Republicans squint at Michelle Nunn’s salary

It has begun.

About this time last year, in the heady days before Michelle Nunn announced her Democratic candidacy for U.S. Senate, the AJC published the following tidbit of salary information:

Despite her Democratic lineage, Nunn has ties to the country's pre-eminent Republican political dynasty, the Bushes. Points of Light, which merged with Hands On Atlanta, was inspired by President George H.W. Bush, and his son Neil is now its chairman of the board while Nunn serves as CEO. Tax forms show Nunn was paid about $322,000 in 2011, a salary that is not unusual for the head of a nonprofit that size.

That was then. Now, Nunn is the official Democratic nominee.

This morning, Jim Geraghty of the National Review Online charted the growth of Nunn's salary from $111,000 in 2007 when she ran the Hands On Network, a smallish volunteer network based in Atlanta. Her paycheck grew, shrank, then grew again – all with the rhythms of the economy – with the merger of Hands On and the (four times) larger Points of Light Foundation:

In 2009, Nunn received $197,506 as CEO of the Points of Light Foundation ….and the same in 2010….

In 2011, Nunn received $322,056 in total compensation, with a base compensation of $285,533 as CEO of Points Of Light Foundation…

Geraghty notes that the staff of Points of Light dropped from 175 to 80, from 2007 to 2010 -- but Nunn’s salary seems to reflect those hard times as well.

We’re also told that she replaced a CEO with an annual salary of $350,000. Nunn’s people clearly think the above salary information has been shopped to a friendly source. From Nunn spokesman Nathan Click:

"It's a shame that David Perdue and Jack Kingston's partisan allies are distorting Michelle's time leading the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service -- an organization that empowers millions of volunteers every year. This is exactly what Georgians are tired of - the distortions and dishonesty coming from politicians like the Republican primary contenders."

The “so what?” of data like this now comes into play. The Points of Light Foundation, as Nunn has been quick to point out, is a Bush legacy. (She’s currently on leave.)

Either Nunn was worth the salary or she wasn’t. And if she wasn’t, then the Bush family – Neil Bush in particular – has something to answer for. And there’s no hint of that in the National Review piece.

Here's a link to a 2012 AJC piece about the five highest-paid CEOs of Atlanta's do-gooder corporations. You'll note that Michelle Nunn was nowhere close to making the list.