The head of an upstart group that aims to recruit California Republicans to run for statewide offices earned $900,000 in salary and benefits in the 2007-2008 election cycle, angering some Republicans who wondered Monday if the cash is being well-spent.

Duf Sundheim, former California Republican Party chairman, collected the money while launching California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow, according to reports that the 527 political group has filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

The group was officially made public in 2008, though Sundheim said he started working on the GOP candidate development and recruitment efforts in 2007.

It was backed with $100,000 pledges from more than a dozen major supporters of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, including businessmen Lawrence Dodge and Paul Folino. Over the two-year period, the group raised $1.4 million and paid much of it to Sundheim.

Details of Sundheim's pay package, including salary, medical and automobile expenses that topped $43,000 a month, were first discussed on Republican blogs over the weekend.

Jon Fleischman, a former vice chairman of the state GOP who also blogs about Republican Party politics, was among those who criticized Sundheim's six-figure pay package and questioned CRAFT's results.

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