Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association president Jon Coupal made it clear on a radio segment this morning that his group will not be spearheading a campaign to reform pensions.
"Not this cycle, not for 2012," Coupal told Capital Public Radio. "In future years, we may get to that point. But right now, we're not in a position to be the lead organization on pension reform."
Colleague Jon Ortiz recently wrote that one of six reasons a pension reform measure won't appear on next year's ballot is the the lack of a clear leader.
Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic majority in the Legislature may come to an agreement on stopping certain abuses of the system, such as spiking and the purchase of airtime. But others are calling for even greater cuts to public sector pension benefits, possibly even for current employees.
Dan Pellissier of California Pension Reform told Capital Public Radio that he still plans to come forward with an initiative.
"We're getting a lot of interest from good, reliable Republican voters and some of the key Republican folks in the state," Pellissier said. "And we are confident that we will have the money to execute our campaign."
PHOTO CREDIT: Jon Coupal listens to a question at a Sacramento Bee and Capital Public Radio panel discussion on the state budget on March 23. (Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee).
The Author
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.