Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin said first lady’s assistant earns more than her. Is that true?

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin wrote this week that the Idaho first lady’s assistant earns more money than the lieutenant governor — but that’s not true.

McGeachin on Monday published a column in the Idaho Statesman defending her management of the lieutenant governor’s office budget, including her decision to more than quadruple the salary of her lone staffer and “good friend.” The Statesman reported the staffer’s big raise and McGeachin’s budget problems after she used taxpayers funds to pay legal fees stemming from a public records lawsuit.

“The media’s preoccupation with my small budget is quite ironic given how they ignore things like the personal assistant to the governor’s wife being paid more than the lieutenant governor,” McGeachin wrote in the column.

In fact, First Lady Teresa Little’s executive assistant, Ann DeAngeli, has earned less money in nearly four years than McGeachin does in a single year.

Annual vs. hourly wages

Madison Hardy, Gov. Brad Little’s spokesperson, told the Statesman by email that the first lady’s executive assistant provides administrative support to the governor’s wife.

DeAngeli also has assisted the governor’s office with administrative duties. She worked in the lieutenant governor’s office when it was held by Brad Little, before he was elected governor in 2018.

As the first lady’s part-time assistant, DeAngeli earned less than $40,000 in gross wages over the past four fiscal years, according to Transparent Idaho, the Idaho controller’s website that tracks state spending. Her total wages each year ranged from about $2,000 in the 2021 fiscal year to nearly $14,000 in 2022. DeAngeli’s hours were limited in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hardy said.

McGeachin, on the other hand, earns a little more than $48,000 annually. Adding in benefits, the state pays McGeachin about $70,000 a year. DeAngeli made about $8,000 in benefits over the past four years.

McGeachin told the Statesman by email that when she said the assistant earns more than her, she was referring to DeAngeli’s $26.52 hourly wage. Factoring in a 40-hour work week, the lieutenant governor’s annual salary would amount to $23.27 per hour. But McGeachin’s position is considered part-time.

McGeachin’s deferred wages come this week

This week, McGeachin will earn additional wages. That’s because she faced a budget shortfall at the end of the 2022 fiscal year, which ended June 30. To sustain the lieutenant governor’s statutorily required annual salary, McGeachin deferred about $1,700 in wages to the new fiscal year, which started July 1.

On Friday, McGeachin will receive more than $3,500, according to emails by financial administrators obtained by the Statesman.

McGeachin gave up a second term when she unsuccessfully challenged Little for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in this year’s primary election. Her four-year tenure ends this year.