SACRAMENTO — On the cusp of a new era in stem cell science, Democratic heavyweights are pushing to install the outgoing California Democratic Party chief in a leadership post at the state's $3-billion research program.
Art Torres, who served two decades as a state lawmaker before assuming the party chairmanship a dozen years ago, is being backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California and Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, among others.
Torres' opponent for vice chairman on the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is Republican biotech executive Duane Roth, supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Roth, a member of the stem cell board for more than two years, has spent three decades in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
The push for Torres comes as embryonic stem cell research hits some key milestones. With the ascent of President Obama, a longtime ban on federal funding enshrined by the Bush administration is expected to be reversed.
Last week, a Menlo Park, Calif., firm announced it had won federal regulatory approval to conduct the first human trials of a medical treatment developed from embryonic stem cells to address spinal cord injuries.
With that backdrop, the nomination of Torres for the key post at the agency has raised some eyebrows.
"I'm surprised," said Jesse Reynolds, a policy analyst at the Oakland-based Center for Genetics and Society. "I'm not aware of any extensive involvement on his part with stem cell research. Then again, he's obviously well-connected."
"With Torres, you get a new face," said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. "But there also is a bit of irony over the politicization of an agency created to avoid Bush politics."
In a letter to the institute's board, Schwarzenegger said Roth would provide "a seamless transition" because of his experience. But Torres boosters say he brings policy acumen along with the political smarts needed to guide the agency -- created by a 2004 ballot measure that authorized $3 billion in public money for stem cell research -- into a new age.
During his 20 years as a state lawmaker, Torres held chairmanships of the Assembly Health Committee and the Senate Joint Committee on Science and Technology. Backers say he was instrumental in securing early funding for AIDS research, and he sits on the boards of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Los Angeles-based organ transplant foundation OneLegacy.
