SACRAMENTO — Hollywood producer Rob Reiner resigned Wednesday as chairman of a state commission he founded seven years ago to aid children, amid accusations that the commission used tax money to boost his new political campaign.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named Hector Ramirez to the unpaid post heading the First 5 California Children and Families Commission. Ramirez is chief operating officer of Para Los Ninos, a $16-million-a-year nonprofit organization that serves poor children in Southern California, and will remain in that job.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday April 02, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 86 words Type of Material: Correction
Reiner resignation: An article in Section A on Thursday about Rob Reiner stepping down as chairman of California's First 5 commission misspelled Sacramento County Assistant Dist. Atty. Jan Scully's last name as Skully. If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times' journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Jamie Gold, readers' representative, by e-mail at readers.rep@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax to (213) 237-3535 or by mail to 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.
"Rob Reiner has always put California's kids first, and I thank him for the great work he has done over the last seven years," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Because of Rob's efforts, California has become a national leader in providing early childhood health and education services for our youngest children and their families."
Reiner initially resisted stepping down, declaring that he had done nothing wrong. But he changed his position as he campaigned for his latest initiative, Proposition 82, a measure on the June ballot that would raise income taxes on wealthy Californians to pay for preschool for 4-year-olds.
Foes of the initiative, seeking to capitalize on Reiner's predicament, had taken to calling their campaign "Stop Reiner."
"We've seen first hand how the opposition campaign to Proposition 82 is being run. It is being run against Rob, not against preschool," said Reiner spokesman Mark Fabiani, a veteran Democratic strategist. "The issue is too important to be mired in this kind of political sideshow."
Reiner phoned Schwarzenegger over the weekend to discuss his status.
In a letter of resignation to the governor dated Wednesday, the producer said the two "agreed that we cannot let personal political attacks get in the way of doing the very best we can for California's children."
Reiner had taken a leave of absence in February after The Times detailed how the First 5 commission oversaw a $23-million television, radio and newspaper ad blitz this winter touting the benefits of preschool. Those ads appeared as Reiner launched the campaign for the "Preschool for All" Proposition 82 campaign.
Additionally, the commission awarded $230 million in public relations and advertising contracts to two firms that had worked to pass Proposition 10, the Reiner-sponsored 1998 initiative that raised tobacco taxes by $600 million a year to create the First 5 program and fund early childhood health and education programs.
