Sorry Janet, Being A Supervisor Is Really Hard

Once again, someone else is swooping in trying to save the incompetent Janet Oleszek from torpedoing her own campaign, this time for Braddock supervisor.  A key issue in the campaign has been the county's pension system - one in which Sharon "We Will Do It Next Year" Bulova says Cook doesn't understand.  Here is her press release in helping to prop up Oleszek:

"John continues to misunderstand how Fairfax County maintains the stability of its pension funds", Chairman Bulova said. We are following the guidance of our financial experts with whom I work every day and maintain a level of funding that helps to protect our retirees and current employees from being hurt by market fluctuations. His claim of being the one on the board to stand up is right, but he is standing up against good financial advice and the expertise on the boards of trustees of all three pension funds.

"I think Sharon Bulova has been doing an excellent job managing an extremely complex budget", Janet Oleszek said. "It's actually laughable that John tried to compare himself to Sharon at one time during the debate, while attacking her record of fiscal leadership in another part of the debate. If John wants to make this election a referendum on Sharon's leadership of Fairfax County then I accept."

OK . . . so let's now address the facts.  First off, deficits do exist . . . Sharon's management style on the Board is to avoid controversy at all possibility, to give supervisors the very least amount of time to deal with controversial subjects . . . her positions on Covanta and Dulles Rail are perfect examples of how the Bulova-led Board has done whatever they could to avoid large public debate on important issues.  There is brewing consternation on her left as well as her right.  Sharon Bulova just wants to get through the year, year by year budgeting with absolutely no plans for the future.  Which is probably why she thinks that the pension system is fine because they managed to make it fine this year . . . without regard to the future.  Don't believe me?  Well . . . let's go to the TAPE!  From an actual Board meeting, Sharon had no idea there were problems with the pension even when told by county staff.  As someone who ran on experience, and who has been on the Board for over 20 years, its embarrassing to every voter in the county that the Chairman doesn't know the very basic facts of the problems in our pension system.

Now let's ciricle back as to why Sharon, with no doubt a gun to her head, decided to release a press release for a candidate she did everything in her power to defeat in the Democratic primary.  Its because at the first debate, declared a "BIG WIN" by Oleszek campaign flaks, was actually a disaster.  I was able to get ahold of the debate and it was the usual Janet . . . over-coached, rambling, talking points Janet who is unable to expand past what she was coached on.  But the most interesting part is at the end, where independent candidate Carey Campbell says that there is no pension shortfall, etc. 

Then Janet gets up and starts talking . . . and not making any sense.  Why?  Because she was talking about the STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM!!!  She didn't even know the difference between the county and state pensions.  Really?  REALLY?  Which is why her campaign chairman shut the debate down after 65 minutes rather than the entire 90 minutes agreed too.  One of the most basic aspects of being a supervisor is - hello! - understanding what is in the budget! 

THIS is why Sharon tried circling the wagons around Janet, because she had too.  Remember, Braddock is her old district for 20 years, so John's very existence on the Board is a constant embarrassment to her.  Janet's campaign is falling apart at the seems . . . they are pushing that he's a communist to conservatives and that he's a "teapublican" to Democrats.  They attack him on the pensions when neither one of them apparently know what the hell they are talking about.  Her campaign chairman blogged about how in this debate, Janet "hammer home her points."  He then went on about complaining about the venue, the microphones, the people there, that John attacked Pat Herrity, and somehow trying to prop Campbell up as a conservative alternative to John.  In a long blog post, there was NOTHING on there about anything John or Janet said, no quotes, nothing.  It was one huge head fake, hoping that people would by this and not ask why she didn't know the difference between the state and county pensions.  THEY ARE DESPERATE.  Janet, Sharon, Ben - none of them realized how well John has reached out to the entire district.  He has created a citizens advisory board on the budget to solicit ideas on budget reform from the community.  He comes from the HOA world, so people know and respect him for his work in a non-partisan manner.  All Oleszek is is partisanship, as is her blogger/chairman.  Democrats, until now, have really underestimated how well John has done at reaching out to his civic groups, HOAs, and other community organizations to build his base.  Of all the districts in Fairfax, Braddock is the most "practical."  Sharon proved that, which is why despite this press release she understood what a disaster Janet is and why she tried so hard to get Chris Wade to be the nominee.

Look folks, this is about competence.  John Cook understands the problems facing the county, Janet just wants to throw mud.  John has a long-term concern about the future of the county, Sharon does not.  If you need any more proof as to how well Cook has grasped the county issues in just two years (as opposed to Sharon's 20), look at what he has to say in his press release:

Fairfax,Virginia - Braddock District Supervisor John C. Cook today issued a statement about the underfunded nature of Fairfax County's retirement systems that take care of Fairfax County police, firefighters, and county employees at retirement. The retirement systems have recently taken a hit due to the downturn in the economy, and Supervisor Cook is leading the fight on the Board of Supervisors to take a serious look at the issue and maintain the county's commitment to its employees.

"Recently, my campaign opponent and her partisan allies have criticized my commitment to meeting the challenge of reforming the County's retirement plans so they are funded properly," said Supervisor Cook. "They claim everything is fine. However, the County's own professional financial staff disagrees, and the Board of Supervisors is spending $120,000 for a consultant study to recommend changes to the plans."

Fairfax County maintains three retirement funds: one for police, one for firefighters, and one for general employees. Each of the county's three funds has taken serious losses in recent years due to a weakened economy. In 2005, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) showed the Fairfax County Employees' Retirement System was funded at 84.2 percent. In the most recent report available on the County's website (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/retirement/) liabilities outpace assets by more than $900 million, equating to a funding ratio of just 73.6 percent. A similar drop can be seen in both the Police, 91.5 percent in 2005 to 81.7 percent, and Uniformed, 90.0 percent in 2005 to 79.5 percent, Retirement Systems. Taken together, the County must address a deficit of more than $1.4 billion dollars.

To try to stem these losses, in the last two budget cycles the Board of Supervisors spent an additional $35 million to prop up these pension plans. This additional spending outpaced all cuts to parks and libraries combined over the last two years. Despite this, the funding gap remains. While this gap could be closed as a result of future investment returns, and our funds are among the best managed in the country, with retirees living longer some adjustment in the funding mechanism is likely needed.

The Board of Supervisors has followed Supervisor Cook's leadership on this issue. In response to his motion, Budget Guidance for Fiscal Year 2011 identified the need for a "continued review of the County's retirement policies and programs." And last year the Board commissioned a study, expected to cost approximately $120,000, to study our retirement plans and consider reforms. Results and recommendations are expected to come back this Fall. "I doubt the Board is spending this much tax money to study the retirement system because everything is ok. Obviously the Board and County staff recognize that we need to address the issue," commented Cook.

Supervisor Cook believes once the consultant's study is released, the Board should form a commission including the public and private sector, county management and county employees, to consider options.

"You can't wish away a challenge like this," stated Cook. "But if we deal with it today, it will be a lot easier than waiting ten years when the problem becomes a crisis.

You can't wish away a challenge like this, Sharon and Janet.  No matter how much partisan mud you throw through your blogger chairman and their far lefty allies.  The proof is in the pudding - Cook has support from business, labor, and environmentalists.  Every aspect of public interest in Fairfax county understand that even if they don't agree with John, they see him as a knowledgeable leader rather than someone, as the DCPost memorably said, "is embarrassingly short of substance."  Look at the money - John has $34,754 on hand right now; while Oleszek only has $8,868.  Where is Chap Petersen's money?

Folks, its a slam dunk.  This election is about competence, about who can handle the job of being a supervisor in a county of over a million people and a budget the size and complexity of some small states.  Janet is simply in over her head which is why so many Democrats and Independents are privately sliding over to John Cook.  Feeding lies to out-of-county conservative bloggers, traditional Democratic interest groups backing Cook, no money being raised, stopping debates before they are over . . . all the signs of a desperate campaign that knows its in trouble and are swinging wildly.

Again, let the hollowed pages of The Washington Post ring out over and over:

District 37 : There's not much to choose from here. Incumbent Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II is a highly intelligent and capable Republican whose doctrinaire, at times obstructionist, views on taxes and social issues have alienated his own party's more moderate leadership in the Senate. While he finally did vote this year for a bill to provide new roads for Northern Virginia, it was only after repeatedly helping to block better ones. Democrat Janet Oleszek is a Fairfax County School Board member who has run a lackluster campaign, at times embarrassingly short on substance. The district, in Fairfax County, deserves better choices; we make no endorsement.

Comments

[Isophorone]

Janet Oleszek is, by her own admission, from California. This at least in part explains her understanding of pension math.

[Not Larry Sabato]

If you are going to quote me, could you at least cut and paste the quote? You made my "hammered" quote into something that had incorrect grammar when it never did!