Don’t Let Them Gamble With Our Pensions: Reason Enough to Vote For David Kazansky for TRS Trustee

The fight over pension “restructuring” is really a fight over who controls TRS: members or political insiders. Vote for accountability & checks on the political machine - Vote for Kazansky for TRS

There it is in black and white.

The New York Times reports that Zohran Mamdani is considering delaying pension-fund payments to ease New York City’s budget gap. Now, official state budget documents backed by Kathy Hochul openly describe billions in “pension restructuring” as part of the plan to stabilize the city’s finances.

Call it “restructuring.”
Call it “re-amortization.”
Call it “pension smoothing.”

But educators and city workers know what it really means: pushing costs into the future so politicians can patch today’s budget hole.

And once again, the people whose retirements are on the line were never seriously consulted.

That should alarm every active and retired TRS member.

This is exactly why the upcoming TRS Trustee election matters.

The Teachers’ Retirement System is not supposed to function as a political piggy bank for City Hall or Albany. The pension board exists to protect members — not to rubberstamp fiscal maneuvers designed to help elected officials avoid hard budget decisions during an election cycle.

Yet that is precisely the danger right now.

The administration is openly seeking authority to restructure pension liabilities in order to produce immediate budget savings. Official city and state messaging already frames pension restructuring as a tool to close the deficit — and a done deal.

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And who will be expected to sign off on the details?

Pension boards.

That means your vote for TRS Trustee is no longer symbolic. It is a frontline defense against political interference in pension governance.

We have seen this movie before.

When governments “smooth” pension payments, they reduce pressure today by increasing risks tomorrow. Financial analysts have already warned that lowering annual pension contributions to close budget gaps shifts costs onto future taxpayers and future workers while increasing long-term fiscal risk.

Even supporters insist that constitutional pension protections mean benefits cannot legally be cut. But that misses the point entirely.

The issue is not whether checks go out tomorrow morning.

The issue is whether politicians should be allowed to manipulate funding schedules and pension assumptions to solve short-term political problems without meaningful member consent or independent oversight.

Because once pension systems become a budget-management tool, pressure never stops.

Today it is “temporary restructuring.”
Tomorrow it becomes another refinancing scheme.
Then another extension.
Then another actuarial adjustment.

And if and when the gamble doesn’t pan out, cuts to our services, jobs, schools and city agencies are guaranteed.

And, yet, every time, members are told not to worry.

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Time To Ask Tough Questions

TRS members deserve trustees who will ask hard questions publicly:

• Why are pension obligations being used to close operating budget gaps?

• What are the long-term costs of re-amortization?

• What assumptions are being changed?

• Who benefits politically?

• Does this proposal also include purchasing risky pension obligation bonds?

• What independent actuarial analysis has been provided to members?

• Why weren’t educators and retirees consulted before these proposals were floated publicly?

Those are not radical questions. They are the minimum responsibilities of a fiduciary.

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Why We Must Vote for David Kazansky

That is why this election matters so much.

David Kazansky is running as an independent, members-first candidate — not as a political rubber stamp for Mulgrew, Mamdani or Hochul.

At a moment when City Hall and Albany are openly discussing pension restructuring to balance budgets, TRS members need trustees willing to stand up to political pressure, demand transparency, and defend the long-term integrity of the pension system.

A trustee’s job is not to protect politicians from bad headlines.

A trustee’s job is to protect members.

On May 13, educators have a choice: Rubber stamp politics — or independent, MEMBERS FIRST oversight.

If you believe pension decisions should be made with members, not behind closed doors…

If you believe TRS should answer to educators, not political insiders…

If you believe fiduciary responsibility means more than quietly approving whatever City Hall wants…

Then vote for David Kazansky for TRS Trustee.

Because our pensions are not a budget gimmick. They are deferred compensation earned through decades of public service.

It’s our pensions. Our voice. Our choice.

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