McDonnell, Cabinet to take unspecified pay cuts

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell said yesterday that he will cut the salaries of all Cabinet secretaries, and his own, for a period of time as a cost-saving measure.

He did not say by how much. Cabinet secretaries make more than $150,000 a year, and the proposed budget authorizes $175,000 for the new governor's salary.

Among those getting a lower salary - and possibly very little - will be his proposed secretary of commerce and trade, Robert C. Sledd of Richmond, who has offered to forgo state pay but remain on the boards of Universal Corp., a Richmond-based tobacco company, and Owens & Minor Co., a Hanover County-based medical-supplies distributor.

In an interview yesterday in his transition office, McDonnell vigorously defended Sledd's appointment against the potential for conflicts of interest.

As secretary of commerce and trade, Sledd would oversee 13 state agencies, including the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, which tries to attract industry - potentially including competitors of companies on whose boards Sledd sits.

If there is the potential for a conflict, Sledd could recuse himself, just as legislators do, McDonnell said. All the Cabinet secretaries will provide statements of economic interests, he said.

McDonnell said Sledd wants to remain on the boards to stay involved in issues facing the private sector, and that he has offered to donate some of the money he has been paid for the board work to charity.

"I have absolute confidence in the ability of Mr. Sledd to do a great job to realize what the conflicts are, and in those rare cases where they may arise, we'll have a different decision-maker," he said.

"I really don't consider this a big deal or a problem for Bob Sledd to do a terrific job for us," McDonnell added.

Sledd, former chairman and CEO of Performance Food Group Co., helped start the restaurant supplier, which grew to be a Fortune 500 company. He served as its chairman when it was sold in May 2008 for $1.3 billion to two private-equity firms.

McDonnell is considering Sledd's offer not to collect a state salary. The savings could allow for more hires in that secretariat.

"I think that's a lot to ask for somebody like him to work year-round for the state and not ask for a salary," McDonnell said.

During McDonnell's campaign and since winning election, the Republican has emphasized job creation, which he has said will be the subject of his first executive order.

Executive order No. 2 will be the creation of a task force to examine where cost savings can be achieved. He said agencies could be consolidated and that performance audits will determine what can be cut, but he acknowledged that not many of those savings will be realized immediately.

McDonnell said all at-will employees - those hired by the governor - have been asked to submit résumés to serve in the new administration, if they wish, but he is not ready to say who will be retained.

McDonnell said his inauguration Jan. 16 will emphasize community service. Activities, to be announced today, include inaugural balls in Abingdon, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads this week, plus Richmond-centered activities next week.

There also will be visits to food banks, homeless shelters and prison re-entry facilities to emphasize community service in a time of need, he said.

"It's a chance to highlight people in need that are struggling in this economy and asking the people of Virginia to pay attention to people in need," he said.

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson of Virginia Beach, a longtime McDonnell ally, has been invited to the inauguration, and McDonnell said he thinks he will attend.