Calitics readers may recall Linda Parks, the Republican Supervisor in Thousand Oaks who just turned “independent” in order to run for Congress in Ventura County’s 26th Congressional District. Parks was a Republican for sixteen years and remains obsessed with conservative austerity measures. She has refused to renounce the Paul Ryan budget, and believes that “restoring the nation’s bond rating” is the best way to improve the employment situation. She says that she would not repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while insisting that “everyone will need to share the pain” of cuts. In short, Parks is a classic fiscal Republican pretending to be an independent candidate.

One of the ways that Ms. Parks attempts to bolster that image is by touting her record as Supervisor, including the notion that she hasn’t raised her own pay. On multiple occasions Parks made an issue of not raising her own pay as a Supervisor. The DCCC has compiled some of the details:

Parks Highlighted that She Refused Pay Raises on Campaign Website. Parks hypocritically highlighted that she refused several pay raises on her campaign website under the heading “honesty counts.” [sendlinda.com, accessed 5/21/12]

Parks Claimed She Would Refuse To Accept Pay Raise. In February 2005, the Ventura County Star reported that Parks voted to renew an expired ordinance that allowed for salary increases for supervisors, but claimed she would refuse the raise for herself.  [Ventura County Star, 2/9/05]

Parks Publicly Declined Two Pay Increases During Her First Year in Office. The Ventura County Star reported that Parks declined a 4% and 1% pay raise in 2003. Parks said it was time for “the whole county to tighten its belt.” [Ventura County Star, 12/12/03]

Linda Parks’ own website makes a point of noting her supposed thriftiness, attempting to use the DCCC’s own research to bolster her case.

The only problem? Parks did raise her own pay as a Supervisor by over $20,000. The original document seen here with Parks’ signature states simply:

I, Linda Parks, hereby elect to receive the 5% increase to my biweekly salary that I became eligible for effective 12/27/2009 pursuant to ordinance No. 5316, Establishing Compensation for Board of Supervisors, effective April 24, 2005. The new pay rate will go into effect beginning January 23, 2011. All prior waivers and voluntary directives to reduce salary and benefits are hereby revoked.

That’s typical Republicanism, of course: the rich get tax cuts, the middle class gets cuts to vital programs, and Republican politicians like Linda Parks get all the perks on a six-figure salary. While that’s par for the course for an average Republican, it’s particularly offensive from a self-proclaimed independent fiscal conservative.

It’s just another reason why Linda Parks doesn’t share our values, and cannot be trusted to represent us in Congress.