A pair of ex-politicians bent on gutting retirement security for firefighters, teachers, nurses and other public workers has announced that they will not be moving forward with their pair of proposed ballot initiatives during the 2016 election.

In a statement emailed to supporters, former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio and former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said they would now be targeting the 2018 ballot, where they hope to place one or both of their pension-cutting measures. The pair had previously proposed two initiatives that would have eliminated retirement security for public workers in California.

"After conversations with members of their coalition and key donors, we have decided to re-file at least one of our pension reform measures later this year for the November 2018 ballot. By then we will know the outcome of a key court case that might limit the public employee unions' capacity to spend 'unlimited' resources against pension reform," the statement read.

In recent weeks, Reed and and DeMaio's proposed measures had run into trouble before signature gathering had even begun, with an independent poll showing support for the measures hovering somewhere in the low 40s. The pair had previously stated they would need support somewhere around 60 percent to move forward.

In addition, both Reed and DeMaio's marquee pension initiatives in their own cities - Measure B and Proposition B - were found to have violated state law by California's Public Employee Relations Board.

While the threat of a major ballot fight looks to temporarily subsided , California Professional Firefighters will remain vigilant on the issue.