Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio held a rally with a crowd of dozens of Pension Reform supporters in front of US Bankruptcy Court to send a clear message: San Diegans have spoken by voting for Pension Reform.
The rally comes on the eve of an important court hearing on a lawsuit brought by government employee unions seeking to invalidate the results of the public vote to approve Prop B.
“Make no mistake about it, the government unions are asking a judge to invalidate the entire election on Prop B,” DeMaio noted. “We are here today to remind Judge Vargas that San Diegans have a constitutional right to impose pension reform and urge him to reject any effort to deny or delay implementation of the will of the people,” DeMaio said.
San Diego residents collected over 145,000 signatures to place Prop B on the ballot — exercising a century-old right of the “people’s initiative” to put issues up to a public vote. In an unprecedented move without any historical precedent, government employee unions are arguing that Prop B was not a citizens initiative after all and that citizens who signed the ballot measure were simply acting as “agents” of city politicians.
Aside from the importance of upholding the people’s constitutional right to the initiative process, DeMaio used the rally to underscore the urgent need for action on pension reform.
“Unlike some cities that are slashing services, raising taxes, or filing for bankruptcy, San Diegans have voted to take the path of Reform,” DeMaio said. “With their lawsuits to invalidate the will of the people, the government employee unions are trying to force us back onto the path of insolvency.”
In recent weeks, three California cities have gone into bankruptcy due to pension liabilities and unsustainable employee compensation packages.
“It is my hope that the government unions will stop trying to delay and deny the will of the people, and instead, join us in implementing Pension Reform in a collaborative way.”