With the Ventura County Grand Jury sounding the alarm last week about soaring pension costs in a report alarmingly titled "Uncontrollable Costs," it's a good bet that pension issues -- including a Grand Jury recommendation that any future increases in benefits be subjected to a vote of the people -- will be an issue in next year's election contests for county supervisor.

In that regard, should former CHP assistant chief Mark Lunn, now chief of staff to Simi Valley Supervisor Peter Foy, decide to challenge Thousand Oaks Supervisor Linda Parks, as is widely expected, he will bring a unique perspective to the debate.

An organization called CaliforniaPensionReform.com has compiled a searchable database of all retired state and local employees who receive pensions in excess of $100,000 a year from the California Public Employee Retirementment System (CalPERS).

If you search by agency and check out the California Highway Patrol, Lunn's name jumps to near the top of the list. In fact, he receives the second-highest pension of any CHP retiree: $151,949 a year. Of the 131 CHP retirees who receive annual benefits of $100,000 a year or more, Lunn is one step above his ex-boss, former CHP Commissioner Spike Helmick, a career highway patrolman who headed the agency for nearly a decade.

No doubt about it, Lunn was a well-regarded officer who worked 30 years for the agency, earned his benefits and is now collecting only what is contractually his due. Still, given the value of his monthly check and the number of years he will likely collect it, if Lunn runs for supervisor he should have an interesting perspective on ssues regarding public pension benefits, how much is enough, what taxpayers can afford, and whether voters should have a say on future benefit increases.