Sestak's 128% Staff Turnover Nearly Quadruple Pa. Average

Press Release

Sestak's 128% Staff Turnover Nearly Quadruple Pa. Average

Sestak lost 23 staffers in 2007 and first half of 2008; average in Pa. delegation was 6 lost staffers.

The Craig Williams for Congress campaign released information today highlighting Congressman Joe Sestak's 128 percent staff turnover rate during his first 18 months in office, nearly quadruple the state average of just 33 percent. Sestak's turnover of 23 staffers is just one less than the combined total staff turnover in the five Philadelphia and suburban Congressional offices of Representatives Bob Brady (3), Jim Gerlach (7), Chaka Fattah (5), Allyson Schwartz (5), and Patrick Murphy (4).

The information was obtained through the campaign's review of official government records covering 2007 and the first 6 months of 2008. The totals, which do not include temporary staffers or interns, show that just three of the 14 staffers who began working with Congressman Sestak when he took office have chosen to remain with him. The loss of 23 staffers in his first 78 weeks in office means he has had to replace a staffer about once every three weeks on average.

The Hill newspaper reported last year that many staffers left because of Sestak's treatment of staff:

"Some aides have also bristled at their boss's temper. At a markup in the House Education and Labor Committee this year, Sestak dressed down a legislative assistant in a manner that got the attention of other lawmakers and aides… The environment was so difficult for some aides that they quit without having found a new job. Five former staffers who spoke to The Hill on the condition that they not be quoted cited excessive work hours and Sestak's temper as reasons for their departure." (Source: The Hill, 9/4/07).

Sestak's treatment of subordinates was also an issue when he was removed from his post in the Pentagon, as the Navy Times reported last year:

"On his first day on the job in July 2005, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen fired Sestak from his job as deputy chief of naval operations for warfare requirements and programs. The reason cited for his dismissal was "poor command climate," the service said at the time. Sestak was then shuffled into lower-profile desk jobs before he retired in January 2006 as a two-star admiral." (Source: Navy Times, 9/5/07).

"When you are constantly hiring new staff members, you create a work environment that is in constant upheaval," said Pete Peterson, spokesperson for the Williams campaign. "There are many Members of Congress in the region recognized for their high level of constituent service, but none have the turnover rate of Congressman Sestak."

According to Peterson, all of the information was obtained through a review of the Statement of Disbursements of the House of Representatives the same source the Williams campaign used to uncover Sestak's spending of $632,000 in taxpayer-paid mailings during his first 18 months in office. Peterson said those documents also showed that Sestak's claim during Wednesday's debate about the amount of money he spent on taxpayer-funded mailings was not truthful.

At the debate, Sestak claimed that he spent 45-cents per person living in the district on taxpayer-paid mass mailings. But according to 2006 American Community Survey, the 7th District has a population of 643,911 people, meaning Sestak spent 98 cents per resident, more than double the amount he publicly stated. 44-cents of that amount was spent on postage while another 54-cents was spent on printing and production costs for the slick, full-color mailings.

Peterson said even that number is misleading, noting that a better indicator would be households in the district, as mass mailings are typically limited to one per household. With an estimated 250,090 households in the district, Sestak spent more than $2.50 per household of taxpayer money in self-promotional mailings in his first 18 months in office. In contrast, Congressman Bob Brady, who represents parts of Delaware County, spent less than seven-tenths of a penny per household on mailing costs. Congressman Patrick Murphy, the only other freshman in the Philadelphia suburbs, spent 37 cents per household, one-seventh of what Sestak spent.

The Williams' campaign said that the 18 volumes of Statement of Disbursements of the House of Representatives detailing Sestak's spending and staff turnover are available for review in his campaign office. Craig Williams has previously said the information contained in the two to three inch books should be made available online for public review in the interest of openness and transparency. The Williams campaign was forced to obtain the information by contacting the House Document Room and requesting the large volumes.

Craig Williams is running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, comprising most of Delaware County and parts of Montgomery and Chester Counties. Williams is a former federal prosecutor, Marine combat veteran, and former active duty Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He lives in Concord Township, Delaware County, with his wife Jennifer, daughter and two step-children. The 7th District is his home - where he lives, where his kids go to school, where he pays taxes, where he attends church, and where he intends to spend the rest of his life.

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