Villaraigosa regrets supporting union pay package

Not that it means much now, being a lame duck and all, but the mayor said this morning that the biggest mistake of his eight years in office was backing a deal that gave city workers raises of as much as 25 percent over five years. The raises were approved in late 2007, just days after then-budget official Karen Sisson warned of a large deficit the following year. Villaraigosa, who was interviewed on KTTV's "Good Day L.A.," also said that city workers should contribute as much as 20 percent of their salaries toward their retirement benefits. Currently, most pay 11 percent. The unions did agree to making concessions, but not nearly enough to offset the increased pension obligations. That's created a structural deficit resulting in all sorts of drastic cost cutting - and hollowing out many city services in the process. That damage, much of it under the radar, gets little notice by the mayor and other city officials - not to mention the two candidates running for mayor - who continue to live in some sort of feel-good parallel universe. Speak to some of their underlings at City Hall and you'll get a much different story. By the way, Villaraigosa, who was also on KPCC's "Airtalk," said he won't seek more union concessions in his final budget proposal. From the LAT:

The two candidates for mayor -- City Controller Wendy Greuel and City Councilman Eric Garcetti -- did not comment on Villaraigosa's remarks. Greuel's representative did not reply to inquiries and Garcetti's spokesman said the candidate would not have a response until later in the day. Ian Thompson, spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 721, said Villaraigosa's remarks sounded "like some billionaire on Wall Street got his ear." He said Villaraigosa should focus more on restoring city services and rebuilding streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure. "There is no good reason to move the city backward, which is what these proposals would do," said Thompson, whose union represents 10,000 city workers. "We aren't in the darkest days of the recession anymore."