It's not just Rebecca Otto's positions that are being mispresented by Matt Entenza in the fight he picked in the DFL primary race for state auditor, if a recent letter to the editor of the Bemidji Pioneer is accurate.
According to a letter published in the paper from Bemidji City Council member Ron Johnson, a member of the group's board of directors, the former state representative is misrepresenting the League's position on public pensions as well.
In League’s positions on public pensions clarified, Johnson writes:
An article published July 30 reported that state auditor candidate Matt Entenza apparently claimed the League of Minnesota Cities is “pushing for the state to privatize public pensions by changing them from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution pensions, like 401(k)s.” In fact, the LMC and its members have taken no such position.
As a member of the League of Minnesota Cities board of directors, I can attest the League and its members have consistently supported stabilization measures to protect the financial health of public employee pension plans and have advocated for contribution cost-sharing between public employees and employers. The League does support exploring the establishment of a new hybrid pension plan for new employees that includes a defined contribution component, but only after careful examination of the potential financial impacts on existing plans.
According to its website, the group:
The League of Minnesota Cities is a membership organization dedicated to promoting excellence in local government. The League serves its more than 800 member cities through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services.
A search for the keyword "pensions" in the group's Legislative Topics search engine yields these results.
Perhaps what the challenger is trying to get at here is an item on the state auditor's official biography:
In June of 2011 the League of Minnesota Cities awarded her the LMC President's Award, citing her "unwavering support of Minnesota local government in enhancing effectiveness, efficiency and accountability for all Minnesotans."
Photoshopped image: Entenza wants to be auditor and he's spent over $600,000 of his own dollars in the DFL primary alone to get voters to hire him.
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