I am increasingly aware of concerns being expressed by some candidates about “bloated” public pensions in Newport Beach and California.
Perhaps a few facts from CalPERS will help our understanding of this issue:
– The average annual pension is $25,000 a year.
– The average length of service is 20.1 years
– The average age of retirement is 60
– 78 percent of all retirees receive $36,000 or less from their public pensions.
I retired at the age of 70 after more than 22 happy years of service at Mariners Library.
My taxable pension is $24,921.84 a year.
You decide.
Andrea (Andy) Lingle
In the mail today comes Newport Beach City Council candidate Ed Reno’s blaring boast that he deserves election because he is the most Republican candidate, endorsed by the Republican Party and three Republican officeholders whose districts, by the way, include no part of Newport Beach.
Wait a minute! It makes no difference who is the most Republican, most Democrat, or most Independent candidate for an office that by California law is non-partisan.
Please, everybody, be reminded that issues facing a City Council member, like City Hall design, or traffic regulation, or senior services are not resolved by party affiliation. They are resolved by clear thinking and common sense.
To those of us who have spent many years in the conduct of city government, Reno’s manipulation of what qualifies a candidate is not just misleading, it’s wrong.
Robert Shelton
Robert Shelton is a former city manager, councilmember and mayor of Newport Beach.
(Re: “More Newport Name Games,” NBI, 10/8:)
PLEASE! PLEASE! Keep the name Bonita Canyon Sports Park. It’s part of Newport Beach and is easily located.
If Mayor Curry wants to honor Ronald Reagan, he can put up a large picture of him in his own home.
There are many structures around California that are named for Reagan. Let’s keep local features in Newport Beach named for their location.
Helen Dinkins
Your Fair Game column on the park was much more reasoned than I am feeling. There are many of us – and I’ve lived in Newport nearly 30 years – who do not remember Ronnie so warmly.
When he was governor of California he cut spending all right, but at the expense of citizens least able to complain. Long-time California residents will remember that he closed costly state facilities for the mentally retarded and then conveniently forgot the other half of the promise: to channel the saving to cities in order to fund the necessary local facilities. As the mother of a handicapped son, I was part of the effort to try to raise money so our children would have appropriate housing, schooling and medical care – the things we naturally expect to be available to all our children. It was and still is a tough job.
As an afterthought, it appears that Mayor Curry wanting to name a park for Ronnie was an idea that sprang wholly formed from his head, like Athena, and so excited him he forgot to involve the rest of the city council members before leaping over to Parks, Beaches and Recreation.
Bette Ross
