Torres and Roth Re-elected as CIRM Vice Chairs

Directors of the California stem cell agency today routinely re-elected Art Torres and Duane Roth as co-vice chairman of the $3 billion research effort.

Neither faced active opposition. Jeff Sheehy had been nominated for vice chair against Torres, but told the board he was not seeking the post.

Torres-Roth Election: An Adroit Move for CIRM

Without so much as lifting a finger, Art Torres has already had a salubrious financial impact on the California stem cell agency.

Last week, Torres(at left), the leader of the state Democratic Party and a former, longtime state legislator, was elected co-vice chair of the agency. As a result, CIRM has dropped its efforts to hire an in-house legislative relations staffer. That position has a salary range that tops out at $138,800. Torres is being paid $75,000 for halftime work.

On Tuesday, we noticed that the job opening was missing from the CIRM web site. We queried Don Gibbons, chief communications officer, whether the position was filled. He responded,

"We are saving money. The position is not needed with Art here."

Dropping the recruitment effort is modestly beneficial financially now and for the foreseeable future, given the agency's financial plight. But CIRM is chronically understaffed – capped at 50 persons by a nearly immutable state law. The agency relies heavily on outside contractors for its work – a situation fraught with well-documented financial and managerial peril at any level of government.

As for the election of Torres and Duane Roth as dual vice chairs, we think it was an adroit move, one that will benefit CIRM, certainly in the short term. A potential political problem was avoided. Much-needed internal heft was added to CIRM's governmental relations efforts along with its relations with the biotech industry. Torres will also bring a long-needed, experienced voice in governmental affairs to the highest levels of CIRM.

But as in all things, the devil is in the details of execution. If Roth and Torres butt heads significantly, either sooner or later, it could be a serious diversion from CIRM's main objectives. That is not to mention whether CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, who controls what the men do, can delegate responsibility and authority effectively without micromanaging their work. That goal for Klein should be high on the evaluation priorities by the CIRM directors' Governance Subcommittee.

Earlier this week, The Sacramento Bee editorialized that the dual vice chair situation is a poor idea because it makes it harder to check Klein's broad powers. A single vice chair would be more powerful, The Bee argued. There is a certain logic to that argument. However, the vice chairs are largely Klein's creatures. He is the one who is charged with setting their agendas, although the board of directors has a role as well. Should Klein feel that either Roth or Torres are impinging on his prerogatives, we have no doubt that he will move to freeze them out.

On the other hand, Torres is a veteran political operator and will soon develop his own constituencies and alliances both within the board as well as with outside organizations and lawmakers, both in Washington and Sacramento. Roth also already has his own constituencies within the biomedical industry and on the board.

One final note on Torres and his salubrious impact: Any savings resulting from leaving vacant the governmental affairs position will be minimized by Torres' travel and other expenses, which we assume will be relatively high and involve multiple trips to the nation's capital.

CIRM Director Sewell Criticizes Bee Editorial

CIRM Director David Serrano Sewell today posted a comment on The Sacramento Bee web site defending the election of Art Torres as a co-chair of the agency's board.

Sewell, who last week described Torres as a personal mentor, also challenged the newspaper editorial's comments on the power wielded by CIRM Chairman Robert Klein. Sewell wrote in part,

"When will your obsession with Klein end? While it's a source of amusement for many, it's getting old. Frankly, it borders on stalking."

Sewell also said,

"Torres has spent his entire career speaking the truth to power, and that won't change. Who better to serve as a check, a career public servant or a big pharma executive? I wonder what the public thinks."

If the other comments on The Bee's editorial today are to be taken as representative of the public – and they are not – they do not think much of Torres, CIRM or the governor.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this item carried a photo of Sewell. We have removed it as his request.)

The Bee: Dual Vice Chairs at CIRM Enhance Klein's Power

The Sacramento Bee today said the election of two vice chairs on the board of the California stem cell agency gives its chairman, Robert Klein, "more power than ever."

The Bee made the comment in an editorial that also said that the CIRM board of directors – formally and fancifully known as Independent Citizens Oversight Committee -- is far from independent.

The editorial said splitting the vice chair position between Art Torres and Duane Roth meant that it would be difficult for the vice chair to serve as a check on Klein's broad authority and power. The Bee noted,

"If the stem cell institute had a normal structure, with a strong president handling administrative duties, the selection of the institute vice chair would be less consequential."

The Bee concluded,

"It's a further demonstration that the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee is neither independent, nor a group of citizens, nor much of an overseer of $3 billion in public monies."

Early this morning, only one Bee reader had commented on the editorial. The anonymous reader said,

"What are we to expect? It is only government money and does not belong to anyone, so why not use it to feather the nest of termed out favorites of the ruling class? "

The reader appeared to be referring to a running flap in California over the appointment by the governor and others of termed-out legislators to paid positions on various state boards.

For the record, the print version of The Bee, the only daily newspaper in the state Capitol, has not carried a story on the election of Roth and Torres. A brief mention did appear on one of The Bee's blogs.

The lack of coverage probably had something to do with the paper's shrinking staff. Ten days ago, The Bee laid off 128 employees, 11 percent of its staff. Like other newspapers in both the McClatchy chain and around the country, this was only the latest. Since June, The Bee has eliminated positions for 301 men and women, 26 percent of its staff. Sixty-five jobs have been lost in the newsroom, which now numbers 190 persons.

Torres-Roth Election Attracts Media Attention

The board of the California stem cell agency today received more than its usual amount of news coverage as the result of the election of Art Torres and Duane Roth as vice chairs of the board of directors.

The reason for the attention is Art Torres. He is well known to the news media because of his lifelong career in politics. If the vice chair race had involved Duane Roth and Marcy Feit(another CIRM director), the election of a vice chair would have been barely noticed.

Most of the stories focused almost entirely on Torres and Roth. A notable and important exception was the piece on one of the websites of the influential magazine Nature.

Erika Check Hayden reported on the election and much more from the meeting. Her story began:

"The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has sharpened the agency’s focus on translating stem cell-based treatments into treatments, in the wake of President Barack Obama’s decision to loosen restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research."

She touched on the funding crisis at the agency and its priorities, along with the struggle between basic science and translational research. She also had material from another CIRM meeting on March 11,

"'This push of getting out there to the clinic has some risks,' warned Arnold Kriegstein of the University of California San Francisco at the meeting. 'There’s a risk that little will be learned at great cost' if patients are harmed in poorly designed early clinical trials, Kriegstein said.

"And Warner Greene of UCSF’s Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology cautioned against 'turning over the reins' of basic science to the NIH: 'It’s foolish to expect now that the disease teams will succeed,' he said."

Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote about the vice chair election. (Duane Roth is from the San Diego area.) Somers called the election "job sharing." She had this quote from CIRM director Francisco Prieto, a Sacramento physician, who spoke about compensation for the vice chairs,

"I believe that everyone should be compensated appropriately and fairly for the work they are going to do.In the context of the board and a state agency, to demand something like that excludes participation from anyone who isn't independently wealthy or cannot depend on outside income, which is a substantial portion of the population that needs to be represented here and everywhere else."

Torres was provided a $75,000 salary for halftime work. Roth has declined a salary.

The Los Angeles Times rarely covers the California stem cell agency, but again the draw was Torres in a story by Eric Bailey.

Other stories and writers included: Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times; Shane Goldmacher, Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert; Juha-Pekka Tikka, Xconomy.com, and The Associated Press.

Roth and Torres Chosen as Vice Chairs of CIRM

This item is part of the continuing coverage today of the board meeting of the California stem cell agency based on its audiocast.

The board of the California stem cell agency today unanimously elected two vice chairpersons – Art Torres, who is the head of the state Democratic Party, and Duane Roth, who has biomedical industry connections.

The board also voted to approve a $75,000, halftime salary for Torres(photo on left). Roth(on right) is a current member of the board of directors and is rejecting a salary. He receives $112 a day for CIRM meetings and $14 an hour for meeting preparation.

John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., suggested the salary should be $90,000 although he has been critical of much higher salaries at the agency. However, Bob Klein, chairman of the agency, indicated that the vice chair deal had already been worked out. The implication of Klein's remark was that changing the terms at this point could make things come unglued.

The vote came after several board members noted that the men bring different, high level skills that will enhance what CIRM is attempting to do.

Director Sherry Lansing, former head of a Hollywood film studio, said the agency had a "high class problem" when the two men were nominated. She electing both will total more than two – more like five.

Lansing is co-chair of the CIRM Governance Subcommittee. She and her co-chair, Claire Pomeroy, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, were the key players in putting together the dual vice chair plan.

Fresh Comment

“David” has posted a fresh comment on the “Dual Vice Chairs” item, pointing out that other state constitutional officers nominated Art Torres for vice chair of CIRM in addition to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

Dual Vice Chairs Coming Up for CIRM -- One From the World of Politics, One From Business

With less than 24 hours remaining before Thursday's meeting of the CIRM board of directors, the agency has begun unveiling a plan aimed at keeping two big dogs of California politics quite happy.

The matter involves the election of a vice chairperson for the CIRM board as well as the wishes of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic State Treasurer Bill Lockyer. While the scheme may satisfy those two, it was called “ridiculous” by one longtime CIRM observer.

The governor has nominated Duane Roth, a current member of the CIRM board of directors and an executive with close ties to the biomedical industry, for the vice chair slot. Lockyer has nominated state Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres, a friend and former state legislator.

The governor has been a good ally for CIRM and loaned it $150 million in state funds a few years ago during the agency's first financial crunch. Lockyer controls the issuance of state bonds, which are the only significant source of funds for CIRM. He is a key player in the agency's current plans to market state bonds privately.

The CIRM board is set to elect both men to vice chair positions at its meeting Thursday in Sacramento. That became clear this morning when the agency posted proposed changes in bylaws that create a “statutory” vice chair and a “bylaws” vice chair.

It appears that Torres will be elected to the statutory slot because it carries a salary, which he said he needs. Roth has declined a salary.

The CIRM board is also scheduled to reduce the salary for the vice chair from its current range of $180,000 to $332,000 a year. The agency has not yet posted information on its plan, but we believe the new range to be roughly $75,000 to $90,000. CIRM Chairman Robert Klein is paid $150,000 for his halftime position. It is not clear at this point whether Torres will be designated halftime.

In response to a query, John M. Simpson, stem cell project director of Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, said,

“This is a ridiculous attempt to try and please both the governor and the treasurer. It’s also an insult to the candidates who were originally nominated and faced a real election when the (CIRM board) was first organized. Suppose next time there are four different candidates for chair. Do they create a 'statutory' chair and three bylaws co-chairs? I’ve got a modest proposal: Really please everyone and name 28 'bylaws' vice chairs.”

We are reserving comment on the deal at this point. But the bylaws changes were posted extremely late. They contain no explanation, context, justification or further details. The result is that the public and interested parties are effectively denied the right to comment intelligently or register their comments in the presence of the CIRM board of directors. Failure to provide details about the plan in a timely fashion is certainly a violation of the spirit of the California state Constitution, which guarantees a broadly construed right of access to information about issues before government agencies.

Stem Cell Bifurcation at the Vice Chairmanship Level

Come Friday the 13^th of this month, it is a good bet that the $3 billion California stem cell agency will have two vice chairmen or something akin to that.

No matter that the legal charter for the agency calls for only one, the board of directors is likely to find a way. They have a $1 million crew of artful legal beagles to help them sniff out an appropriate direction for almost any course.

CIRM Chairman Bob Klein signaled the dual vice chairmanship likelihood in his agenda for the March 12 meeting of the agency's board of directors. It was a simple but ambiguous matter of saying something in the plural and not the singular – chair(s) versus chair. The agenda item only says:

“Consideration of election of Vice-Chair(s)”

It was a move that the 17^th century Jesuit Baltasar Gracian (see drawing), a student of the exercise of power and control, would have admired and whose works we became acquainted with as a student 47 years ago.

“Maintain an air of uncertainty,” Gracian said in 1653. “Know the meaning of evasion.”

But in 2009 we need to know more. So here it is: The board has a choice between two men: Art Torres, chairman of the state Democratic Party, and Duane Roth, a current member of the CIRM board of directors and an executive with biomedical industry ties and head of Connect business development organization in La Jolla, Ca.

Torres is a former state legislator and was nominated by Democratic state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who is the final arbiter on the state bonds that finance CIRM's grants and operations. Lockyer is also a former state lawmaker and friend of Torres, who needs a paying job since he is stepping down as head of the state Democratic party. Roth was nominated by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who okayed a $150 million state loan to CIRM when it was on the financial ropes a few years ago. The governor has expressed concern about the high salaries at CIRM, and Roth has said he will not need a salary.

Both men bring different skills to the job. Torres is well connected in California politics and Washington. He is endorsed by Sen. Ted Kennedy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Torres would contribute mightily to Klein's lobbying effort for a $10 billion aid package for the California biomedical industry. Roth is connected directly to the industry itself, chairing a CIRM committee that pulled together CIRM's $500 million lending program.

No one at CIRM wants to offend either Lockyer or Schwarzenegger.

While our good Jesuit Gracian would likely have admired Klein's agenda item on the Torres-Roth election, another more contemporary observer and participant in California stem cell issues does not.

In response to a query, John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca. and a man who is reasonably adroit in his own political maneuverings, said,

"Once again Chairman Bob Klein is posting an ICOC (board of directors) agenda that raises more questions than it answers. This serves neither the public nor CIRM. If they are thinking about having more than one vice chair, why not say so?"

One CIRM director, David Serrano Sewell, in response to a query about the result next week, said,

"We'll see what happens at the meeting."

As for CIRM's official views on this, earlier today we told the agency via email that we intended to write that the board is considering electing two vice chairmen. We asked whether CIRM considered that accurate.

CIRM Communications Chief Don Gibbons responded,

"No decisions have been made. The board will decide what motions to consider."

Applying flackery's Rosetta Stone to that comment, it means,

"I am not denying the accuracy of what you are writing. I can't say anything else. This is a delicate issue involving my bosses and issues at a much higher level that they do not want to air in public."

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(Editor's note: I have a copy of Gracian's 1653 work -- “A Truthtelling Manual and the Art of Worldly Wisdom” -- in a net bag next to my bunk on our sailboat here on the west coast of Mexico. The version I have was copyrighted in 1945. More recent versions exist, but they are not as powerful as the 1945 version. And by the way, I am fond of legal beagles that can find ways to make things happen.)

Overseeing Top CIRM Execs: A Reading of the Tea Leaves

Next Thursday, a key panel of the directors of the world's largest source of funding for human embryonic stem cell research will consider a matter that could give some indication of its future direction,

Nominally, the issue seems less than controversial. The agenda says it involves “consideration of policy/procedure for performance evaluation” of the chairman, vice chairman and president of the $3 billion stem cell agency.

But lying behind that bland language are such matters as the political and lobbying efforts of CIRM, its connections to industry and the election of a vice chairman to assist in those endeavors. Will the agency continue pushing hard to become a global powerhouse for stem cell research, pleading for billions from Congress for industry? Will it embrace the biomedical industry ever more closely, funding its efforts to bring products to markets? Or both, for that matter?

The agency could get to those issues through more closely defining the position of the vice chairman, which is now vacant, and discussion of related matters. The two contenders for the post come from radically different backgrounds. One is Art Torres, now the head of the California State Democratic Party and a former state lawmaker with good connections in the nation's capital. The other is Duane Roth, an executive with biomedical industry ties and head of Connect business development organization in La Jolla, Ca.

Roth was nominated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Torres was nominated by Democratic state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, whose good offices are especially important to CIRM as it attempts to market state bonds privately. The treasurer is the ultimate arbiter on state bond deals. On the other hand, the governor loaned CIRM $150 million in state funds a couple of years ago when it had another period of financial difficulty. The loan has been paid back, but CIRM has had to seek his support on other matters, such as his veto of legislation that the agency opposed,

Also entering into the mix is the salary for the vice chairman. The job carries pay that could run as much as $332,000. Torres says he needs a salary, but has not indicated a figure. Roth says he will not accept a salary. In December, CIRM directors awarded CIRM Chairman Robert Klein a $150,000 salary and defined his job as halftime. Klein, a millionaire real estate investment banker, previously declined a salary.

Sadly, the public is pretty much out of the loop in advance of the meeting on the policy/evaluation agenda item, which first came up Dec. 22 last year. The proposal discussed at that meeting was only described orally and never publicly disclosed in written form in its entirety. The only access to what it contains is the transcript of the meeting. Given CIRM's past performance, do not expect to see any written material ahead of the upcoming meeting.

Also missing from next week's meeting are proposed changes in CIRM's internal governance policies, which are closely tied to the responsibilities of the chairman, vice chairman and president. The proposal came up at the Dec. 22 meeting, and directors said it would come up again at the next governance meeting (the one that is next week). However, it is not on the agenda, although it could be discussed.

Next week's meeting will be available to the public to hear and participate in via teleconference locations in La Jolla (Roth's office), Duarte, Sacramento, Irvine and San Francisco. But don't expect a “full and frank” discussion, The board generally deals obliquely with these sorts of issues, It could also sidestep them entirely.

The specific location for the teleconference sessions can be found on the agenda.

Torres Makes Pitch for Vice Chair's Job at CIRM

State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres has made the case for his election as vice chairman of California's $3 billion stem cell research agency in a letter to Consumer Watchdog's John M.Simpson.

Simpson wrote late Friday about the statement and the race on his organization's blog.

Torres has a three-part agenda: Dealing with the CIRM funding crisis, enhancing community education/PR and consensus building, including creation of some sort of executive committee for the CIRM board of directors.

Torres said an executive committee could "increase the productivity of meetings." CIRM is currently overseen by a 29-member board of directors that has been hobbled by absenteeism. The absenteeism itself is not so bad, but it makes it difficult to maintain the required superquorum of two-thirds of the board's members necessary to do official business. And because of the size of the board, it is much more of a legislative and debating group than a sharply focused decision-making panel. For example, if each member of the board were to spend three minutes each addressing a single matter, it would take nearly 90 minutes to hear them all.

An executive committee for the board would seem to be desirable, if it can improve the board's efficiency and continue to conduct the people's business in public. But the task of creating one faces several obstacles. One is Prop. 71 itself, whose 10,000 words lock all sort of minutia into the state Constitution and state law and which may make it difficult, if not impossible to create such a panel. Another barrier could come from resistance from some board members who may feel that their voices would not be well heard by an executive panel. And still another is that formation of an executive committee could run into resistance from CIRM Chairman Robert Klein. It could dilute his hold over the board, whose size and diversity of opinion can muddle its focus on some matters. An executive committee could hobble Klein's independence and perhaps call a halt to some of his forays into areas that the panel does not consider high priority.

Running against Torres is Duane Roth, already a member of the CIRM board and a biomedical industry-connected executive. Simpson earlier received a statement from Roth and has written about it.

Simpson's piece drew comment from CIRM board member David Serrano Sewell, concerning objections that Torres, a former state legislator, would "politicize" the board. He noted that CIRM itself was created through a powerful political process, a $30 million ballot initiative in 2004.

He continued:

"Second, most (not all) of the people appointed to the ICOC got on by way of politics, that is to say their name was submitted to a Constitutional Officer, and a third party (usually someone with some heft) advocated for that person.  Some people call that 'lobbying' and there is nothing wrong with that at all."

Sewell continued,

"'Politics' is not a dirty word.  Exhibit A - President Obama, he secured the nomination and won the election by executing some sophisticated political moves and I am glad he did, our country is better off as a result!"

Election of a vice chairman by the board is not expected any sooner than the CIRM's board meeting in March.

CIRM Vice Chair Story Surfaces in LA Times

The Los Angeles Times, which rarely writes about the state's $3 billion stem cell research effort, has produced an article on the race for the vice chairmanship of the CIRM board.

Written by Eric Bailey, the story casts the contest between Art Torres, chairman of the state Democratic Party, and Duane Roth, a biomedical industry-connected executive and current member of the CIRM board, almost entirely in partisan political terms.

Torres is being support by "Democratic heavyweights" and Roth is the nominee of the Republican governor of California.

One matter that the Times did not mention was the $10 billion federal aid proposal by CIRM Chairman Robert Klein on behalf of the biomedical industry. Torres' presence on the CIRM board would give it extra clout in Washington and perhaps make it unnecessary to hire a $200,000 lobbyist to carry CIRM water in the nation's capitol.

It is not known when the board will actually choose between the two men.

CIRM Vice Chairman Vote Delayed

The California stem cell agency has deferred a decision on a vote to select the new vice chairman of its board of directors – State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres or Duane Roth, head of an economic development group and who currently sits on the 29-member board.

John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., wrote about the delay on his organization's blog.

He said,

"The surprising delay of the vote will give ICOC members more time to think about exactly what attributes the vice chair should have.  For some members the decision could come down to this: If Roth loses, he remains on the board and presumably continues as the productive member many think he has been. Torres would be a new player, bringing strong political connections to Sacramento and Washington -- but does the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) really need and benefit from that?"

Simpson also has a statement from Roth on why he is the best candidate for the job. Torres has been in Washington for the inaugural, and no statement is currently available from him.

Ted Kennedy Backs Torres as CIRM Vice Chairman

Will the next vice chairman of the world's largest funding source for hESC research be Sen. Ted Kennedy's candidate or that of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger?

John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., disclosed Kennedy's endorsement of Art Torres, the head of the California Democratic Party, on the Consumer Watchdog blog last week.

Contesting Torres for the vice chairmanship of the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is Duane Roth, a current member of the CIRM board of directors, who was nominated by the Republican Schwarzenegger. Roth is also head of Connect, a San Diego area group supporting life science and technology businesses.

In a letter last month to CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, Kennedy said Torres is a friend of 37 years and declared that the former state lawmaker has an outstanding record of public service.

Torres' "years of advocacy for medical research and better health care for Californians will be a major asset" for CIRM, Kennedy said.

"A great deal is at stake," the Massachusetts Democrat said, "and I'm confident that Art Torres will make a difference for our country."

Simpson said he was not sure which candidate was best. Simpson wrote,

"The first task  for the ICOC (CIRM directors) is to define exactly what the vice chairman should be doing.  Both men need to offer a clear public statement of what he would bring to the position as well as his vision for the post." 

It is up to the 29-member CIRM board of directors to choose between Torres and Roth. No vote is yet scheduled.

Fresh Comment

David Serrano Sewell, a member of the board of directors of the California stem cell agency, has posted a comment on the item below, "Directors to Define Vice Chair Job...." One of his points is that the vice-chair election is not just about salary. I agree. It involves much more, including an as-yet-to-be-determined, clear expression from the full board about the scope of the job. We will have more on the subject of the vice chair's election in coming weeks.

CIRM Directors To Define Vice Chair Job and Executive Evaluation Process

Directors of the $3 billion California stem cell agency expect to add some finishing details next week to employment arrangements with its chairman, Robert Klein, along with those of the vice chairman and the president.

On Monday, the directors' Governance Subcommittee, chaired by former Hollywood studio executive Sherry Lansing, will consider how they intend to evaluate the performance of Klein, CIRM President Alan Trounson and whomever fills the now-vacant vice chairmanship of the board of directors.

Last week, the board decided the position of chairman is a halftime job and agreed to pay Klein $150,000 a year. Klein, a multimillionaire real estate investment banker, said current economic conditions had compelled him to seek a salary. Klein had worked for free during the last four years.

At its meeting at UC Irvine last week, the CIRM board deftly sidestepped potentially negative fallout from from the pay matter. The issue had become somewhat charged after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed "deep concern" concerning the salary reports.

Under CIRM's salary ranges, if Klein were to serve fulltime, he would be entitled to as much as half-a-million dollars-a-year, which could raise PR and policy issues at a time when California is facing an economic crisis.

In an interview Tuesday, Lansing said Klein is entitled to fringe benefits provided to all state employees but that he will not receive performance awards or merit pay under the compensation plan for CIRM employees.

Actions next week on the vice chairman's position could also help to determine who is likely to fill that slot. Next year, CIRM directors will choose a vice chairman between two candidates: Art Torres(left photo), currently head of the state Democratic Party, and Duane Roth(right photo), who currently serves on the CIRM board and is head of Connect, a San Diego businesses development organization with close ties to the life science industry.

Lansing said that the subcommittee will discuss duties of the vice chairman and what his responsibilities are likely to involve. One question that may come up is whether the board should approve a salary for the job. CIRM salary ranges provide for $180,000 to $332,000 for the position.

Roth says he will not seek compensation as vice chairman. Torres says he will need a salary.

Teleconference locations for the meeting where the public can sit in and comment are available throughout the state: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Stanford, Sacramento, La Jolla and Irvine. The specific addresses can be found on the agenda. They may change or increase before the Monday meeting so it is good to check in advance.

CIRM Board Approves $150,000 Salary for Chairman Klein

The board of the California stem cell agency today approved a $150,000, half-time salary for its chairman, Robert Klein, who has served in that position for four years, working without pay.

Board members said that it was impossible to compensate Klein sufficiently for his contributions to the agency. They said the salary was based on what they believed was dictated by the nature of the position – not the individual.

The salary was approved on a unanimous voice vote by the board, which gave Klein a standing ovation prior to approving the salary.

The CIRM pay range provides for a salary as high as half-million dollars annually for the chairman. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week expressed "deep concern" about reports concerning the salary.

Klein, who owns a real estate investment banking firm, has said he can no longer afford to donate his time.

The only critical voice on the salary came from a member of the public, patient advocate Don Reed, who said it was not nearly enough.

CIRM board member Claire Pomeroy, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, said the decision on Klein's salary was not related to a vacancy in the vice chairmanship position. That position is entitled to a salary as high as $332,000.

Two candidates for the job have been nominated -- Duane Roth, who will not accept a salary, and Art Torres, who needs one. That position will not come up until next month at the earliest.

California Governor Nominates Roth as CIRM Vice Chair

IRVINE, Ca. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has nominated a San Diego biotech veteran as vice chairman of the $3 billion California stem cell agency, setting the stage for a contested election between him and the chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune late Tuesday reported the nomination of Duane Roth(see photo), who now sits on the board of directors of the agency. He says he would not accept a salary, which could run as high as $332,000 annually. Art Torres is the other candidate and has said he needs a salary, but we have been told he thinks a figure of $332,000 would be excessive.

Roth is the head of Connect, a group that assists start-up tech companies. Torres is a veteran politico and former state lawmaker.

Somers quoted Schwarzenegger as saying in a letter to the CIRM board:

"'As I'm sure you already know, Duane is a hard-working board member who has long been an advocate for stem cell research and active member of the life sciences community. He is thoroughly familiar with (the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) and his elevation to the vice-chair position would promise a seamless transition."

Somers wrote:

"The governor first nominated board member Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for human health sciences at UC Davis and dean of its medical school, for the vice chairman post. But Pomeroy asked that her nomination be withdrawn, citing time constraints and a desire to avoid potential conflicts of interest because UC Davis programs are eligible for institute funding."

The vice chairmanship is currently vacant after Ed Penhoet, a multimillionaire businessman, resigned to take a non-paying position on the CIRM board. Penhoet has never taken a salary for his CIRM work. Nor has CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, also a multimillionaire businessman.

However, CIRM directors are scheduled today to act on a salary request by Klein, who says he can no longer afford to work for free. It could place Klein in an awkward position to accept a salary while the vice chairman goes unpaid.

The CIRM board is not expected to make a decision on the vice chairmanship today.

Torres Says He Needs Salary From CIRM

IRVINE, Ca. -- Art Torres, chairman of the California state Democratic Party, says he will need a salary if he is to serve as vice chairman of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.

In an item by Shane Goldmacher for Capitol Alert, the online service of The Sacramento Bee, Torres was quoted as saying:

"'I do need a salary because I am not a wealthy person,' he said, adding that 'what that compensation should be is up to the board.'"

The vice chair is eligible for as much as $332,000 annually.

Goldmacher also reported:

"He (Torres) touted his connections - he was first elected to the Assembly in 1974 - as beneficial for promoting the mission of the stem-cell agency.

"'That's over 34 years of relationships and experience that is important to communicate the needs of this mission,' he said.

"Torres is also building upon those connections to win the vice-chairmanship. (Lt. Gov. John) Garamendi's nomination letter states that Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have all endorsed Torres for the post.

"Torres appears to have some support on the board, as well.

"'I'm keeping an open mind, but (Torres) is well-qualified for this position,' said David Serrano Sewell, who fills the patient advocate slot for multiple sclerosis on the stem-cell panel. 'He has the legislative, business and volunteer experience. Just as important he has the relationships with legislators in Sacramento and Washington D.C., built over 20 years, that will greatly benefit our mission.'"

$1.3 Million Price Tag on CIRM Chair and Vice Chair Compensation

IRVINE, Ca. -- An executive salary deal involving CIRM Chairman Robert Klein and a paid vice chairman, quite likely the man now heading the state Democratic Party, could cost the California stem cell agency something on the order of $1.3 million a year.

That includes $840,750 in salary and 50 percent of that figure to cover fringe benefits for both men. The $1.3 million total also assumes that both Klein and the vice chairman receive the top end of the salary range for those positions: $508,750 for Klein and $332,000 for the vice chairman.

Art Torres, head of the state Democratic Party, veteran politico and former state lawmaker from the Los Angeles area, has been nominated by state Treasurer Bill Lockyer to fill the vice chairman slot. Torres apparently has the support of two other state constitutional officers, who are the individuals who nominate vice chair candidates. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has expressed "deep concern" about the executive salary proposals, has not yet announced his nominee.

John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, Ca., said he has heard that Torres will expect a salary. Torres' term as chairman of the Democratic Party expires in April. According to what Simpson has been told, Torres would work for free until that date.

We have queried Torres concerning the matter and will carry his comments when we receive them.

The CIRM board votes on a vice chairman from among the nominees put forward by the state constitutional officers. A contested election, involving a candidate who would not accept a salary vs. one who would, could put Klein in an awkward position. His salary is likely to be approved by CIRM directors meeting here this afternoon and Wednesday, and it would be unseemly to have the multimillionaire chairman taking pay while the vice chairman does not.

The actual vote on the vice chairmanship is not expected any sooner than late January or possibly later.

Based on the last figures we saw for the CIRM budget, it does not appear to include funds for compensation for the chairman and vice chairman.