Proposition 14

Much to be Thankful for

/ Kevin McCormack / Leave a comment

It’s traditional this time of year to send messages of gratitude to friends and family and colleagues. And we certainly have much to be thankful for.

Thanks to the voters of California, who passed Proposition 14, we have a bright, and busy, future. We have $5.5 billion to continue our mission of accelerating stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs.

That means the pipeline of promising projects that we have supported from an early stage can now apply to us to help take that work out of the lab and into people.

It means research areas, particularly early-stage work, where we had to reduce our funding as we ran out of money can now look forward to increased support.

It means we can do more to bring this research, and it’s potential benefits, to communities that in the past were overlooked.

We have so many people to thank for all this. The scientists who do the work and championed our cause at the ballot box. The voters of California who once again showed their support for and faith in science. And the patients and patient advocates, the reason we were created and the reason we come to work every day.

As Dr. Maria Millan, our President & CEO, said in a letter to our team; “We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”  Here’s to the opportunities made possible by CIRM and for its continuation made possible by Prop 14!”

And none of this would be possible without the support of all of you. And for that we are truly Thankful.

From everyone at CIRM, we wish you a happy, peaceful and safe Thanksgiving.

Thank you

/ Kevin McCormack / 5 Comments
Bob Klein

These last few days have been interesting on so many levels. First the presidential race has kept the nation on tenterhooks. Closer to home the vote count for Proposition 14, to refunded CIRM, has been painstakingly slow (by the way, painstakingly means “with great care and thoroughness” for which we thank all the vote counters). But now, finally, happily, we have a verdict.

WE WON.

 It was close, desperately so. In the end the Associated Press called the race with the count at 51% yes, to 49% no. You can understand why so many of us were so nervous for so long. But now we have something to celebrate.

As Jonathan Thomas, JD, PhD, the Chair of our Board said: “We are thrilled to see Proposition 14 approved by the voters of California. We are proud of what we have achieved so far – the cures and therapies we helped develop, the billions we brought into the state in additional investments, and the tens of thousands of jobs we created – and we look forward to continuing that work.

“We are honored by the trust the people of California have placed in us, and by the support of our extraordinary patient advocate community and by the many Chambers of Commerce around California who have all recognized our historic achievements.

“We are already working on ways to repay that trust and bring stem cell and regenerative therapies to all the people of this great state, particularly for communities that have traditionally been overlooked or underserved.” 

In a news release on the Californians for Cures website, Bob and Danielle Klein, who led the Yes on 14 campaign, were understandably delighted:  

“The success of Prop. 14 sends a clear message from California voters that one of the most important investments our state can make is in the future health of our families. Over the past decade, California has made incredibly thoughtful and impactful investments in developing stem cell therapies and cures for diseases and conditions like diabetes, cancer, blindness, Parkinson’s, paralysis and many more; now we know this progress and work to mitigate human suffering, restore health and improve the human condition will continue. A special thank you to California’s voters and our supporters in passing this critical measure. Today would not have been possible without our historically unprecedented coalition of patient advocate organizations and individuals – the heart and soul of this campaign – who worked tirelessly to overcome all obstacles and help secure a victory for patients and their families, and deliver hope to those searching for a cure for generations to come.”

To all of you who voted for us, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

To all the people who worked so hard to get Prop 14 passed, thank you. We are indebted to you.

OK, gotta go. We have work to do.