What is it with the wives of Democrat politicians and their staff? Michelle Obama had a massive entourage that spent millions annually. Not to be outdone, but with no way to compete, Bill de Blasio’s wife is still trying. She has a staff of close to 15 with a taxpayer payroll of around 2 million a year.
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She’s the wife of the mayor. That’s her’ job.’ But no, she’s a Democrat wife and a woman of power and influence, and she’s got to be an influencer.
Mayor de Blasio makes around $258,000 a year to ruin the Big Apple and ruin it he has. He’s estimated to be worth about 2.5 million. His wife, whom I’m sure is a wonderful woman, gets make-city-work jobs from hubby running commissions on this or that. Political vapor-ware.
Chirlane McCray, Bill’s wife, wasted close to 900 million on a program that did nothing, but that’s okay; she is rumored to be worth more than Bill. That must be why she deserves a staff of 15 (actually, 14, after one recent departure) – all for the paltry sum of two million dollars a year (taxpayer-funded).
She has “a $117,000-a-year speechwriter, a $150,000-a-year senior adviser, a $143,000-a-year public relations director and a special assistant from the mayor’s office who makes $115,000.”
Then there’s the professional videographer that follows her around to capture her doing whatever it is the rich wives of NYC mayors do. They earn $77,000.00 a year.
Some actresses require someone to carry a soft light over them whenever they are working and demand soft focus. No such demands from Chirlane McCray, but somewhere in there is probably someone to do hair and makeup. They double as a mental health expert, perhaps?
And given the wealth, the de Blasio’s have complied, and certainly the successful career arc of Chirlane, they deserve those things if they pay for them. But that’s not the case. Taxpayers are fronting those costs as Mayor Bill looks to cut 22,000 jobs from the city payroll, budget cuts.
Shutting down your city has a way of shutting down the revenue stream. I’m betting the cities insurance rates have gone up with all the riots—lots of overtime for the cops that didn’t get cut quit or retire with crime skyrocketing.
But hey, no need to take the private staff of the wife of the mayor off the city payroll to save a few jobs. She’s doing important work running committees and things that waste even more money with nothing to show for it.
That’s how Democrats roll. And that, by the way, is what Utopia looks like and not just in the Big Apple.
