San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio plans to spend his weekend soliciting voter signatures for a pension reform initiative to be placed on a city ballot next year.
Backers of the Comprehensive Pension Reform initiative claim the measure would save the city at least $1.2 billion through 2040.
Most new city hires would get 401(k) saving plans instead of city-administered pensions, and pay levels now used to compute pensions would be frozen for five years, though raises and bonuses would be unaffected.
The initiative is backed by Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilman Kevin Faulconer. It recently gained the backing of District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis who, like DeMaio, is running for mayor.
Opponents, primarily the unions representing city employees, have called the initiative unfair and the projected savings overestimated.
The deadline for gathering 94,000 voter signatures is next month, and supporters say they are about two-thirds of the way toward their goal.
DeMaio said he planned to be gathering signatures in front of grocery stores today through Monday. If qualified by the City Clerk, the initiative would be on the mayoral primary ballot in June,
