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TagsStrategist will earn $230,000 annually or $55,000 more than governor
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Peter J. McDonough Jr., an adviser to New Jersey Republicans and former communications director for GOP Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, has been named Rutgers University's vice president for public affairs at an annual salary of $230,000.
Basically, McDonough will be a key adviser to Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick and the university's lead lobbyist in dealing with elected officials and state and federal legislation effecting the school.
McDonough, is presently a partner in Winning Strategies, a lobbying and public relations firm with offices in Trenton, Washington and Newark. He will move into his new job on March 1, replacing Jeannine La Rue who retired after holding the position since 2007 at an annual salary of $250,000.
To put McDonough's salary in perspective, Gov. Chris Christie makes $175,000 annually, state department heads $141,000 and legislators $49,000. The governor has placed a cap on salaries for local public school superintendents at $175,000 annually and ordered rollbacks for those who earn more than the amount. McDonough will make over $19,000 a-month.The governor's office did not have an immediate response to the appointment.
McDonough, 57, of Pennington, was appointed to his new job on Tuesday by the Rutgers Board of Governors.
In New Jersey, where government and politics are a major factor of life, McDonough brings a long list of credentials earned in state and federal government and as a political advisor and lobbyist to his new job. He is one of a few individuals to have served as a staff member at the highest levels of the state and federal governments in both the executive and legislative branches.
After praising La Rue, McCormick said, "I can think of no better successor than Pete McDonough. Pete will bring a unique combination of experience and insight to Rutgers as he leads the university's advocacy and outreach efforts. Like Jeannine, Pete is respected on both sides of the political aisle for his persistence and his extensive knowledge of state and federal government."
McDonough could not be reached on Friday for possible comment on his Rutgers' salary.
On Tuesday McDonough said, "I'm excited to have the opportunity to apply the public affairs lessons I've learned over 30 years at all levels of government to furthering the interests of Rutgers and to help a great institution become even better."
McDonough was a founding partner of Princeton Public Affairs Group, a major state and federal government lobbying firm. As Whitman's director of communications, he served as one her principal advisers. He also served as chief of staff in the state Treasury Department. In 1982, at the age of 29, McDonough became the youngest person ever appointed director in the state Assembly.
On the federal level, McDonough served as chief of staff for then-Republican U.S. Rep. Dean A. Gallo of Morris County and as an associate staff member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. He also served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
McDonough has consulted on or directed dozens of Republican state and federal political campaigns the United States and in emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. He has provided media training to cabinet ministers and other officials in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Kososvo, Uzbekistan and the Republic of Georgia and served as an international election observer for the presidential elections in the Republic of Nigeria.
As a visiting professor, McDonough has taught the Rutgers Eagleton Graduate Seminar in American Politics for Fellows since 2001. He has been a guest lecturer at the State University for the Humanities in Moscow, Russia, and at Rutgers' Bloustein School at Rutgers. He is a 1975 graduate of Lehigh University.
McDonough's new job, in part, calls for him managing the university's offices of state and federal relations, keep elected officials; policymakers; and civic, community and business leaders informed about university programs and their benefits, and advise McCormick on developing legislation, and relationships with policymakers statewide and advancing the university's response to their needs and issues.
Rutgers is the state university with 56,000 students enrolled at campuses in New Brunswick, Newark, Camden and Piscataway. Tuition and fees for students for the 2010-11 year rose 4 percent to $12,559, up from $6,333 in 2000-01. For a student living on campus, the cost is $23,465, up 5.4 percent from last year.
