CalPERS ‘watchdog’ loses reelection bid as union-backed candidates claim pension board seats
Two union-backed candidates won election to the CalPERS Board of Administration, the retirement system announced Friday.
Incumbent David Miller, an environmental scientist and former president of the state scientists’ union, won re-election, defeating retired police officer Tiffany Emon-Moran.
Jose Luis Pacheco, a San Jose Evergreen Community College District IT administrator, defeated incumbent Margaret Brown, a self-styled board watchdog and retired school administrator.
Miller won with about 73% of the vote, according to unofficial results CalPERS posted online Friday morning. Pacheco collected about 62% of the vote, according to the results. CalPERS members voted by mail, phone and online from Aug. 27 through Sept. 27.
The California Public Employees Retirement System administers public pensions for about 2 million people. Its 13-member board oversees the system’s staff and its retirement fund, recently valued at $478 billion, along with health insurance plans for public employees and retirees.
Last month’s election was for two seats that are elected by everyone the system covers. Some seats are appointed and some represent specific groups. Only about 196,000 of the two million members voted in the election, according to ballot tabulations CalPERS has posted on its website.
Five California state employee unions, SEIU California, the California School Employees Association, the California Teachers Association and other unions lined up behind the two men.
“We worked hard to elect David Miller and Jose Luis Pacheco because we know we can trust their experienced, pro-worker leadership,” Riko Mendez, chief elected officer of SEIU Local 521 and an SEIU California board member, said in a prepared statement.
A union-funded campaign committee spent about $500,000 supporting them, sending out campaign mailers and buying ads including one that featured the two men smiling in the sunshine.
One mailer sent by the group, packaged in an official-looking brown envelope, included a list of attacks on Brown including citing harassment claims made against her by San Ramon Unified School District employees in 2006. The district found the complaints lacked merit after a 2006 investigation but later paid $1.2 million to settle four lawsuits from the employees.
And it referenced a lawsuit Brown filed last year alleging Board President Henry Jones improperly retaliated against over allegations that she misused the CalPERS name and logo for political purposes. A Sacramento County Superior Court judge dismissed her lawsuit in December, finding she did not present evidence to support her claim.
Jones was among the endorsers of Miller and Pacheco, along with five other sitting CalPERS board members.
“More than two million employees and retirees count on the CalPERS Board of Administration to maintain California’s promise of a secure and dignified retirement for those who have dedicated their careers to public service,” Pacheco said in a press release. “I am honored that my fellow CalPERS members have selected me to safeguard and grow their retirement investment as the newest member of that board.”
If the unofficial counts are certified by the California Secretary of State’s Office, the new board members will begin their four-year terms on Jan. 16.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 11:00 AM with the headline "CalPERS ‘watchdog’ loses reelection bid as union-backed candidates claim pension board seats."