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- Ron Larsen Letter to the RFFOW
Ron Larsen Letter to the RFFOW
- By Jerry Taylor
- Published 03/5/2010
- RFFOW
Dear RFFOW:
The October and January RFFOW newsletters contained misleading comments about me. While I’d like to respond in a fashion that reflects the anger these inaccurate comments caused me, I’ll address only my concerns.
I am not now, have never been, nor will I ever be a board member of the LEOFF 1 Coalition. I do know several people who are or were on the board, but I am not active in that group.
As LEOFF 1 pension system members retire, many choose to join one of the half dozen fraternal groups for police, sheriff deputies, or firefighters. Not all pension members belong to one of the fraternal groups, and some members are still working. Our single common bond is our pension.
When it appeared that there was to be an attack on our pension fund, the idea to form a coalition was born. The LEOFF 1 Coalition was formed with support from all of the fraternal groups. All pensioners who could be contacted were advised of the concerns and requested to provide funds for what appeared to be an imminent and costly legal battle. Fortunately for us that threat subsided, but will it be the last?
I can only speculate as to why the various leaders chose to withdraw support from the coalition they formed. You read President Warbrouck’s comments about his support for the Coalition, and you’ve likely read the negative comments about the LEOFF 1 Coalition written by President Warbrouck and Jerry Taylor. Jerry blogs the LEOFF1.net site, and prints his thoughts as well as information from groups who submit it, and the communications of those
with pension concerns; you can read them there.
While I support the mission of the present LEOFF 1 Coalition, and believe it staffed by people who are as concerned about our pension every bit as much as any of you. I know that without the recognition and support of the other fraternal groups the Coalition cannot represent us all, any more than any other single fraternal group. We have lost our unity.
That thought caused me to inquire of Jerry Taylor about what the various fraternal groups were doing to organize for a group-supported coalition if the pension fund once again attacked? We used to call it preplanning.
President Warbrouck wrote that he was seeking input about whether to pursue legislative action to provide free schooling for disabled pension members. You, as an RFFOW member, now know about this, but would you have known about this if it had been proposed by one of the other groups? It wasn’t until the next issue that President Warbrouck noted this was a WSCFF issue. I asked Jerry if there was a clearinghouse—a coalition, so to speak--where interaction between the fraternal groups would allow all pension members to be informed. I am not writing this to defend the Leoff1 Coalition. They are quite capable of addressing accusations from others. What I am defending is the idea that caused the fraternal groups to form the Coalition. What I’m defending is the need for unity that no fraternal group can provide on its own.
So now is the opportunity for President Warbrouck, Jerry Taylor, and their counterparts in the other groups to tell us what they and the other fraternal groups are doing to replace the baby that they’ve thrown out with the bath water. Have they addressed these issues?
Ron Larsen
The October and January RFFOW newsletters contained misleading comments about me. While I’d like to respond in a fashion that reflects the anger these inaccurate comments caused me, I’ll address only my concerns.
I am not now, have never been, nor will I ever be a board member of the LEOFF 1 Coalition. I do know several people who are or were on the board, but I am not active in that group.
As LEOFF 1 pension system members retire, many choose to join one of the half dozen fraternal groups for police, sheriff deputies, or firefighters. Not all pension members belong to one of the fraternal groups, and some members are still working. Our single common bond is our pension.
When it appeared that there was to be an attack on our pension fund, the idea to form a coalition was born. The LEOFF 1 Coalition was formed with support from all of the fraternal groups. All pensioners who could be contacted were advised of the concerns and requested to provide funds for what appeared to be an imminent and costly legal battle. Fortunately for us that threat subsided, but will it be the last?
I can only speculate as to why the various leaders chose to withdraw support from the coalition they formed. You read President Warbrouck’s comments about his support for the Coalition, and you’ve likely read the negative comments about the LEOFF 1 Coalition written by President Warbrouck and Jerry Taylor. Jerry blogs the LEOFF1.net site, and prints his thoughts as well as information from groups who submit it, and the communications of those
with pension concerns; you can read them there.
While I support the mission of the present LEOFF 1 Coalition, and believe it staffed by people who are as concerned about our pension every bit as much as any of you. I know that without the recognition and support of the other fraternal groups the Coalition cannot represent us all, any more than any other single fraternal group. We have lost our unity.
That thought caused me to inquire of Jerry Taylor about what the various fraternal groups were doing to organize for a group-supported coalition if the pension fund once again attacked? We used to call it preplanning.
President Warbrouck wrote that he was seeking input about whether to pursue legislative action to provide free schooling for disabled pension members. You, as an RFFOW member, now know about this, but would you have known about this if it had been proposed by one of the other groups? It wasn’t until the next issue that President Warbrouck noted this was a WSCFF issue. I asked Jerry if there was a clearinghouse—a coalition, so to speak--where interaction between the fraternal groups would allow all pension members to be informed. I am not writing this to defend the Leoff1 Coalition. They are quite capable of addressing accusations from others. What I am defending is the idea that caused the fraternal groups to form the Coalition. What I’m defending is the need for unity that no fraternal group can provide on its own.
So now is the opportunity for President Warbrouck, Jerry Taylor, and their counterparts in the other groups to tell us what they and the other fraternal groups are doing to replace the baby that they’ve thrown out with the bath water. Have they addressed these issues?
Ron Larsen
