Prop. 14 News Coverage: Campaign Chicken Feed and Editorials

The Biopolitical Times this week briefly explored campaign spending on Proposition 14, newspaper editorials and opposition to the $5.5 billion stem cell research measure on this fall's California ballot.

The piece by Pete Shanks, who has followed the state stem cell agency for a number of years and opposes the measure, called the $18 million spent on behalf of Proposition 14 "almost modest." It is actually chicken feed compared to the more than $700 million spent so far on California on all ballot propositions.

Indeed, the $18 million is smaller than many grants from California's stem cell agency, which would be refinanced and significantly expanded under Proposition 14. A substantial number of the agency's grants run about $20 million. 

Several years ago, Robert Klein, the Palo Alto real estate developer heading the campaign, told the California Stem Cell Report that the effort would cost $50 million. However, the more modest $18 million may be the product of a difficult fundraising environment this year rather than reflecting what is needed to win approval of the measure. Or it could be a lack of enthusiasm among potential major donors.  

Known officially as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the agency is scheduled to begin closing its doors this winter without a substantial infusion of cash.

Shanks also tallied up newspaper editorials on Proposition 14 and said, "Overall, the  'NO' publications seem far more impressive." Many of the major newspapers in the state oppose the measure, including the Los Angeles Times, the state's largest circulation newspaper. The San Francisco Chronicle, which spent months in 2018 analyzing the operations of the stem cell agency, also opposed Proposition 14. 

Shanks noted that Zach Hall, the first president of the agency, says the agency has served its purpose and no longer is needed. The California Stem Cell Report on Monday first reported Hall's position. 

The Biopolitical Times is produced by the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, Ca., which opposed creation of the stem cell agency in 2004.  

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Read all about California's stem cell agency, including Proposition 14,  in David Jensen's new book. Download it from Amazon:  California's Great Stem Cell Experiment: Inside a $3 Billion Search for Stem Cell Cures. Click here for more information on the author.

Proposition 14: Stem Cell Balderdash at Sacramento Bee

Has California's stem cell program "relieved the suffering of millions?” The Sacramento Bee thinks so, but the assertion is totally false. 

It was contained in an editorial today that endorsed Proposition 14, which would save the state stem cell program from financial extinction along with broadly expanding the scope of the agency, known formally as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). 

The agency was created in 2004 and was given $3 billion that the state borrowed. The cash is now running out. And the agency will begin closing its doors this winter without a massive infusion of money. Proposition 14 provides $5.5 billion. 

During its nearly 16 years, the agency CIRM has not yet funded research that has led to a stem cell treatment widely available to the public and approved by the federal government. 

It has helped to fund 64 clinical trials, which are a necessary prelude to commercializing a therapy. Some 30,000 patients would have to be enrolled in each of those trials to bring the "relieved-suffering" figure to two million.

The “suffering of millions” rhetoric was not the only case where the editorial echoed campaign hype. The Bee also said that the measure would cost only “$5 per person per year for 30 years,”  repeating an unsubstantiated assertion by the campaign. It may or may not be accurate, but it would involve a series of calculations and assumptions that the campaign is unwilling to share with the public. 

The California Stem Cell Report asked the campaign 53 days ago how it came up with the figure. The campaign still has not responded, which is a reasonable indication that the campaign lacks confidence in the number, to put it mildly.   

The editorial is behind a paywall. If you would like to see a copy, please email djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.

Los Angeles Times Opposes $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Ballot Measure, Says State Has Higher Priorities

California's largest circulation newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, this morning editorialized against Proposition 14, the $5.5 billion stem cell measure on this fall's ballot, declaring that the state has "other, more urgent spending priorities."

The Times said,

"Now is not the time for a huge new investment in specialized medical research. First, it makes sense to wait until after the election; if Democrats do well, there should be growing support for embryonic stem-cell research at the federal level, which is where such funding should take place. 

"The future of California’s pandemic-battered economy and budget remains to be seen. Waiting also would give voters a chance to find out how well the state’s stem-cell research projects continue without state dollars, and whether some of the promising advances lead to breakthrough therapies and a return on California’s investment."

The Times claims a daily readership of 1.3 million and a combined print and online local weekly audience of 4.6 million.

The Times is the fifth daily newspaper to oppose Proposition 14. The initiative would save the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is formally known, from financial extinction. It is running out of the $3 billion it was provided with in 2004 and will begin closing its doors this winter without a major infusion of cash.  

The Times editorial discussed Proposition 14 and the history of the agency in some detail and the role of its sponsor, Robert Klein, a Palo Alto real estate developer. 

Klein sponsored and was responsible for the drafting of Proposition 14 and the ballot initiative that created the stem cell agency in 2004, He ran the campaign then and is doing so again this year. He was the first chairman of the CIRM governing board and served for 6 1/2 years. He also contributed millions of dollars to both ballot measure campaigns. 

The Times wrote, 

"Klein’s role and the bloated structure of CIRM’s super-sized governing board have given rise to some serious ethical mishaps, including a board member who improperly intervened to try to get funding for his organization. (He is no longer on the board.) After this and several other examples of impropriety, rules were tightened. Board members must recuse themselves from votes when there is a conflict of interest, but with 29 members who all want certain projects to receive funding, there is too much potential for mutual back-scratching. Instead of repairing this problem, the new proposition would expand CIRM’s board to 35 members and retain its troubling independence from oversight by the governor and Legislature, leaving it open to further conflicts of interest.

"Proposition 71 hasn’t yet yielded a significant financial return on investment for the state — or the cures that were ballyhooed at the time. Though no one ever promised quick medical miracles, campaign ads strongly implied they were around the corner if only the funding came through. Proponents oversold the initiatives and voters can’t be blamed if they view this new proposal with skepticism."

The Times noted a number of lingering issues involving the agency, including the size of its 29-member board and the fact that members "generally have ties to the advocacy organizations and research institutions that have received most of the money." (For more on that subject, see here.)

The Times credited CIRM with giving "rise to a burst of scientific discovery." It said that CIRM has supported "promising advances in the treatment of diabetes,  'bubble boy' immune deficiency and vision-robbing retinitis pigmentosa, but other efforts have fallen short in clinical trials." The editorial also said CIRM made "the state the 'it' place for stem-cell research."

Unlike other newspaper editorials, the Times suggested that backers of the agency could come back in a couple of years with a revised, scaled-down proposal that would address issues with the agency.  The agency will still be operating during that period on a minimal level, administering multi-year grants with a skeleton staff.

The Times wrote, 

"There would be an opportunity to rethink and rewrite any future proposals, which should include a far more modest ask of taxpayers as well as fixes to the structure and inflated size of the CIRM board. The institute should also be placed under the same state oversight as other agencies reporting to the governor.

"If CIRM needs money for a basic operating budget over the next couple of years, that could be covered by the state’s general fund. The agency still needs to administer already-funded projects and could use that time to discuss a more affordable path forward. Right now, the state has other, more urgent spending priorities." 

For more on the life and times of the stem cell agency, Klein and issues involving the agency, see David Jensen's new book, "California's Great Stem Cell Experiment: Inside a $3 Billion Search for Stem Cell Cures."  Jensen has covered the agency since 2005 and written more than 5,000 items on the subject plus a number of freelance articles for Capitol Weekly, The Sacramento Bee, and other publications.

(Editor's note: Our count of newspaper editorials pro and con shows six with five against and one in support. They include the Times, Chronicle, Bakersfield Californian, San Jose Mercury, Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the Bay Area Reporter. If you know of others, pro and con, please email djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.) 

San Francisco Chronicle Says No to $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Measure, Proposition 14.

The San Francisco Chronicle today urged its readers to reject the state ballot measure, Proposition 14, that would stave off the demise of California's stem cell agency with a $5.5 billion infusion of cash. 

The Chronicle's headline on its editorial said, 

"No on Prop. 14; no need to replicate California’s disappointing stem cell experiment"

The editorial cited the Chronicle series in 2018 assessing the work of the agency. Written by Erin Allday,  the news story said,

 “Promised breakthroughs used to sell Proposition 71 in 2004 aren’t panning out, a Chronicle investigation found."

The Chronicle is the largest circulation newspaper to editorialize on the Proposition 14. The Chronicle says it has 173,514 daily circulation, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area, and 306,525 digital circulation. Readership figures for its editorials are not available. 

The impact of newspaper editorials in state ballot measure campaigns is debatable. In the heyday of the newspaper business, editorial page readership was in the neighborhood of 25 percent or less of total readers.  

Here are some excerpts from this week's editorial. (The editorial department operates separately from the news department, which produced the 2018 investigation.)

"Especially in a field as nascent as stem cells, science is slow, incremental and unpredictable, largely incompatible with the leaps forward touted in 2004. While the unique state of the science and politics drew broad support for Prop. 71 — including The Chronicle’s — we shouldn’t make a habit of setting science policy and budgets by state plebiscite."

"While state funds helped support the research that led to two approved cancer drugs and a host of prospective therapies in various stages of development, far-reaching breakthroughs attributed to the stem cell agency have been scarce so far, as a Chronicle investigation found. More than half the original funding went to buildings and other infrastructure, education and training, and the sort of basic research that, while scientifically valuable, is a long way from medical application. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it is at odds with the vision of dramatic advancements put to voters."

"While both initiatives provide for recovering income from approved therapies, the fiscal benefits are a matter of speculation. And with the pandemic, wildfires and more stretching the state’s resources, stem cell research looks like an even more unlikely gamble for a government with more pressing priorities."

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​Read all about California's stem cell agency, including Proposition 14,  in David Jensen's new book. Buy it on Amazon:  California's Great Stem Cell Experiment: Inside a $3 Billion Search for Stem Cell Cures. Click here for more information on the author. 

Fourth California Newspaper Opposes $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Proposal

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat yesterday editorialized against Proposition 14, the $5.5 billion measure to save the California stem cell agency from financial extinction. 

The headline on the editorial said:

"No on 14: It’s time for stem cell agency to stand on its own"

Including the Press Democrat, four California newspapers have now opposed the measure. One is for it. 

The newspaper said it does not oppose stem cell research per se.

"Our objection (in 2004 to the measure that created the agency) was to ballot-box budgeting. That’s an even more acute concern today, with millions of Californians out of work and the state struggling to fulfill its most basic obligations in the face of historic budget deficits caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Is stem-cell research more important than education? Transportation? Safety net programs?

"There isn’t an easy answer, and that’s the problem with budgeting by ballot initiative. Voters must say 'yes' or 'no' without an opportunity to weigh the relative value of competing priorities, with no ability to adjust to unexpected situations such as the pandemic and, in the case of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, limited legislative oversight for a quasi-public agency that has been the subject of conflict-of-interest concerns."

The editorial continued,

"After 16 years, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is well established, and its successes should allow it to secure other sources of funding, including federal funding as the Bush-era restrictions have been lifted. The state, meanwhile, is struggling to balance its books, and it wouldn’t be wise to take on more debt at this time. The Press Democrat recommends a no vote on Proposition 14."

Read the California Stem Cell Report regularly for the latest and most in-depth coverage of the effort to save the California stem cell agency from financial extinction.  

SF Chronicle Backs Away From More Cash for California's Stem Cell Agency

The San Francisco Chronicle, which has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Northern California, today said the results generated so far by state's $3 billion stem cell agency "don’t argue for expanded public spending."

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is formally known, expects to run out of cash for new awards at the end of next year. It is seeking to raise privately $220 million to tide it over until November 2020, when it hopes that voters will approve a $5 billion bond measure for continued stem cell research.

However, in a formal unsigned editorial published on its website, the Chronicle said,

"The results to date don’t argue for expanded public spending. The science of stem cell work will need to evolve before more money is provided."

The editorial followed a four-part series  in the Chronicle looking into the state of stem cell research. The final installment last week said the agency had fallen short of the high voter expectations when they approved creation of the agency in 2004. The agency has not yet backed development of a therapy that is available for widespread use, although it currently has investments in 49 clinical trials.

The Chronicle, which says it has a readership of more than 500,000, said,

"California’s pioneering decision to spend $3 billion on stem cell research isn’t producing cures after 14 years of work. Instead, it’s generating a widening scientific field that shows potential but not results.

"It’s a frustrating shortcoming, especially as supporters of the state-sponsored research weigh another bond measure to continue the work. Promised breakthroughs used to sell Proposition 71 in 2004 aren’t panning out, a Chronicle investigation found."

San Francisco Chronicle: California Stem Cell Agency 'Hasn't Lived up to Hype'

One of the “problems,” you might say, with things like picking a new president is that it calls attention to one's activities, for better or worse.

A case in point is an editorial this morning in the San Francisco Chronicle, which used the selection of a new president for the California stem cell agency as a springboard to a wider discussion. Its conclusions are not likely to make the agency happy. The newspaper said the $3 billion research effort has compiled a “decidedly mixed” record. The headline declared,

“State stem cell agency hasn't lived up to its hype.”

The editorial, which reflects the institutional stand of the Chronicle, noted that the agency will run out of cash for new research in less than three years. It continued,

“As far as the public is concerned, nagging questions remain: Has the institute been effective enough? How good should California taxpayers feel about the institute's use of their $3 billion? 

“The answer is a decidedly mixed one. 

“Part of the problem is that California taxpayers had outsize expectations when they passed Prop. 71(which created the agency).”

The editorial said,

“Progress on stem cell research has been significant - but it's been the progress of the tortoise rather than the hare. It was irresponsible for the backers of Prop. 71 to convince the California public that cures were just around the corner, and it is unfortunate that so many Californians are disappointed with the institute because they believed this.

“'People were schooled to believe that all of these breakthroughs were right around the corner,' said Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society. "You can't schedule scientific breakthroughs.'

“'That's not the institute's fault. Still, it's been a struggle to get the agency to use the best organizational practices. In 2012, a blue-ribbon committee of the National Academy of Sciences released a report after a yearlong review that found conflicts of interest on the CIRM board that threatened to 'undermine respect for its decisions.' It also found significant flaws in the agency's grant-approval process.'

“The institute responded to all of this criticism by dragging its feet about making necessary changes to improve operations and create a board with more independence. Last year, it changed its voting procedures for board members who are members of institutions, to answer the criticism - but the change came awfully late.”

The editorial concluded,

“Prop. 71 was an initiative passed based on the politics of the time. It's difficult to call it a total failure, especially during a time when U.S. public investment in scientific research is so low.

But stem cell research has finally gotten off the ground all over the country, and the institute's operations over the past decade haven't inspired the confidence California voters would need to offer the agency more money. The agency will need to rely on private investment if it's to continue its mission.”

The Chronicle's editorial today stood in sharp opposition to its position Sept. 30, 2004, when it enthusiastically endorsed Proposition 71. Ironically, the 2004 editorial carried some of the hyperbolic adjectives that its editorial today deplored, including such expressions as “bold,” “brimming with potential,” “unquestioned promise,” “significant (economic) windfall” along with the phrase “considerable savings on health care.”

The bottom line – 10 years ago – for the Chronicle on the California stem cell agency?

“As a society, we have a moral and ethical obligation to pursue this potentially life-enhancing science with a sense of mission that is now lacking in the nation's capital. California has long been a leader in biotechnology and other burgeoning research industries. Proposition 71 gives the state an opportunity to fund another crucial area of medical technology. This state is big enough to support such an adventurous and exciting quest -- and it should -- since it offers not just promise, but hope.”

The California stem cell agency could and does make much the same argument today for continued financial support.

(Editor's note: The National Academy of Sciences report mentioned in the editorial was prepared by a committee of the Institute of Medicine, which is the health arm of the academy.)

Monterey Newspaper Chides California Stem Cell Agency

The California stem cell agency and its former chairman, Robert Klein, came under sharp criticism this week in an editorial in the Monterey County Herald newspaper.

The editorial cited articles on the California Stem Cell Report dealing with a $21,630 gift by Klein to the agency, his employment of the vice chairman of the agency and the violation of the agency's conflict of interest policies by a grant reviewer.

The editorial was headlined "State Stem Cell Agency Still Up to Old Tricks." The piece said,

“Robert Klein is no longer chairman of California's stem cell bureaucracy, but it is still doing things his way. Which is too bad for all concerned.

“Klein is the former developer and financier who wrote and sponsored the ballot measure that created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The ballot language practically guaranteed he would be the chairman, and he ran the agency the way he ran his businesses, using undisclosed side deals and other machinations to create webs that outsiders could never penetrate.

“Now, Klein has been replaced as chairman, but he is still up to his old tricks.”

The editorial concluded,

“Much has been said about the agency setting a new more straightforward direction now that Klein is gone, but so far it seems to be following a twisting and expensive path toward irrelevance and litigation.”

Sacramento Bee: Ongoing Conflict Problems No Help for Future Funding of Stem Cell Agency

The Sacramento Bee says conflict of interest problems continue to trouble the California stem cell agency despite its assertions that it has “turned a page” on the issues.

In an editorial Saturday, The Bee said that CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas “has vowed to be aggressive in avoiding conflicts in dispersing millions of public dollars for stem cell research. Yet serious conflicts continue to be revealed involving CIRM.”

The Bee cited articles on the California Stem Cell Report earlier this month about a $21,630 gift by its former chairman, Robert Klein, and the employment by Klein of Vice Chairman Art Torres. The Bee said the situation “throws into question a $20 million grant awarded last year to StemCells Inc., a company that wants to transplant neural stem cells to treat Alzheimer's disease.” (See here, here and here)

The Bee also cited the case of Lee Hood, an internationally renown scientist who violated the agency's conflict of interest policy. Hood failed to disclose to CIRM a conflict involving an application that he was reviewing on behalf of the agency. The Bee said the agency's failure to detect the conflict was “serious oversight."

Eight readers commented on the editorial and agency, generally unfavorably about CIRM.

But reader “bchild” said,

“It took a couple years for them to start funding projects and it may take years to see results. Wall Street got 1.5 trillion and the promise of 10x that if they get into trouble again, the scientists (and their business buds) just want a couple billion...In the end who do you trust more with public money? At least there is the appearance of public benefit here..."

The Bee concluded,

“None of this helps CIRM's reputation in being fair and impartial in spending $3 billion in public funds. It surely won't help the institute's standing with the Legislature and the public, should it need help staying in operation when its funding is exhausted in a few years.”

The editorial was also carried by at least one other paper in the McClatchy chain.

San Jose Merc: 'It's Working.'

The California stem cell agency is continuing to bask in the light of several recent pieces in the mainstream media that portray CIRM in a generally favorable light.

The most recent came as an editorial today in the San Jose Mercury News, which said:

"Two years into the great California stem-cell adventure, here's everything curious taxpayers need to know about their $3 billion investment:

"It's working.

"Prominent researchers continue to flock to California. Confidence in the endeavor is so high that grants and gifts from private sources to California researchers have totaled more than $200 million so far. The feeble lawsuit challenging the program's legality should be history before June. And regulations are in place to govern the state agency in charge of distributing the $3 billion in grants, the first of which should be awarded in a matter of weeks.

"Given the nature of scientific research, it will take well over a decade to fully evaluate the state's stem-cell experiment. But it's already clear that, thanks to California voters, the United States is poised to become a world leader in one of the most promising areas of medical research today. That was not the case before Proposition 71 was passed in November 2004."

One CIRM staffer, who pointed with some pride to the editorial, noted that the agency's situation is a far cry from last year at this time. And he is right.

But the editorial also noted that the agency should revisit its "policy on transparency to shore up public trust. At a minimum, members of its working groups evaluating grant applications should be required to publicly disclose any conflicts of interests."