Chuck Reed, the mayor of San Jose and a Stanford Law School graduate, visited the Hoover Institution on Wednesday, October 31, 2012, to discuss his efforts to reform the City of San Jose’s retirement benefits system. The main focus of the event was his talk “Public Employee Pension Reform: A Local Gov't Perspective.” Reed then met with Hoover fellows to discuss local and state pensions, the fiscal impact of rising retirement costs, and the legality of reform measures.
Chuck Reed was elected the sixty-fourth mayor of San Jose in 2006, after serving six years on the City Council as an independent voice for fiscal responsibility and reform. Since taking office, Mayor Reed has been committed to improving the quality of life in the city, boosting the public’s trust in local government, and eliminating the city’s structural budget deficit. His Reed Reforms have required greater disclosure from elected officials, toughened restrictions on lobbyists, and increased the role of citizens in San Jose government. In 2007, he launched Green Vision, an ambitious ten-point plan to invigorate the economy and improve the environment during the next fifteen years.
Mayor Reed visited Hoover as the featured guest of the Leadership Forum, which seeks to engage influential voices and rising political leaders with the Institution, its scholars, and its supporters. In the past year, Hoover has welcomed guests including Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank; Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House; and Rob Portman, senator from Ohio.
