Pension Roundup: Winners and Losers, from the 2014 Election

上周养老金被证明是直接或间接的选举问题，在美国的一些国家和市政当局。结果被混合。同样地，选民在少数多数共和党国家 - 阿拉斯加，阿卡斯纳斯，内华达州和南达科拉 - 投票上筹集最低工资时，选民们送了一条冲突的信息，所以他们对所定义的福利养老金改革的看法也是复杂的。

As a general rule, when the pension debate was framed as a budget and financial issue, reformers were able to gain the upper hand. When the debate was framed as a health and safety issue, or more broadly around threats to education, then the defined benefit camp usually won. Here is a roundup of the most important races and results for defined benefit pensions:

凤凰:投票initiative. Proposition 487, defeated.

This was the biggest win of the midterm elections for defined-benefit-pension defenders. The initiative on the ballot in Phoenix would have halted defined benefit pensions for new public employees and switched them to a 401(k) system. Even though the language of the initiative sought to specifically exclude public safety workers, firefighters and police were concerned the proposal would affect their benefits. They pushed hard to see that Proposition 487 was defeated, fighting against outside money in the form of 501(c)(4) political contributions. In the end, 57 percent of Phoenix voters said no to pension reform.

Rhode Island: governor. Gina Raimondo, winner.

作为罗德岛的普通财务主管，吉娜莱蒙多successfully championed pension reform, resulting in the 2012 passage of the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act by the state legislature. But she did so over strong objections by union beneficiaries, and her reforms are now being challenged in the courts. When Raimondo announced she was running for governor, with incumbent Lincoln Chafee deciding not to serve a second term, the question became whether a pension reformer could successfully win both aDemocratic primaryand higher office. The answer turned out to be yes, but it was close.

Raimondo能够赢得小学中的42％的投票，她的两个挑战者分配了渐进表决。在大选中，联盟批评者威胁要投票赞成共和党候选人，但莱伊蒙托赢得了40％的投票，击败了36％的共和党艾伦的鲍勃·阿利鲍勃希利有22％。（与养老金无关的有趣事实：Raimondo将在作为州长的任期内留在自己的家中。罗德岛是没有州长豪宅的三个州之一。）

Pennsylvania: governor. Tom Wolf, winner.

Pensions were not the only reason Pennsylvania voters rejected one-term governorTom Corbett, a Republican, but the issue was a contributing factor. Corbett tried and failed to get defined-benefit-pension reform through the legislature.汤姆沃尔夫, a Democrat and former businessman who beat Corbett 55 percent to 45 percent, said he wouldn’t cut worker benefits. Wolf’s pension-friendly views could set up a confrontation with the state’s Republican majority in the state legislature, which has been working on various pension reform proposals.

伊利诺伊州：州长。布鲁斯拉克，赢家。

Pension reform inIllinois目前在贫穷时，国家等待法院挑战的结果。如果国家高级法院击中威廉机关的养老金改革努力Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signed into law late last year, then it is back to the drawing board. Bruce Rauner, a former private equity executive and Republican who defeated Quinn, 51 percent to 46 percent, becoming the first GOP governor of Illinois since 2003, has promised to be more aggressive on pensions than Quinn. He will have the backing of the state’s pro-business groups, but not necessarily the Democratic state legislature.

San Jose, California: mayor. Sam Liccardo, winner.

This race was only called Monday, when Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese finallyconceded to Sam Liccardo，圣何塞市议员。两者都是民主党人。LICCARDO是亲养老金改革候选人，而皮质塞受到联盟的青睐，并争取增加火灾和警察的资金。伯爵：Liccardo赢得了3,500票和51％的投票，其中几千名选票仍然出现。

At first glance the result in San Jose would seem to contradict the idea that pension reform is harder to win when the debate becomes one about public safety. But the tight nature of the San Jose race speaks directly to that point. Liccardo was running on a promise of continuing to uphold pension reform measures that had been championed by incumbent mayorChuck Reed, who could not run this time. In June 2012 San Jose had voted for Reed’s pension reform measures 69 percent to 31 percent.

The backlash against reform, however, was strong. The police in particular argued that the inability to provide attractive benefits was causing attrition on the force and among new recruits. As with pension reforms elsewhere, Reed’s ballot measure is being challenged in the courts. Now, after his narrow win, Liccardo has pledged to defend Reed’s pension legacy.

更多地获得更多pensions。

Follow Imogen Rose-Smith on Twitter at@imogennyc。