Montanez' pay at DWP

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will pay Cindy Montanez $12,500 a month to serve as special advisor to the utility's general manager.

DWP General Manager H. David Nahai announced yesterday that he is hiring Montanez, the former assemblywoman and one-time candidate for City Council, to report to him on state policy issues.

She is on contract for three months and will work full time.

"Cindy will provide expert advisory services, advocacy, strategic analysis, and stakeholder development relative to California state policy and legislation," Nahai wrote in a bulletin to DWP employees.

While the DWP already has paid lobbyists in Sacramento and a public relations staff in Los Angeles, Nahai said Montanez will help the DWP's efforts to influence policy and legislation.

The job is the latest for Montanez since she left office and dropped her council campaign in a nod to Councilman Richard Alarcon, who ultimately won the seat for the Northeast San Fernando Valley.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Montanez to the Los Angeles Planning Commission, an unpaid post. Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez appointed her to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, which pays nearly $130,000 a year.