Voters in an East Bay fire district that became a national poster child for pension spiking must decide whether they want to continue the current reform path or let the firefighters’ union run the district.
We urge voters to stay the course, to elect three candidates who understand the need to put the Moraga Orinda Fire District on solid financial footing: Nathan Bell in Division 1, Red Smith in Division 3, and Lucy Talbot in Division 4.
The district currently faces conservatively about $62 million in retirement debt because past board members ignored mounting unfunded liabilities. That works out to about $5,000 per household in the district.
Only in the past couple of years has the board transitioned to a solid majority that understands the need for fiscal responsibility and has begun to take corrective steps. This is no time to backtrack.
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But with three of five seats up and two board members retiring, the firefighters’ union sees an opportunity to take control of the board and capture more money for salary increases. They have put up a candidate in each district.
District residents have seen what happens when self-interest and ineptitude drive decision-making. In 2008, directors helped their retiring fire chief spike his starting pension by as much as 20 percent, to about $241,000 a year. Those same directors were at the helm as district retirement debt soared.
It took eight years to get all of them off the board. This is no time to regress. All the candidates understand the need to provide emergency medical services and protect the community from fire. What distinguishes the three candidates we recommend is that they also strongly advocate for fiscal restraint so the district can dig out of its financial hole.
Division 1: Nathan Bell, a Harvard MBA graduate and managing director of a private equity fund, is the obvious choice. He’s running against Gregory Baitx, a firefighter for the East Contra Costa fire district and a member of the same union as the Moraga Orinda firefighters. Baitx declined to meet with us.
Division 3: Red Smith, a technology company executive, provides the best hope for the district in this unfortunate three-way race. The other two candidates in the race are the union candidate, Steven Danziger, a retired Oakland Fire Department administrator, and incumbent Stephen Anderson.
The risk here is a vote split between Smith and Anderson that would allow Danziger to capture the seat. Smith is fully committed to fiscal restraint and to a serious campaign.
In contrast, Anderson has been inconsistent in his support for fiscal restraint. And, at a time when he should have been campaigning, he opted to take a three-week vacation and had made no strategy for winning re-election. Voters deserve a more committed candidate and representative.
Division 4: Lucy Talbot, a small-business owner, is similarly committed to holding the line on spending and paying down debt. She faces union candidate Michael Donner, a retired Oakland firefighter, who showed little understanding of the magnitude of the district’s retirement debt.
The struggle to unburden residents of the Moraga Orinda Fire District’s huge debt has taken years. And it will take many more. Voters should not waver from the goal.
