On Monday January 18, 2015, former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced that he is halting his plans to add two pension-cutting measures to the November ballot. Instead, he and former San Diego Council Member Chuck DeMaio jointly stated that they will push for only one of the measures to move forward on the November 2018 ballot. Labor organizations are rejoicing over this news and predict that the measure appearing on the November 2018 ballot is a long shot.
Reed attributed the regression of the measures to insufficient support from potential funders and says they will “wait for 2018 for higher prospects for a better return.” Both measures performed poorly in a recent poll, which made potential funding supporters wary. Steve Maviglio, a Union Coalition Spokesperson, predicts 2018 will be no better for the Reed/DeMaio pension measures. He says “2018 ballot measure attacking pensions faces an uphill climb. The most likely scenario: pension changes will continue to be negotiated at the bargaining table – right where those discussions should occur – instead of on the ballot.”
This is a positive event for ACSS members and all state workers can let out a sigh of relief knowing that, for the time being, their pensions are going to stay put. As always, ACSS will closely follow this issue and will provide you with updates.
Click here to read the article in the Sacramento Bee
Click here to read Steve Maviglio’s article in Fox&Hounds