 |
 |
115 Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - A BRIEF, INADEQUATE HISTORY OF PROPOSITION 71 A friend asked me to put together a short history of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cells for Research and Cures Act. This is plainly impossible. How can one assign credit fairly? The old saying, "Success has a thousand fathers; failure is an orphan" surely applies. Seven million Californians made this success possible, not to mention out-of-state friends. Every person involved contributed again and again, working endless hours, going without sleep routinely, as if closing the eyes was illegal-all involved in Prop 71 went the extra mile; any summation inevitably shortchanges people whose efforts were legitimately heroic. But if I had to blurt out a grossly imperfect summary, it would be the following: Initial idea: Jerry and Janet Zucker, Doug Wick and Luci Fisher: may they go through life with a smile forever, for the goodness of what they began. These folks and other members of Curesnow and JDRF, assisted by Senator Deborah Ortiz, (who had tried unsuccessfully to procure one billion dollars for California through the legislature), jointly contacted Bob Klein. Bob said one billion was not enough, suggested three billion over ten years. He asked Amy DuRoss to help him lead the effort. She and Amy Lewis and Amy Daly, the now-legendary "Three Amys", put aside all else and focused on the most important adventure of their lives. This was roughly March 2003. (My own small involvement began in April of that year.) Bob, James Harrison (the talented lawyer who helped write Proposition 10) and scientists like Larry Goldstein and Paul Berg worked together to write Proposition 71, a monumental task. Every word would be dissected by opponents eager to bring it down. The new law had to be a balance between state governmental control (it was established within the Constitution, and would be run by folks who took the oath of office) as well as hoped-for freedom from political interference, like that which plagued Washington; every word was painstakingly selected for individual and cumulative impact. Two great advertising firms, Rudgate Communications and Winner and Mandabach, were hired by Bob, to do polls and help put together the advertising campaigns. Fiona Hutton of Rudgate provided stern generalship to be sure everyone stayed on message. For an initiative to be on the ballot, 650,000 petition signatures were required. However, at a meeting in famed movie director Jerry Zucker's house, Bob said something different: "Let's send a message," he said, "We want a million signatures." Signature gathering by both amateur and professionals began. People like John Ames, father of a son with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) stood on chilly windswept corners harassing innocent passersby in as few words as possible-"Support stem cell research? Sign here." Bob wanted a million? We got 1.2 million verified signatures, and were on the ballot. Financial donations were needed, and sought. The opposition tried to mudsling and say the effort was bankrolled by big Pharmacological corporations. This was utterly false, as could easily be verified by checking the publicly accessible donations list. Opposition was vociferous, and full of misstatements about the nature of the research. Some conservative religions put together anti-Prop 71 fliers which were made available in churches, in what seemed to me a definite violation of church and state separation. But the California Council of Churches saw the value of research for cure, and endorsed us, as did Catholics for Choice, and Orthodox Judaic groups and numerous other communities of faith. The California Chamber of Commerce endorsed: good is good business. Up and down the entire state, the leadership of the business community rallied. Patients mobilized their families, contacting the media to signal their support. Letters to newspapers were written by the hundreds, by the thousands: sometimes even an unprinted communication has an impact, educating the editor. We were inspired by Christopher Reeve. One of the paralyzed "Superman"'s last acts in life was to film a commercial for Prop 71. He is greatly mourned; even now his loss is an ache with us, but his spirit marches on, and we must do the same. Patient advocate groups were hugely important. JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and Curesnow were there, first and foremost, with donations of time and finances. But they were not alone. The largest coalition of medical, scientific, and patient's rights organization in the history of California came together. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research alone brought support from more than 70 groups. Government Representatives and Senators took a close look, and liked what they saw. Steve Westly was first to supported us, I believe, but so did Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Pete Stark, Cruz Bustamente, Phil Angelides, John Dutra, and Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, to name a few. On November 2, 2004, seven million Californians said yes to the future of medicine, 59.1% of the voting public bringing the California Stem Cells for Research Act into law. Astonishingly, we won every category of voters: even a majority of conservative evangelicals, previously our toughest opponents, decided to support Prop 71. Since then, there have been huge obstacles, and enormous progress. The site selection process for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was exciting, with many cities making enthusiastic proposals. Each would have been an outstanding host. But after a vigorous campaign, the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee left its heart-and its headquarters-in San Francisco. Selected by officials of the Golden State, the ICOC set a new standard for government service qualification. Every individual was an outstanding leader in his or her field: people like Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, or Joan Samuelson, founder of Parkinson's Action Network-29 champions for research would join their strengths, working together to ease suffering and save lives. A President was sought, someone who absolutely had to be top of the line: he was found in Zach Hall, acclaimed director of the Neurological Institute of Disorders and Stroke, from the National Institutes of Health. From the very first meetings of the ICOC, issues like public involvement, patient/donor safety, and intellectual property were raised, and debated. A major conference brought together "best practices" knowledge and ideas from across the nation, including the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health. Legislative maneuvering attempted (and is still trying-very trying) to impose numerous and complicated restrictions on the new program. Some policies suggested were considered not only reasonable, but valuable, and were adopted. Critics who complained about insufficient public access were soon forced to change their tune; more than 60 public meetings, roughly one a week, were held by the ICOC, committees, and subcommittees, unparalleled opportunity for public involvement. But the opposition would not accept the democratically expressed will of the people. Lawsuits were filed against the CIRM and the ICOC, seeking to destroy the new program. In the meantime, the lawsuits themselves blocked funding. Judge Bonnie Lewman Sabraw denied the five main points of the opposition, but allowed the trial to move forward. It continues today. After Judge Sabraw reaches her decision, the losing side will almost certainly appeal: first to the appellate court, and then (if that court should choose to involve itself) the state Supreme Court. Most government programs, denied the funds to exist, simply disappear. But not Prop 71. The spirit of California was too strong. As Bob Klein put it, "They can slow us down. But they cannot stop us." He reached out to friends and philanthropic organizations, and people like the Dolby family came through with donations to keep the Institute alive. Today the first Chairman of the ICOC is gathering a hoped-for $50 million dollars, so the first research grants can go out-to educate a new generation of stem cell scientists. Through it all, one man has been irreplaceable. Bob Klein's financial and personal sacrifice made Proposition 71 possible; his leadership guided and inspired the entire effort. One example: not only did he contribute roughly $3 million himself, a far greater piece of his finances than many realize, but he also turned half his real estate office into stem cell research advocates. This meant half the company no longer brought in money, but only spent... But he never hesitated. Obstacles were just a ladder to him, something to be climbed, to reach the essential goal. Somebody from another state asked, how could they duplicate 71's success, and I said: "We will give you all the free advice you care to listen to. But you cannot have Bob Klein; he belongs to California." And so does Proposition 71. By Don Reed, www.stemcellbattles.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn