San Diego Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio today announced he has forged a coalition with City Councilmembers to ensure full implementation of the Prop B Pension Reform Initiative voters overwhelmingly approved in June.

“I’m pleased to announce we have built a coalition on the City Council that is willing to work together to get results for San Diegans through the full and complete implementation of pension reform,” DeMaio declared. “While we have come together as a team to get results, Bob Filner is poised to negotiate away or outright invalidate the pension reforms in this citizens’ initiative,” DeMaio noted.

DeMaio was joined at the press conference by Councilmembers Kevin Faulconer and Lorie Zapf and Councilmembers-elect Mark Kersey and Scott Sherman.

Under Prop B, a number of pension reforms are mandated, while one reform – a freeze on pensionable pay for each individual city employee – could be overridden only by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. DeMaio highlighted that each of the four City Councilmembers support a freeze on pensionable pay – meaning the pensionable pay freeze will be implemented in full as envisioned.

"I'm pleased to collaborate with Carl DeMaio to fully implement the will of San Diego voters. This City Council will deliver results for taxpayers and block any attempts to water down pension reform," said Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer.

Since opposing Prop B and calling it a “fraud initiative,” Bob Filner recently claimed labor unions have to agree to implementation of Prop B before Pension Reforms could be achieved. Filner has claimed only he can convince the unions to go along with Pension Reform.

That claim simply is not true, according to legal experts. “With just four city council votes, the unions cannot block the pensionable pay freeze as Bob Filner is trying to claim,” noted Ken Lounsbery, an attorney involved in the initiative campaign.

In addition to misrepresenting how the Pensionable Pay Freeze is achieved, Filner has not agreed to implement a number of other key reforms in Prop B. Instead of reform, Filner has said he intends to borrow billions of dollars to mask Pension Debt and extend repayment of the debt over a much longer period of time – resulting in significant risk of losses and millions in increased costs to taxpayers.

“Filner is confused at best; he is either intentionally putting out an idea that he knows cannot work or doesn’t understand that pension obligation bonds do not work like home refinancing,” said Lani Lutar, President & CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.