It’s fascinating to Google Ed Harris, the Democrat’s main candidate for Mayor of San Diego. He hypes his status as a career city lifeguard (a wise decision), but systematically hides the fact that he was a public employee labor union boss — a boss that was particularly belligerent about protecting overpaid and overpensioned city employees from any reforms.
Harris has been the long-time leader of the San Diego lifeguard union. He was the driving force behind the lifeguards’ leaving the San Diego Municipal Employees “Association” (government employee unions HATE to be called “unions”) to affiliate with the more militant Teamsters Local 911. But all you find in his bio is that he’s the “spokesperson” for the union and the lifeguards — and that role is downplayed.
Along with the other city labor union bosses, Ed Harris has bullied and cajoled politicians into doing labor’s bidding. These unions regularly pay to get their most compliant sycophants elected (using “Independent Expenditure” campaigns). Only fiscal reformers (led by Carl DeMaio) and the initiation process got pension reform and managed competition adopted in San Diego.
The city union bosses own the city council majority, and have for many years. For proof, look no further than the fact that the city council appointed Ed Harris — arguably the city’s most radical labor union activist — to fill a vacant San Diego City Council seat.
Hopefully this is the year we break that city council majority stranglehold the unions have so long enjoyed. But it’s a battle the unions have won before, and will be “all in” to win again. We shall see.
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SIDE NOTE: Here’s a wrinkle few are aware of: Until taxpayer reforms were adopted, San Diego full-time lifeguards had arguably the best retirement plan in the state — if not the nation. They had TWO extremely lucrative retirement plans, one on top of another. And most of the career lifeguards are still grandfathered under this arrangement.
City career lifeguards (not summer hires) were the only San Diego employee category who got the generous “public safety employee” 90% pension at 30 years starting as early as age 50, PLUS the city’s generous 401k “SPSP” plan usually reserved for only the “nonsafety” (general) employees. This fully matching “SPSP” deal allowed lifeguards to put up to 6% of their pay aside (along with an equal taxpayer contribution) in tax deferred mutual funds.
The result was that a 30 year city lifeguard would retire with a guaranteed pension paycheck LARGER than his net working salary (after deductions), but also would have a city 401k plan usually worth well over $500,000. The bottom line is that their retirement income could easily exceed 130% of their highest salary.
Sweet! Sweet — unless you are a hapless city taxpayer.
The new hires get only the 401k plan, but it’s now a fully matching NINE percent — unheard of in the private sector. And I doubt the city has any problem filling the rare career lifeguard opening.
Comments 7
FYI. The San Diego Municipal Employees Association (MEA) and the Police Union endorsed Kevin Faulconer long time ago.
Although the 5-year Pensionable Pay Increase is in place, Mayor Faulconer has given several large Non-Pensionable Pay and Benefit Increases. Notice on the Closed Session Agendas, that even with signed labor agreements, negotiations are constant.
http://tinyurl.com/20160314a
Analyze the Actuarial Valuation by Cheiron for SDCERS for 2015 compared to 2013 when the 5-year Pensionable Pay Freeze was signed. Lots of new changes and expenses, all brought forward by Mayor Faulconer on consent with no discussion. Do your homework.
Proposition B did not create any Pension savings, the 5-year Pensionable Pay freeze came out during Closed Session Negotiations.
“Sanders and Faulconer touted this as such a victory for the taxpayers,” Harris said in an interview, “but the reality is, it will end up costing the taxpayers … the savings were all out of the five-year pay freeze.”
Please analyze the City Attorney’s Closed Session Reports, specifically for Conferences with Labor Negotiators and City Designated Management Team Representatives, which always excluded our Strong Mayor from 2013 to the present.
Unlike previous San Diego Mayors, Mayor Faulconer has abdicated his Elected Strong Mayor authority by not being the Lead Negotiator during Meet and Confers with the Unions for Non-Pensionable Pay and Benefit Increases. The Unions are negotiating with themselves with no oversight by elected officials, until negotiations are over.
https://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/councilcomm/closedsess
Closed Session for Labor Negotiation for 2016.
1 of 1 Closed Session for January 2016.
2 of 3 Closed Sessions for February 2016.
2 of 2 Closed Sessions For March 2016.
2 of 3 Closed Sessions for April 2016.
Zero Closed Sessions for May 2016.
Author
La Playa, I’ve done my homework. In a mayoral contest between Kevin Faulconer and Carl DeMaio, my support goes to Carl. In a race between Faulconer and the radical head of a city labor union, I stand with Kevin.
NEWS FLASH! DeMaio is not running. A doctrinaire labor union boss is.
What you are saying is that the city employee labor union boss is as good — or a better — taxpayer choice for Mayor than Kevin Faulconer. Yeah, that’s convincing.
Do your homework, La Playa.
Wait . . . on second thought, you DID do your homework — desperately trying to make Democrats sound like more fiscally responsible choices than the incumbent Republican. Guess we know why you use a fake name.
Richard,
Our current Mayor may indeed be a better choice than his opponent; in fact, I think I agreed with that in a previous post. However, La Playa’s documented comments about Prop B and pensionable pay are still valid and worthy of much more than your grade school “Republicans good, Unions bad” response that we have all heard far too often.
Hi Richard- thanks for your interest in the mayoral campaign.
I notice you did not mention me. FYI, I am a No Party Preference (NPP) candidate. As for campaign contributions and other logistics here are a few points to add to the discussion:
As an NPP candidate I did not seek party or labor endorsements.
I have not solicited or received any Labor, party or PAC money.
I loaned my campaign $10,000 in January, and have raised around $40,000 since then- all “clean money” from individuals via phone calls and a few fund appeals- a daunting task given I am a full time teacher with no paid fundraising operation.
As a result: I am far behind the fundraising of the 2 other candidates in this race.
We are running our campaign with personal contributions from friends, family, colleagues and people I’ve know from my lifetime in San Diego, having been born & raised here and represented nearly 500,000 people during my years in the Assembly.
I am saving money by not using a consultant- my only paid staff are my campaign manager and treasurer.
And finally: according to the only poll released to date: I am leading Ed Harris by 6 points (20% vs 26%), and Kevin Faulconer is polling at only 48%.
For details on this poll see: http://ivn.us/2016/05/24/2016-primary-election-mayoral-poll/
I encourage those who are interested in this election to watch the final Mayoral debate, this Friday June 3 at 6 pm on NBC-San Diego.
The May 24 KUSI debate will repeat a 3rd time on Monday, June 6.
Thanks for your interest in the Mayoral election.
I am Katheryn Rhodes and I love my historic neighborhood of La Playa in Point Loma. La Playa was subdivided in 1849, the same year as Old Town, within the Pueblo Lands of San Diego.
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/may/04/citylights-hundred-million-dollar-question/
The ongoing issues of lack of Civic Leadership are not only with Republic Mayor Faulconer, but all City of San Diego elected officials including Democrats.
The City of San Diego is still making the same mistakes from the Pension Mess. No one has learned any civic lessons including disclose, disclose, disclose.
Mayor Faulconer and the City Council have hidden Post Audit Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) of the Successor Agency (SA) and Low Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund (LMIHAF) of the former Redevelopment Agency (RDA), through a management contract with the private Civic San Diego from FY-2011 to the present.
http://tinyurl.com/20150630a
Please have Carl DeMaio and SDROSTRA analyze and confirm if Mayor Faulconer will be losing -$61 million Cash in Successor Agency RPTTF Revenue that could be used by HUD to end Veterans Homeless. Unless action is taken by elected State Officials by the June 1, 2016 Deadline for Dispersing created RPTTF Residual Distribution aka Boomerang funds, the poor and Homeless will be harmed.
At any time in the next 2 day, as our Strong Mayor Faulconer can admit that basic financial information does not exist for the Successor Agency and LMIHAF including the $1.6 BILLION in Debt, and annual $205 million in Revenue. Hundreds of million in Cash Reserve Fund Balances has been hoarded for no reasons, including $50 that can be used for Housing. Massive negative arbitrage costs exist due to extremely high bond debt interest rates, and the -3.5 years lag time between Oversight Board Approval in 2012 and Refinancing a portion of Successor Agency bank debts in 2016.
http://www.cbs8.com/story/32102372/mayor-faulconer-to-announce-new-firefighters-deal?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
“The city of San Diego has reached a new multi-year tentative agreement with firefighters that upholds the pension reform… In addition to upholding pension reform, the new contract reforms overtime rules and vacation policies, provides increased health care funding”
Where did Mayor Faulconer get the money to give massive and constant non-Pensionable Pay Increases to every City Unions without a tax increase?
Answer: Mayor Faulconer has, and still is, liquidating former Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Cash Reserve, Unencumbered Bond Proceeds, Assets, and the annual $200 million in Successor Agency RPTTF Revenue. Through ROPS-10, Civic San Diego has liquidated @ $520 million into RPTTF Residual Distribution where the City of San Diego received 17.5 cent on the dollar to the General Fund.
Beside constant massive Non-Pensionable Pay and Benefit increases, Mayor Faulconer used the Residual Distributions, aka Boomerang Fund, to fully fund excessive Pension Reserves, Public Liability Reserves, Workers’ Compensation Reserves, and Emergency General Fund Reserves. All at the expense of ending Veterans Homelessness through payback of $215 million in Federal HUD debt.
Pathetic.