Robert Klein II, chairman and initiative kingpin of California's stem-cell research agency, has stepped down. Given our assessment of Klein's imperious operating style, you might think that champagne corks would be flying. That is not the case.
Although Klein no longer is acting in an official capacity, the oversight board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine decided last week to choose a successor with ties to Klein. To make matters worse, this new chairman – Los Angeles bond financier Jonathan Thomas – will be paid nearly $400,000 for the job.
CIRM already has a president earning half a million dollars yearly, and a vice chairman – Democratic Party operative Art Torres – who receives $225,000 annually.
Although Thomas comes with an impressive background in the financing world, his salary adds to a management overhead that already is excessive at CIRM. Moreover, it perpetuates a dual-executive arrangement at CIRM that is unusual for a scientific institute and inevitably create conflicts.
It could have turned out differently. State Controller John Chiang had nominated a cardiologist and businessman named Frank Litvack to chair the institute.
Litvack had more scientific background than Thomas, and he had offered to do the job at a greatly reduced salary. But Thomas' nomination was pushed by Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom – no doubt with some behind-the-scenes lobbying from Klein.
CIRM is in trouble. It has poured billions into research grants, but is running out of money and has shown itself to be inept at basic governmental functions. Oversight board members are frustrated that basic information about grants and board decisions can't get posted on the institute's website in a timely manner. Members of the public are even more frustrated.
Can Thomas bring a new culture to CIRM? If he can, it might – just might – justify his salary.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.