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The 2017 Pension Political Power 25: Mike Rawlings
No. 21 Mike Rawlings, Mayor of Dallas


In November, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings testified before the Texas Pension Review Board that his city faces bankruptcy if something isn’t done to fix its struggling, scandal-plagued Police and Fire Pension System. The rating agencies agree with the former Pizza Hut CEO: In December, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Dallas’s general obligation bonds from Aa3 to A1, citing challenges surrounding the poorly funded $2.1 billion public safety pension plan. It was Moody’s third downgrade since October 2015, all for the same reasons. Just the day before the most recent cut, the pension plan’s trustees had halted lump-sum withdrawals; that action was taken in response to the 62-year-old Rawlings’s unusual step of suing the pension fund and its board as a private citizen to try to prevent a equivalent of a bank run. — Imogen Rose-Smith
![]() 2. Bruce Rauner Governor of Illinois ![]() 3. Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education ![]() 4. Laura & John Arnold Founders, Laura and John Arnold Foundation ![]() 5. Steven Mnuchin Secretary of the Treasury |
![]() 6. Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce ![]() 7. Tani Cantil-Sakauye California Chief Justice ![]() 8. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House ![]() 9. Anthony Scaramucci Founder, SkyBridge Capital ![]() 10. Kevin de León California State Senator and President Pro Tempore |
![]() 11. Mike Enzi Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security ![]() 12. Steve Sweeney President, New Jersey State Senate ![]() 13. Jerry Brown Governor of California ![]() 14. Corey Lewandowski Co-founder, Avenue Strategies ![]() 15. Paul Singer President, Elliott Management Corp. |
![]() 16. Randel Johnson Senior Vice President, Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce ![]() 17. Joe Manchin U.S. Senator ![]() 18. Kenneth Feinberg Founder and managingpartner, Feinberg Rozen ![]() 19. Scott Walker Governor of Wisconsin ![]() 20. Richard Trumka President, AFL-CIO |
![]() 21. Mike Rawlings Mayor of Dallas ![]() 22. Elizabeth Warren U.S. Senator ![]() 23. Kent Mason Partner, Davis & Harman ![]() 24. Bernie Sanders U.S. Senator ![]() 25. Randi Weingarten President, American Federation of Teachers |