SACRAMENTO ­­_ San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Texas billionaire John Arnold, who are backing statewide efforts to slash retirement benefits for millions of Californians, have been named "Demon Goats" on the www.DontScapegoatUs.com website published by Californians for Retirement Security. The coalition represents more than 1.5 million teachers, firefighters, school employees, police officers and other current and retired public employees.
 
Dave Low, chairman of the group, says Reed and Arnold were named because they have stepped up their attacks on the pensions and are targeting current public employees.
 
After failing to provide the leadership to settle a pension dispute in San Jose, Reed pushed a ballot measure that was challenged in court last week that would sharply reduce retirement benefits for his city's police officers. Arnold, who made his fortune working for the now-bankrupt Enron Corp., is secretly funding anti-pension efforts in California as part of shadowy efforts to cut pensions nationwide, according to a report by the Center for Investigative Journalism.
 
"In addition to billions in cuts in pension benefits that the Legislature approved last year, nearly 400 local jurisdictions have made deep concessions at the bargaining table," says Low. "Mayor Reed failed to provide the leadership in his city to do that, and now has turned to an out-of-state billionaire to back his political ambition on the backs of the men and women who protect our homes, keep our streets safe, and teach our children. The public needs to know their record, and that's why we've added them to our website."
 
Among the other “Scapegoaters” are former Schwarzenegger officials Dan Pellissier and David Crane, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, and State Sen. Mimi Walters, author of anti-pension legislation.
 
Californians for Retirement Security also maintains another website, www.letstalkpensions.com, which contains facts and links to media and resources about public pensions.
 
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