Gov. Jerry Brown occupied with his pension plan
Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Columnist
San Francisco Chronicle October 29, 2011 04:00 AM
Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ![]()
He was Oakland's mayor for eight years and has lived there for more than a decade, but Gov. Jerry Brown has had nothing to say about the Occupy Oakland protests that have been roiling the city and attracting international attention.
That's right: At a news conference Tuesday, we asked Brown to comment on Occupy Oakland, where a violent clash between police and protesters this week left an Iraqi war veteran with a skull fracture. Brown held the news conference to roll out his pension plan. And he wasn't going to be taken off message - even by the events in his hometown.
"I don't want to step on my story at this point," he said. "I've been advised."
Pensions, pensions everywhere: In any case, Brown didn't really need to worry about distractions: The Democratic governor's pension plans had tongues wagging even before his official announcement Thursday morning - in part because it's so similar to another proposal made earlier this year.
By a group of Republicans.
And sure enough, Brown's plan was far better received by business leaders and GOP lawmakers than Democrats (with the exception of the California Republican Party, but, hey, that's politics).
"I believe the governor is on the right path," said Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County).
"We commend the governor for a bold and substantive proposal," cheered California Chamber of Commerce President Allan Zaremberg.
"The governor has done something very bold ... I say we put it before the Legislature right now and vote on it," gushed Sen. Tom Harman, R- Huntington Beach (Orange County). "The governor has my vote."
Meanwhile, the response from labor was somewhat underwhelming, considering the drastic nature of parts of the proposal - raising the retirement age to 67, forcing government workers to move to a plan that includes 401(k)-style benefits and increasing employee contributions so they pay for at least half of the cost of retirement. The harshest response we saw called the plan "disappointing." And the state's largest labor union wasn't even critical.
Maybe the mild response isn't that shocking: After all, Brown gave union leaders a heads-up about the plan, and they'll no doubt push for a softening of the proposal as it winds its way through the Democrat-dominated Legislature.
That's right: At a news conference Tuesday, we asked Brown to comment on Occupy Oakland, where a violent clash between police and protesters this week left an Iraqi war veteran with a skull fracture. Brown held the news conference to roll out his pension plan. And he wasn't going to be taken off message - even by the events in his hometown.
"I don't want to step on my story at this point," he said. "I've been advised."
Pensions, pensions everywhere: In any case, Brown didn't really need to worry about distractions: The Democratic governor's pension plans had tongues wagging even before his official announcement Thursday morning - in part because it's so similar to another proposal made earlier this year.
By a group of Republicans.
And sure enough, Brown's plan was far better received by business leaders and GOP lawmakers than Democrats (with the exception of the California Republican Party, but, hey, that's politics).
"I believe the governor is on the right path," said Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County).
"We commend the governor for a bold and substantive proposal," cheered California Chamber of Commerce President Allan Zaremberg.
"The governor has done something very bold ... I say we put it before the Legislature right now and vote on it," gushed Sen. Tom Harman, R- Huntington Beach (Orange County). "The governor has my vote."
Meanwhile, the response from labor was somewhat underwhelming, considering the drastic nature of parts of the proposal - raising the retirement age to 67, forcing government workers to move to a plan that includes 401(k)-style benefits and increasing employee contributions so they pay for at least half of the cost of retirement. The harshest response we saw called the plan "disappointing." And the state's largest labor union wasn't even critical.
Maybe the mild response isn't that shocking: After all, Brown gave union leaders a heads-up about the plan, and they'll no doubt push for a softening of the proposal as it winds its way through the Democrat-dominated Legislature.
No comments:
Post a Comment