Calif. gov's top aides get donor dollars

SACRAMENTO, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's four top government aides are getting salary boosts from private campaign money.

The governor's office said three present and former aides received a monthly $5,000 check from his political accounts to moonlight as campaign aides, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The payments went to Patricia Clarey, who left her job as chief of staff in December; Rob Stutzman, who stepped down as communications director Friday; and Richard Costigan, who continues to serve as the governor's chief liaison to the Legislature.

Last week, Schwarzenegger's office confirmed that his new chief of staff, Susan P. Kennedy, would double as a campaign aide and be paid campaign funds in addition to her $131,000 government salary, the newspaper said.

While former Gov. Pete Wilson's chief of staff acknowledged receiving a campaign salary in addition to his state pay, other governors --including Gray Davis-- barred the mixing of campaign and state pay, the newspaper said.

State law prohibits government aides from engaging in political work on state time, although they are permitted to "exercise their 1st Amendment rights and participate in politics on their own time," said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer.