I guess the upside is an anti-public school, anti-union activist organization got hosed out of $15,000 by the freshman state senator

Freshman Pa. senator breaks 'no pension' promise

After signing a pledge not to take a taxpayer-funded pension, a freshman state senator from Cambria County has ... you guessed it ... signed up for a taxpayer-funded pension.

Sen. Wayne Langerholc, who replaced long-serving Democrat John Wozniak, was the beneficiary of a $15,000 advertising campaign by the conservative Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania during the fall campaign.

It came in return for his signing off on a pledge to embrace the activist group's pro-school choice, pro-pension reform and anti-union agenda.

But as our pal Dennis Owens of ABC-27 reports, Langerholc, who was sworn into office on Tuesday, turned around and signed up for a retirement plan with the State Employees Retirement System.

As Owens notes, lawmakers have 30 days to decide whether to take the retirement plan. In an interview with his hometown paper that ran Wednesday, Langerholc listed fixing the state's fiscal situation as of this top priorities.

"The Legislature enacted many heroin prevention and treatment bills last session, but we are far from a full and perfect solution," he told The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown. "The state's fiscal situation also looms as an enormous challenge. If the economy fails to rebound and spending continues at current levels, we could face a $2 billion structural deficit next year. Clearly, fiscal restraint and out-of-the-box solutions are in order to save taxpayer dollars."

So what gives?

Langerholc told Owens that he wants all legislators and new hires to be eventually put into a 401(k)-style retirement plan common in the private sector. It's also one of the prime components of a pension reform bill that failed in the last legislative session.

"That's something I'm looking at. To be able to work toward a 401(k), to be a part of that and not be a part of the state system," Langerholc said. "That's something that's sorely needed. I'm ready to lead the fight to take the existing pensions into 401(k)."

As you might imagine, the folks at the Citizens Alliance feel like they're the victims of a bait-and-switch.

"It's appalling, it really is," the group's executive director, Leo Knepper, told Owens. "He didn't just lie to us. He lied to his constituents ... "That's the typical politician non-answer."

Knepper told Owens that Langerholc could have fought the pension reform fight without actually signing up for a retirement plan, thus honoring his pledge.