Fletcher Scores Another Big Endorsement… Continuing to skate in the direction of thick ice, 75th AD candidate Nathan Fletcher last week announced Sen. Mark Wyland’s support. Add this endorsement to a list that includes current 75th officeholder George Plescia, announced a week prior, and anyone else mulling a run could quickly be yelling uncle, albeit privately. Here’s what Wyland has to say:
I’ve known Nathan for a long time, and I’m proud to endorse him for the State Assembly. He has the experience and work ethic to be an outstanding Assemblyman, and I know he will provide effective representation to the people of the 75th District. Nathan embodies the values we all share; he will work hard to keep our streets safe from dangerous and violent criminals. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, I need Nathan in Sacramento to help me bring more accountability to our classrooms and provide our children with a quality education. As a Marine Corps Veteran, Nathan understands the issues our Veterans face, and I know he will be a tireless advocate for them. Nathan is the best choice to represent this district, and he has my full support.
Read the complete Wyland and Plescia press releases here. And, click here to read my prior post on Fletcher.
Mt. Soledad Victory… Wednesday’s California Supreme Court announcement that it will not hear the ACLU-led appeal in the case is another in a string of victories to keep the War Memorial and cross atop Mt. Soledad. These complex, "legalese" appeals and manuevers are too nuanced for me, so good press releases are in order. Thanks to the Thomas More Law Center for doin’ the ‘splainin’. Some excerpts from their release:
The California Supreme Court affirmed the precedent-setting decision of a California appellate court, which upheld the right of the people of San Diego to transfer the Mt. Soledad veterans memorial and cross to the federal government. At the same time, the Court denied the ACLU’s attempt to prevent the publication of the lower court decision favorable to the cross and veterans memorial. The ACLU was seeking to have the decision suppressed so that it would not be used against them in future lawsuits.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “This is a major victory for religious freedom, the democratic process, and for the people of San Diego who voted overwhelmingly to preserve the historic Mt. Soledad veterans memorial and cross for future generations.” Thompson commented further, “It was also important for us to defeat the ACLU’s sinister plan to have the decision of the California appellate court depublished. The ACLU wanted the decision depublished so it could continue with its anti-Christian agenda free from opposing precedent. This appellate court decision will forever be a stumbling block for the ACLU—and we are pleased about that.”
This past November, the Fourth District Court of Appeals in California upheld the constitutionality of Proposition A—the hugely successful referendary petition drive that transfers the Mount Soledad memorial property, including the cross, to the federal government for use as a national veterans memorial. In a special election held in July 2005, Proposition A passed by an overwhelming 76% of the vote. However, a state superior court judge issued an order halting Proposition A, claiming that this transfer was unconstitutional.
In a lengthy opinion, the California court of appeals reversed the superior court judge and held that the transfer of the memorial was in fact constitutional. The Thomas More Law Center represented San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial in the successful appeal. San Diegans is the organization that was responsible for the passage of Proposition A. As a result, it was granted party status in the case.
You may read the entire press release here at the Thomas More Law Center website.
Rider Analyzes City of SD Pension Program… If you’ve ever wondered why the City of San Diego is in a world of hurt, Libertarian Godfather Richard Rider helped with some further understanding this week and comes to his already-known conclusion that "the city’s pension problem is NOT the underfunding. The problem is the overcompensating." You won’t believe what you read (excerpted):
Is It Possible – 300% of Highest Salary Paid as Pensions to San Diego City Employees?
San Diego – Recently the San Diego Union Tribune ran a superb editorial on the city of San Diego’s DROP program for public safety employees. The editorial did the math, and found that a city policeman or firefighter who stays on for 5 years in the DROP program retires at age 55 with a ridiculously high combined pension equal to 133% of their highest pay (not counting overtime, which does not count in pension calculations).
But it got me to thinking – what about the OTHER city employees in DROP? About 400 of the 900+ city DROP employees are public safety professionals, but there are also over 500 other city employees in DROP. The results of my calculations are simply mind boggling.
City general employees in DROP get THREE pensions – four if you count an extra SPSP option available while in the DROP program. They get their regular pension, their SPSP account, plus the DROP account.
BOTTOM LINE: A 35 year San Diego city DROP general employee retiring at age 60 with a $75,000 salary, who fully participates in the city’s SPSP program and makes only 8% average on their SPSP mutual funds, will receive combined annual pension payouts of almost $170,000 – which is about 226% of their highest pay. If their SPSP plan earns the same as the city’s pension fund has earned over the last 20 years (10.7%), the employee’s pension is about $275,000 – about 367% of their highest salary!
But that’s not all. The employee earning only 8% on their SPSP plan leaves some money for their beneficiaries – about $1,345,000. The employee who earns the city pension fund’s average 10.7% return on their SPSP plan leaves their lucky beneficiaries $2,089,000!!
It’s time to recognize that the city’s pension problem is NOT the underfunding. The problem is the overcompensating. It is fundamentally unfair to tax city residents for public employee benefits that are many times higher than private sector workers will receive.
A Miracle Worth Remembering… This one’s not specific to San Diego, but those of us living at the southern end of the state are American citizens too (well, most of us), and this one is for Americans. One-time Californian Leslie Carbone remembers that it was 27 years ago this week that Herb Brooks took a rag-tag group of college players to Lake Placid and defeated the greatest hockey team in the world. The younger readers may ask, "So what?" But, Leslie reminds us that this was much more than a hockey match-up, then … and asks, now, "Can America recover the will to win? Can we restore the patriotic belief in the great ideals that form the foundation of United States of America? Can we overcome this tendency toward pessimistic relativism?"
Read the entire entry on her blogsite. It’s worth the memory, the history, and the questions for the future.
Have a great week, Americans!
February 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Regarding the bit about the Pension, it is amazing the “deal” that employees are given; however, we must remember that it was the elected officials who allowed this “deal” to be made. If the Mayor wants to win the support of the residents, then he needs to fully explain how this “deal” impacts and how it relates to other government pension programs (non politician, of course, since that is another special “deal” that should be looked at also). When you factor in this kind of pension “deal”, low salaries should not be an issue. Since the City has shown that they can not control themselves, then the City should look seriously into joining the State PERS system, in which they would be forced to make their mandatory pension obligations.