San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi. File photo by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
August 5, 2011
A pension reform initiative sponsored by Public Defender Jeff Adachi has qualified for the November ballot.
“After reviewing all of the signatures attached to the petition, we have determined that the number of valid signatures on the petition is 48,160 out of the 72,699 submitted with the petition,” wrote San Francisco Department of Elections Director John Arntz today in a letter addressed to Adachi. “The minimum number of valid signatures required to place this initiative on the ballot for the November, 8, 2011 Municipal Election is 46,559.”
Reponding to the news, Adachi said, “I’m grateful to the tens of thousands of San Franciscans who signed the petition to put real pension reform on the ballot. This is a better measure than the Mayor’s and will help save nearly $2 billion in funding for schools, jobs and basic services.”
Voters will be asked to consider Adachi’s proposal and a “consensus” proposal sponsored by Mayor Ed Lee and backed by financier Warren Hellman, as well as police and firefighter unions among others. The consensus proposal includes employee pension and healthcare contribution reforms. Adachi’s proposal aims to reform employee pension contributions only.
The city’s largest union, SEIU Local 21, has not, to date, endorsed either proposals.
If voters pass both proposals and Adachi’s initiative passes with more votes, Adachi’s pension reform provisions will supersede the pension reform provisions in the consensus proposal.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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The Hunger Site
August 6, 2011 at 7:56 am
It’s ironic that they only way Adachi could get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot was to have is campaign lie to voters. Read the Chronicle article about his campaign’s crooked tactics and watch the proof for yourself here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=93123