Winning Over Voters: Not Really a Traditional Stem Cell Challenge but Vital to California Stem Cell Agency
8.2 million voters said no to CIRM in 2020. Can some be persuaded to say yes?
California has a $12 billion story to tell about its stem cell research program, but the most fundamental measure of how well the agency is being received is not good.
A handful of modest statistics exist about communications connections that the agency has established, but the key indicator of stakeholder support is weak. And that is the slim margin by which its stakeholders approved refinancing the program in 2020.
The most important stakeholders in the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) are the state’s taxpayers/voters. In 2020, they gave the agency $5.5 billion on top of the $3 billion approved in 2004. However, support for the funding dropped precipitously from 59 percent of voters in 2004 to 51 percent in 2020.
What that means is that 8.2 million voters (49 percent) were ready to let CIRM die three years ago. Today, the question is whether CIRM can reverse that downward trend and win renewal when its remaining $4 billion runs out, That is a task that CIRM could face in just four years if it wants to make the best bet on a new ballot initiative campaign.
On Thursday, CIRM’s directors will delve into the agency’s “public outreach and
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The California Stem Cell Report to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.