NJ Education Report

“You can’t be a progressive and be opposed to pension reform.”

Democrat Gina M. Raimondo, running for governor of Rhode Island, in today’s New York Times article called “Defying Unions, Democrat Gina Raimondo Vies to Become R.I.’s First Female Governor.”

Also see Mark Magyar on N.J.’s tradition of double-dipping, i.e., state employees who collect both a salary and a pension, especially county sheriffs. From today’s NJ Spotlight: “In one of the most egregious abuses of New Jersey’s pension system, 17 of the state’s 21 county sheriffs double dip by collecting public pensions averaging $78,000 on top of their sheriff’s salaries, jacking up their average compensation to almost $204,000. That’s almost $29,000 more than Chris Christie earns as governor.”

Magyar also notes that “On the Democratic side of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer), who is the favorite to win a seat in Congress in this November’s election, both have been receiving pensions on top of their legislative salaries.”