GOLDEN HAMMER DRIVES HOME UNWELCOME TRUTH FOR LAMBRIGHT
JD Lambright has issued a 1200 word missive defending his salary following the inaugural GOLDEN HAMMER Award by taxpayer advocate and former MCHD Director Eric Yollick.
In a brilliant and revealing presentation following the excessive salary theme in Montgomery County and limited to three minutes by County Judge Craig Doyal, Yollick read from prepared remarks while holding aloft a golden colored trophy hammer award.
Yollick began his presentation with comparative salaries of various State and Federal elected officials explaining that Texas Governor and Attorney General receive a $150,000.00 salary along with Texas Land Commissioner followed by $174,000 for U.S. Senators and Representatives and $178,000 for Texas Supreme Court Justice while District Judges receive $164,000. ( Yollick’s presentation below begins at the 6 Minute mark.)
After pointing out that Montgomery County has the highest paid elected officials exceeding Statewide and Federal officials who supervise far more personnel, Yollick brought the salary of the Montgomery County Attorney into focus for its outstanding high rate and for being the highest paid elected position in the county. Yollick made clear that the County Attorney does not approve his own salary , that being the role of Commissioners Court.
The Salary
“Our County Attorney makes $190,451.00 and supervises a couple of dozen people.”
“The United States Secretary of Defense supervised 764,000 civilian employees” yet earns only $13,000 more than the county attorney said Yollick, and reminded commissioners, “You our commissioners, do. ( set the County Attorney salary) Therefor, I hope you appreciate the honor of receiving the First Golden Hammer Award and the complementary certificate that accompanies it”.
By 8:20 PM County Attorney JD Lambright had succeeded in getting the Courier to publish what might be described as a personal resume or even a campaign letter, reproduced below in response to Yollick’s remarks. That type response is to be expected form long serving entrenched politicians who generally side with the status quo and tend to defend the bureaucracy at all costs. This is not something most observers would have expected form JD Lambright.
However, one flashback leads to another and its worth watching one candidate vetting interview ( below ) where Lambright discusses salary bumps for key people in his office making the case using the old, our-salaries-compared- to -others trick, in this case the DA’s office. That off course is the typical bureaucrat trip, itself used by First DA Phil Grant years ago when he stated, “Our chief prosecutors make about $40,000 less a year compared to similar prosecutors in Harris County,”
( p.s. its likely now, that Harris County will use Montgomery County and its sky high salaries as a justification for their next raise!)
Stockholm Syndrome
That is the kind of circular wage hike trick that only a committed bureaucrat or sad captive would resort to, thats why we call it a form of Stockholm Syndrome. Lambright has got it bad if he felt he had to make such a written response. JD, please get some help before its too late.
That goes for all other elected offices as well.
I believe JD inherited the Salary. He didn’t set it. The salary Committee just advised that the Court is paid well in excess of other County Commissioners Courts. Those salaries should be reduced to reflect the norm for our sized County. Current Commissioners should reduce to the proper amount upon reelection. If you don’t want to be paid that amount, don’t run for reelection.
Yes, Yollick made that clear when he made the presentation. What is disturbing and disappointing is that JD feels the need to become chief salary apologist first for himself and by inference all of them.