Pensions is Top Issue in Zane, Smith Supervisorial Debate

Wednesday night's debate between Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane and former Rohnert Park Mayor Tim Smith, who is running to win Zane's seat in the District 3 Supervisor Race — which includes Rohnert Park — centered around the soaring cost of county pensions and the need for reform.

Though issues such as the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit also came up, as well as funding to fix crumbling county roads, Smith steered the conversation back towards the high cost of pensions in Sonoma County, the Press Democrat is reporting today. The article stated that:

Time and again, former Rohnert Park City Councilman Smith returned to what is the central theme of his insurgent candidacy — the need for swift and significant pension reform.

Zane warned the audience of about 30 listeners at the League of Women Voters forum at Rohnert Park City Hall that they “should be suspect” when they hear a candidate offering easy solutions to complex problems.

She noted that she and Supervisor David Rabbitt spent six months researching and writing a pension overhaul plan that calls for raising retirement ages, capping pensions, prohibiting spiking and reducing county debt.

What do you think Sonoma County needs in a supervisor? Do you think pension reform will go far in solving the county's financial problems?