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November 9, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/nyregion/09abort .html?em <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/nyregion/09abor t.html?em&ex=1194757200&en=8ef40f73abce6430&ei=508 7%0A> &ex=1194757200&en=8ef40f73abce6430&ei=5087%0A Bid for Stem Cell Financing Was Late and Lukewarm, Organizers Concede By RICHARD G. JONES <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/people/j/richard_g_jones/index.html?inline=nyt- per> and KAREEM FAHIM <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/people/f/kareem_fahim/index.html?inline=nyt-per > As the battle over embryonic stem cell <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/disease sconditionsandhealthtopics/stemcells/index.html?in line=nyt-classifier> research raged for two years in California, Nancy Reagan <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/people/r/nancy_reagan/index.html?inline=nyt-per > made emotional appeals in countless television commercials and Brad Pitt <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/people/p/brad_pitt/index.html?inline=nyt-per> passed the word in personal appearances, part of a well-organized $30 million campaign to persuade voters to approve the financing. In 2004, California voters overwhelmingly approved $3 billion for the largest state-run scientific research effort in the country. Three years later, organizers of a similar effort in New Jersey <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/ussta testerritoriesandpossessions/newjersey/index.html? inline=nyt-geo> mounted a tepid two-month campaign with about $600,000, seeking voter approval for a $450 million bond issue for the scientific research. A television commercial featured a rap group that last had a significant hit 25 years ago. After the last of the election results trickled in Tuesday night showing that the New Jersey initiative had failed, 53 percent to 47 percent, politicians and pollsters alike were confounded. Yet the result was little surprise to the measure's most ardent supporters, some of whom had not formed a political action committee until September. Supporters now say they were undone by assuming too much in a state that has become solidly Democratic over the last decade and by spending too little time and money trying to defeat a coalition of well-organized opponents. "We were behind the eight ball right away, and we knew we had our work cut out for us," said Russ Oster, a political consultant with New Jersey for Hope, a political action committee formed in support of the bond issue. "The right-wing groups really got a jump on this and had an instant campaign. They ran 365 days a year. We didn't have a natural campaign in place." The initiative's defeat was a blow to Gov. Jon S. Corzine <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/people/c/jon_s_corzine/index.html?inline=nyt-pe r> , who made stem cell research a key part of his campaign in 2005. The state also has recently broken ground on a $270 million research center in New Brunswick. Mr. Corzine said he expected lawmakers now to seek smaller appropriations for the research. The governor also said that despite Tuesday's result, he believed that most New Jerseyans supported the effort. "There's still a favorable view about stem cell research," Mr. Corzine told reporters Wednesday. Mr. Oster said that although polls conducted in July, shortly after Mr. Corzine signed legislation placing the measure on the ballot, showed that nearly 7 in 10 New Jersey residents supported the research, organizers in favor of the bill also noted than barely 4 in 10 supported using state money to pay for it. Opponents sensed that much in the early stages, and went after the measure's most visible supporter, Mr. Corzine, with a campaign that raised almost a half-million dollars and taunted him in a television advertisement. "It's Governor Feelsgood's Embryonic Stem Cell Elixir," a peddler said in one commercial, as a tune tinkled in the background. "Just $450 million. Why, that's practically free." The man behind the advertisement was Steven M. Lonegan, the mayor of Bogota and a former candidate for governor who has captured attention as an opponent of illegal immigration <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html? inline=nyt-classifier> . His stands have brought him notice, if not always success. He lost campaigns to get a McDonald's restaurant in his town in Bergen County to remove a billboard in Spanish, and another to pass a referendum in his town making English the official language. As the state director of an organization called Americans for Prosperity, which espouses "limited government and free markets," Mr. Lonegan was prepared to fight the ballot measure. "We started a sign campaign that engaged people and gave them something to do," he said. The message on the signs was simple. It warned of higher taxes and said, "Vote No on All Ballot Measures." Before Election Day, Mr. Lonegan and thousands of volunteers distributed the signs widely across the state, while he traveled around in a recreational vehicle to hold rallies, writing letters to the editor and calling in to talk radio shows. A daily e-mail message was sent out with talking points. "We engaged in hand-to-hand combat," he said. He also credited a coalition of groups, including New Jersey Right to Life and the Roman Catholic church, with helping to defeat the stem cell measure. "When fiscal conservatives and social conservatives join forces, we're unbeatable," Mr. Lonegan said. By contrast, Mr. Oster said that almost from the beginning there was a sense that his group, New Jersey for Hope, was making a losing effort. In September, its first month in existence, he said, his group raised only $20,000, mostly in donations under $100. Much has been made of Mr. Corzine's personal contribution of $150,000, which was announced late last week. But the lack of other substantial early donations prevented Mr. Oster's group from putting radio and television spots on the air until Nov. 1. "The money we got was absolutely welcome," Mr. Oster said, "but we needed the big bucks to compete with the right wing. They really got a jump on us." When supporters did begin their push, their headliners were the rap group the Sugarhill Gang and Michael J. Fox <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/people/f/michael_j_fox/index.html?inline=nyt-pe r> , the actor with Parkinson's disease who also played a role in the passage of California's ballot measure. Christopher Scott, director of Stanford University <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopi cs/organizations/s/stanford_university/index.html? inline=nyt-org> 's Program on Stem Cells and Society, said New Jersey lacked a unified voice in support of the measure. In the period preceding California's stem cell vote, advocates included scientists and biotechnology executives, Hollywood celebrities and patients. Some opponents of the New Jersey measure were not sure if their effort was enough. "I was anticipating the other side would have all the money," said Marie Tasy, the executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, whose group has warned that approval of the measure would lead to cloning. She said supporters of the initiative were well-funded. Ms. Tasy said her organization, with about 100,000 members, raised less than $100,000. Still, about a week before Election Day, Mr. Lonegan said he knew opponents of the measure - despite the staunch support of the state's last three governors - had an excellent chance of winning. "I know momentum when I see it," he said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn