From the George Plescia for Senate campaign…
While San Diego Leads the Way On Pension Reform – Marty Block Remains Silent
San Diego – George Plescia today called on his opponent for the 39th Senate District, Assemblyman Marty Block, to support placing a state-wide voter initiative on the ballot before the deadline to take such action passes. Block has been elected as California’s 78th District Assemblyman since 2008 and has failed to support meaningful reforms to California’s public pension system since his election.
“San Diegans have spoken loud and clear: it’s time to fix our broken public pension system. Now, they are watching to see if Sacramento politicians like Marty Block have heard them,” said Plescia. “The Legislature has until June 28 to put real pension reform before the voters, but with that deadline about to expire, we’re left to ask what Block’s plan is to solve California $500 billion unfunded pension liability, to reduce costs to taxpayers, and to end abuses such as spiking and double dipping.”
Governor Jerry Brown’s pension reform was introduced by Senate and Assembly Republicans in February. It has not had a single hearing, nor a single Democratic co-author.
“Voters have grown tired of empty promises by Sacramento politicians that they’ll address reform ‘sometime in the future,’ and are equally wary of anything the Legislature might pass and slap a ‘reform’ label on. If one thing is clear, it’s that Californians want real reform. It’s time for Marty Block to prove he’s listening and show some leadership on pension reform – San Diego is watching,” Plescia continued.
June elections in the cities of San Diego and San Jose saw 66% and 70% voter-approved pension reform measures pass. The burden of meeting unfunded pension costs jeopardized the cities’ ability to provide other essential services, such as police and firefighters.
A pension study by the Stanford institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) found that delaying pension reform costs California $3.4 million a day.
“The Legislature’s credibility on issue is beyond repair. Voters know that pension reform needs to be on the ballot where they can make an informed decision on whether it is real reform or not, and vote accordingly. In the meantime, the June 28th deadline looms,” Plescia said.
Comments 1
Keep after Block, George. His biggest weakness is his own agenda. He is anti-jobs, anti-children, anti-taxpayer, anti-reform, anti-California.
The only thing Block is FOR is his labor union bosses. All else is secondary.