Lisa Brown: attempting to defund the Police and Fire Fighter pensions for over a decade

POSTED 21 July 2023

In 2018, Joseph A. Machala, retired Spokane Police, wrote to The Spokesman-Review including,

“When Lisa [Brown] was the leader of the Washington state Senate, she chaired a committee to look into the Police and Fire retirement system (LEOFF1), which was the most solvent retirement in the state. She led an effort to get control of the LEOFF1 system and use some of the funds for other purposes such as the general fund.”

In 2012, The Seattle Times editorial board wrote,

“THIS page has endorsed several reforms in state pension plans. One we do not endorse is the merger of the police and fire pensions, LEOFF 1 and LEOFF 2. The bills to do this, HB 2350, by Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, and SB 6563, by Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, should be defeated.”

The S-T editorial goes on to ask and answer,

“Why is this being considered? Only because the bills would allow the state to skip a $74 million payment into LEOFF 2, which helps the Senate Democrats’ budget pencil out.”

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Lisa Brown is going to great lengths to profess her economic prowess, while attacking our Spokane Mayor for not agreeing with her proposed “rabbit out of a hat” Ph.D politics.  Underwriters and actuaries are fond of saying that the best predictor of the future is the past.  The above is a shameful example of Lisa Brown’s slight-of-hand, three-card-monte approach to budgeting. 

We should take a lead from the legislature that told Lisa Brown a decade ago – thanks, but we’re going to pass.