Support firefighter pensions
Lynne Abraham and Jim Kenney disagree over the pension system. Abraham seems to believe that a city ordinance allowing for a small payout when the pension does well is irresponsible. That’s troubling.
Retired firefighters live on $1,000 a month from their pension and most aren’t eligible for Social Security. More troubling is that hundreds of our surviving widows are living on a monthly pension of as little as $500. That’s not enough to cover medical costs. As a retired public sector employee on a fixed income, you’d think Abraham would understand that these very modest payments to our retirees and their surviving spouses make it difficult to make ends meet.
It’s hypocritical that she wants to reform a system that she took full advantage of. Her monthly pension is $8,924.22 or $107,090.64 annually. A firefighter with approximately the same time of service as Abraham would have received a pension of $2,402.52 monthly or $28,830.24 annually.
There is no cost-of-living adjustment in the system, nor are our members provided medical coverage beyond five years of retirement. Kenney recognized this problem and took a responsible approach to assisting them. For this, Abraham has chosen to attack him. Her pension is nearly four times that of a firefighter who risked his life to protect the citizens of Philadelphia. Now, she wants to reform the pension system after she got her fair share.
Joe Schulle
President, IAFF Local 22
Young people need to vote
City elections commissioner candidate Lisa Deeley, I commend you on your plan to impact individuals into voting. However, I believe that majority of the turnout is related to the youth generation. Young individuals are not driven into changing society. They need to be more educated about politics and informed of the potential candidates’ impact on their very future.
It is the future generations that will have to live with the decisions that one makes today. These are the individuals who need to cast their ballot to implement this change on society. Society needs to motivate such individuals to take the step to implement the change to better one’s future generation.
John Matthews
Mayfair
Mayoral candidate endorses Martina White
Boy has it been cold outside, but that hasn’t stopped Martina White from spending each day outside knocking on doors so that she can meet her neighbors.
Over the past several months, she has demonstrated her commitment to meeting and understanding the people she will be representing in Harrisburg. Her energy and desire to be with the constituents really is democracy in action.
By the time the election comes a little less than a month from now, voters will have a chance to vote for someone they know, someone they’ve met and someone who really understands the issues most important to Northeast Philadelphians.
As a candidate for mayor, it is important to me to have people who have chosen to enter into politics for the sole reason of serving their community — not themselves or special interest groups — as partners in Harrisburg. Martina knows the best way to help Northeast families is to bring good-paying jobs back to our area.
This is an urgent problem in the city. We cannot lose one more job to plants closing down or businesses moving out of the city. From supporting our police, fire fighters, and EMTs to making sure we have parks for our kids and senior centers for older residents, Martina will always work for what makes life better here in the Northeast.
I hope to have the opportunity to partner with Martina toward both of our goals of a better city for all Philadelphians.
Melissa Murray Bailey
Republican Candidate for Mayor
