Kasich's staff salaries

I sent another "letter to the editor" of the Columbus Dispatch today concerning an editorial published today; the last letter I sent was actually published - something I never expect. We'll see if this one does:

I was amused by the lead sentence of the Jan. 11 Dispatch editorial "Labor pains" - amused because the sentence extols "Gov. John Kasich's determination to confront the swollen compensation and influence of public employee unions in Ohio ..." If the Dispatch editors are so concerned about "swollen compensation" in state government (a "fact" they apparently expect readers to accept without any supporting evidence), why has there been no criticism forthcoming on the salaries Gov. Kasich will be paying his office staff? Beth Hansen, Kasich's chief of staff, will be paid $170,000, $47,000 more than Gov. Strickland's chief of staff. Gov. Kasich's old pal Jai Chabria - his number two in that two-man Lehman Brothers Columbus office - will receive $145,000 per year as a "Special Assistant," a new position created for him. Communications director Scott Milburn will get $120,000, 35% more than the previous director. The governor justifies these high salaries as necessary to keep top caliber people from taking jobs in the private sector. But the State of Ohio needs top caliber folks throughout state government - not just for the governor's political cronies.