Vote pits David vs. Goliath

For the North County Times

For those who take tea partiers seriously, the most surprising thing about last week's election results was the lack of surprises. It was pretty much business as usual at the polls.

The 36 percent turnout of San Diego County's 1.4 million registered voters fell short of the 37 percent turnout for the 2006 gubernatorial primary. All incumbents came out on top. The three candidates endorsed by local tea party sponsors, Stop Taxing Us, lost by large margins, despite the organization's frequent opinion pieces in this newspaper, regular interviews of its leaders on the local Fox News channel and the group's endorsements touted on its website.

The only real surprise came in the county Board of Supervisors' two races, where incumbents face November runoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

You have to wonder why Stop Taxing Us did not endorse Bill Horn, given his shameless pandering to its demands for lower taxes and smaller government.

In his spring newsletter, Horn boasted of attending a local tax day tea party.

He bashed legislators in Sacramento and Washington for "bailing out entire industries, damaging our free enterprise system, threatening to undermine the best health care system in the world, and worshiping at the altar of environmental extremism." Sound familiar? You'd think he'd borrowed the script from Oceanside's latest tea party rally.

On his county website, Horn sang the praises of San Diego Design Center's President Robert J. Basso, who wrote to the 5th District supervisor to explain why this country's manufacturers are rapidly disappearing. Basso recalls the good old days, specifically 1955, when he opened his small manufacturing business at a time when "burdensome and obstructive restrictions and regulations were mostly non-existent." Horn proudly posted Basso's letter on the 5th District website at http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cnty/bos/sup5/news/letter20100319.pdf.

After reading this business owner's long list of government restrictions, condemning regulations covering discrimination, sexual harassment, the disabled, worksite safety, hazardous materials, funded vacations, retirement plans and unions, it became apparent Horn's hero believes these regulations destroyed a business climate ideal for sweatshops managed by able-bodied white males.

Horn told this newspaper he's confident he'll defeat Steve Gronke in the runoff, calling him a stooge for the unions. Political pundits say the odds are heavily stacked against Gronke growing his 20 percent primary vote into a majority.

But with Horn seen as the stooge for wealthy developers, his "let 'em eat cake" eagerness to slash social services budgets to preserve the county's $707 million reserve, the 70 percent of San Diegans voting for supervisor term limits, and his failed courtship of kindred-spirit conservatives, many are rooting for David to slay Goliath at the polls in November.

Carlsbad burns firefighters

For the North County Times

At the close of the Carlsbad City Council's May 18 meeting, Councilman Matt Hall observed, "History keeps repeating itself. When this issue first came before us in 2001, the mayor and I both voted against it."

He was referring to an increase in retirement benefits approved nine years ago on a 3-2 vote. This time he joined the mayor on the winning side of a 4-1 vote to roll back those benefits.

Hall's parting shot was self-serving and unnecessary, unless, of course, you're running for mayor as the incumbent's clone.

The new contract reduces benefits for new hires, requires current employees to increase their contribution to the state's pension fund from 1 percent to 9 percent of annual salary and rejects a request for a 5 percent salary increase to partially offset that pay cut.

The council has been praised for saving the city from bankruptcy and showing leadership for other cities to emulate. But a closer look suggests city officials were motivated more by payback than prudence.

The city's negotiator claimed costs would continue to be driven up by guaranteed benefits, the stock market crash causing dwindling returns on state retirement system investments and longer retiree life spans.

A case can be made for raising the retirement age for future employees. But CalPERS and the Legislature are addressing the recent spike in costs for the state's pension program, and Wall Street has begun its recovery from the recession. Given those developments and the city's enviable financial position, there was no need for Carlsbad to take urgent action.

Are firefighters overpaid? The city says the average gross salary of paramedic/firefighters exceeds $97,000. But $20,000 of that is in overtime pay not included in pension calculations. The base salary ranges from $63,000 to $77,000.

Mayor Bud Lewis claimed the average salary of the city's "male breadwinners" ranges from $75,000 to $80,000, although city staff in attendance had no idea where those numbers came from. SANDAG reports the city's median household income exceeds $101,000.

Regardless of his antiquated view of the primacy of male breadwinners, you have to wonder if the mayor really believes those we entrust with saving our lives and property should be paid no more than the average adult male Carlsbad resident.

One week after the council stiffed the firefighters, the mayor announced a tentative contract with the police union: 2 percent pay hikes this year and next and a phased-in increase in the amount they must pay into the pension system.

In contrast, firefighters agreed to reduced pensions for new employees and an immediate increase in their retirement contribution. In return, they got a one-year contract with no pay raise.

Looks questionable to me.