Next Tuesday, November 8th, is Election Day. The marquee event of Election Day will be the presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. We’ve written about both candidates and what their elections could mean for pensions and your retirement. There are, however, a number of other candidates and issues on the ballot next week, many of which will have a more direct impact on public pensions and your retirement security. Let’s take a look.
The election with the most direct effect on public pensions will be the vote on Measure F in San Jose, CA. We’ve written before about the fiasco of Measure B, an anti-pension ballot measure championed by former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed in 2012. Measure F is the result of a series of legal challenges to the unconstitutional provisions of Measure B. If Measure F is approved next week, it should bring an end to the long-running battle over pension benefits for San Jose’s police officers and firefighters.
There are a number of competitive gubernatorial campaigns this year. The outcome of gubernatorial elections from Missouri to Indiana, North Carolina to Oregon could all affect public pensions in those states. Additionally, there are a number of state legislative chambers that could flip from control by one party to the other. We at NPPC will be watching to see which party ends up controlling the state legislature in key states and how that could impact the fight to protect pensions. You can find a list of state legislative battlegrounds here.
If you live in a state that allows early voting and you have already voted, thank you! If you have not yet voted, you can find your polling place here. Please make sure you get out to vote on November 8th and be sure to vote to protect pensions wherever you are!
