh Kredit who joined the Senate from AG Mark Brnovich’s Office is making $200,000 as Chief of Staff. His predecessor was Melissa Taylor, who Senate President Warren Petersen fired, was making $169,000 in that role last year.
Grant Hanna was retained as Deputy Chief of Staff and his salary increased from $134,000 to $168,000 nearly as much as his previous boss. That’s roughly a 25% raise.
Communications Director Kim Quintero, who joined the Senate in 2022 and was given a policy advisor role as well, received a 13% raise from her $123,600 salary last year.
It’s not just the Republicans either. The Democrats received pretty sizable raises as well.
New Dem chief of staff Paulino Valerio is making $179,000 compared to his predecessor Jeff Winkler’s $151,000.
Talonya Adams notably received an 18% raise sitting at above $147,000. That puts her as the highest paid policy advisor from both parties, but Fletcher Monzingo is the director of fiscal policy and is making $158,000.
Two Democratic advisors are also earning more than Adams, but they both have additional titles compared to her Sr Dem Policy role.
Check out the full list here which includes every staffer at the broadcast lab, pages and more.
And here is the 2022 list for comparison.