BAKER BACKS POLITO PENSION PLAN, WHILE TISEI REJECTS PENSION FORFEIT
(Source: State
House News Service 3.17.10)
BAKER BACKS POLITO PENSION PLAN, WHILE TISEI REJECTS PENSION FORFEIT: Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Baker said he supports GOP treasurer candidate Rep. Karyn Polito's proposal to eliminate pensions for future elected state officials, while Baker's running mate swatted aside a question about whether he would forfeit his own retirement payments. Baker, appearing on Howie Carr's WRKO talk show Tuesday, backed Polito's plan, telling the host, "I think that's a good idea. I wish I'd thought of it, frankly ... I am officially signing on board." Baker called it "a conflict of interest" for lawmakers to fashion pension policy. "I don't know how you can expect somebody who is actually in the system to be above it when it comes time to make decisions on it," said Baker, a former state budget chief. Asked Wednesday about Baker's remarks, Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei, running for lieutenant governor, said he did not think Polito's proposal, because it does not deal with current officials' plans, "really affects me one way or the other." Tisei told the News Service, "The question is really, prospectively, what's the best policy, and if the state makes a decision based on any type of pension issue, it changes the pension system substantially ... If the Legislature sees fit to pass a bill saying elected officials shouldn't get pension benefits, I have no problem with that." Asked whether he planned to give up his own pension, as Polito suggested she would, Tisei replied, "I've paid in for 26 years. I'm not going to give up my pension."
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