Mayor’s Race: Give Hawn the credit

Reporting on Measure Q without acknowledging Brad Hawn's authorship of the pension reform measures voters ratified in the November election is like pretending Thomas Jefferson had nothing to do with the Declaration of Independence.

Despite the complexity Hawn faced in crafting meaningful advisory votes, The Bee severely criticized his efforts, including minor word choices which is a tad like John Adams taking Jefferson to task about whether they were "unalienable" or "inalienable" rights that the Creator endowed.

Friday's news story ("City seeks evaluation of exiting CalPERS," Page A-1) has a glaring omission. Like Stalin's enemies disappearing from photographs in Soviet-era history books, The Bee airbrushes out Hawn's role as the prime sponsor and author of the reform suggestions.

But voters are on to the soak-the-taxpayer con job. The union request that CalPERS calculate the amount required to drop the unsustainable state pension system simply was a ploy to attack Hawn in their campaign mailers as if he were the cause of that problem. But if CalPERS is too expensive to exit, might it not be too expensive to stay in?

With Hawn's leadership, we have some hope of getting out of this mess. Give him some credit for courage. It is due him.

GEORGE PETRULAKIS

Modesto