Rose King, mental health advocate and trailblazing California Democrat, dies at 83
.JPG "Rose King speaks at Sacramento County Mental Health Board public hearing on June 26, 2012. King, who helped author Prop. 63 and has become one of its biggest critics, spoke about waste in the program. She died at the age of 83 on Dec. 2, 2021.")
Rose King, a mental health care reform advocate who worked with several key politicians to revise policies, died unexpectedly on Dec. 2, 2021, in Sacramento following complications from surgery. She was 83 years old.
King, a communication and campaign consultant who worked with several key California lawmakers, co-authored and became known as “the mother of” Proposition 63, the 2004 law that raised millions of dollars for services for people with severe mental illness in California.
In 2009, she filed a whistleblower complaint and denounced failures in implementing the measure, the Mental Health Services Act.
King became an advocate for mental health policy changes while caring for her husband, Joseph King, whom she married in 1960. He battled bipolar disorder until his death in 1969; the lack of mental health resources sparked King’s fight for better policies.
While serving as California Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy’s chief of staff from 1985 to 1987, King started the Task Force on Serious Mental Illness, her resume shows. She was the principal consultant for the Assembly Health Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on Mental Health Reform in the early 2000s. King spent two decades working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Sacramento and throughout California.
As an executive director of the California Democratic Party in the early 1980s, she worked with then-California Democratic Party Chair Nancy Pelosi to modernize the organization.
“Rose King was a trailblazing leader, devoted mother and grandmother, and an absolute force for the well-being of every Californian,” said Speaker of the House Pelosi, D-San Francisco, in a statement about her long-time friend. King continued as a communications consultant for Pelosi when she joined Congress.
“In the face of heartbreaking tragedy, she dedicated her life to improving the lives of others: advocating for more mental health resources for those in need, rebuilding the California Democratic Party into a powerhouse for progress, and transforming our state politics to better reflect the beautiful diversity of our beloved home,” Pelosi said.
Rosemarie McFarland King was born on Sept. 11, 1938, to Earl McFarland and Anna Carrigan Leeper in Oakland.
In 1971, she was pursuing a degree in journalism and government at California State University, Sacramento, when she reported on the radio that then-Gov. Ronald Reagan’s tax returns showed he had not paid state income taxes. It kickstarted her career in politics as a communications and campaign consultant, professor and nonprofit leader.
King also served as principal staff to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and State Senate Pro Tempore David Roberti, where she pushed for racial and gender equality in state government.
“And with it all, she made time for family, travel, and Grateful Dead concerts,” wrote Steve Hopcraft, a communications consultant and long-time friend of King, in a statement about her life and death.
King is survived by her partner of 30 years, Lindsay Way, a sister, two daughters, four grandchildren and many other relatives.
There will be a memorial service at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Sacramento on Dec. 17 at 10:00 a.m. Viewing will be on Dec. 16 from 4-6 p.m. at Calvary Cemetery’s chapel in Citrus Heights.
Her loved ones have asked that people donate to Friends for Survival, a nonprofit that provides suicide bereavement support services, in lieu of sending flowers.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 12:08 PM.
