CGS-authored
SAN DIEGO - As a panel laid the groundwork for the state's new stem cell research agency Thursday, critics suggested its chairman could benefit from fund-raising to pay off Proposition 71 campaign debts owed to him and others.
Robert Klein II, chairman of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, led the "Yes on 71" campaign last year that created the state's stem cell agency.
He donated or loaned more than $3 million to the initiative campaign and is still owed $1 million by the "Yes on 71" committee. Jesse Reynolds, program director of the Center for Genetics and Society, called the potential for loan repayment "troubling" for the chairman of a state agency that will hand out $3 billion in state grants for stem cell research over the next decade.
"It would be very easy for money and favors to mix in a way that is not in the best interests of the (stem cell agency), the people of California and Mr. Klein," he said.
Klein said none of the campaign funds came from potential beneficiaries of Proposition 71. He also...
Robert Klein II, chairman of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, led the "Yes on 71" campaign last year that created the state's stem cell agency.
He donated or loaned more than $3 million to the initiative campaign and is still owed $1 million by the "Yes on 71" committee. Jesse Reynolds, program director of the Center for Genetics and Society, called the potential for loan repayment "troubling" for the chairman of a state agency that will hand out $3 billion in state grants for stem cell research over the next decade.
"It would be very easy for money and favors to mix in a way that is not in the best interests of the (stem cell agency), the people of California and Mr. Klein," he said.
Klein said none of the campaign funds came from potential beneficiaries of Proposition 71. He also...