'They were promised a benefit': Ted Nesi talks Providence pensions, politics

12 News politics editor Ted Nesi joined Eli Sherman and Dan McGowan on “Behind the Story” this week to discuss the future of politics and pensions in Providence.

Nesi said he's been getting a lot of feedback over the past week in response to comments about the Providence pension system made by state Rep. David Morales, who recently announced he's running for Providence.

Appearing on "Newsmakers" last week, Morales said he'd tackle the city's woefully underfunded pension plan in part by renegotiating pension benefits paid to out-of-state retirees.

Cutting pension benefits has long spurred contentious debate in Providence, and previous efforts have often resulted in lengthy legal battles. Nesi said Morales' comments quickly evoked a lot of calls and emails from retirees who were upset by Morales' proposed idea.

"Retirees see this very simply: They worked, they were promised a benefit -- it's the city's job to figure out how to pay them the benefit," Nesi said.

More broadly, Nesi discussed Morales' political career and his approach to taking on incumbent Brett Smiley, who's seen as more moderate candidate and has said he intends to run for reelection. The two Democrats would face off in a primary election next September.

"There's genuine disagreement between different flavors of Democrats right now," Nesi said.

Later in the show, Dan and Eli talked about the “Stories We Wish We Wrote.” They include:

Dan’s picks

• Lax Enforcement, Lack of Awareness Result in Poor Recycling Ticket Returns in Providence by Colleen Cronin, ecoRI News. (Bonus: Cronin joined "Behind the Story" in July to talk about Providence recycling. You can watch the full episode here.)
• How AI is changing police work by John Howell, Warwick Beacon. (Another bonus: Howell joined "Behind the Story" in June. Full episode here.)

Eli’s picks

• McKee and Foulkes have our attention on R.I.’s opioid crisis. Here’s how they can earn our respect by Philip Eil, Rhode Island Current
• Westerly unveils new schools strategic plan by Ryan Blessing, The Westerly Sun

Watch “Behind the Story” Thursdays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the WPRI 12+ TV app.

• How to download the free WPRI 12+ smart TV app

It airs on TV (Sundays at 8 a.m. on FOX Providence and 11 a.m. on The CW Providence), and will be available on demand through the WPRI 12+ app and right here on WPRI.com.

“Behind the Story” is hosted by Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian of 12 News, along with Dan McGowan of the Boston Globe.