Steve Tharinger has joined fellow Sequim lawmaker Kevin Van De Wege in taking a voluntary pay cut from his salary in the state House of Representatives.
Tharinger filed paperwork last week to take a 3 percent pay cut effective Sept. 1 through the end of 2012, said Bernard Dean, deputy chief clerk of the House.
Tharinger became the 44th state representative to take a voluntary pay cut, Dean said. There are 98 members in the House.
Both Tharinger and Van De Wege — who opted for a 5 percent pay cut earlier this summer — represent the 24th District, which covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County.
State Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam — also representing the 24th District — has decided not to take a pay cut.
Rank-and-file lawmakers earn $42,106 a year. A 3 percent cut amounts to $105.26 per month or $1,263 per year.
“The majority of the members requesting pay cuts have asked for 3 percent,” Dean said.
This year’s Legislature cut state employee pay by 3 percent to help close a budget gap of more than $5 billion.
‘Right thing to do’
Tharinger said his voluntary cut “seemed like the right thing to do.”
“Since state employees are making a sacrifice, it’s important for me, who voted on some of those cuts, to show solidarity with them,” Tharinger said.
A handful of members, including Van De Wege and House Speaker Frank Chopp, asked for a 5 percent cut, Dean said.
Most members of the part-time Legislature have other jobs outside of Olympia.
Tharinger makes $63,504 per year as a Clallam County commissioner. He fulfilled a campaign promise to return a portion of his county salary — a little more than $400 — for the county meetings that he missed while he was conducting state business in Olympia.
Tharinger decided last spring that he will not seek a fourth term on the county commission and will instead focus on his duties as a state legislator.
He said he hasn’t decided whether he will embark on a new career after the 2012 legislative session ends next spring.
Van De Wege, the majority whip in the Legislature, is a lieutenant and paramedic with Clallam County Fire District No. 3 in Sequim.
Hargrove is a self-employed forester who has served in the Senate since 1992 and the House for eight year before that.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
