Dede Scozzfava will be paid $100,000 in her new Department of State job, more than the Gouverneur Republican ever earned in a single year as a state Assemblywoman.

Scozzafava was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as deputy secretary for local government earlier this month after deciding not to seek a seventh term in the minority conference.

The assemblywoman's previous highest grossing year was 2009, when she made $98,367.12, according to the state comptroller's office. Her $79,500 base salary was augmented by a stipend she received as Minority Leader Pro Tempore, the conference's No. 2 position, from April to November.

Scozzafava resigned as second-in-command after endorsing Democrat Bill Owens in the 23rd Congressional District's special election, a move the assemblywoman said was best for her constituents, but which the GOP considered disloyal. The Gouverneur resident was the Republican and Independence Party candidate in that race; she suspended her bid three days before Election Day.

From a purely financial perspective, the endorsement proved costly.

Scozzafava took in $88,500 in her final year in the Assembly, the lowest she had made since her first year.

From a political perspective, the backing of Owens opened new avenues for the moderate Republican and former village mayor. Stripped of her title and knowing she would not stand for re-election, Scozzafava openly endorsed three Democrats in 2010 races: Cuomo, Owens and Brian McGrath, her intended successor in the 122nd Assembly District. (Republican Ken Blankenbush won the race instead.)

Scozzafava's loyalty, combined with her expertise in governments both large and small, likely made her an easy pick for Cuomo.