Prop. 10 Leader Gets Lesson in Politics

At Thursday’s first meeting of the statewide Children and Families First Commission created by Proposition 10, Chairman Rob Reiner got a lesson in local politics.

Reiner suggested that the tobacco tax revenue for preschoolers collected by his initiative--which already totals $115 million--be held for release to counties next January.

“Take a breath, slow down and be thoughtful,” agreed Commissioner Patty Siegel, director of a nonprofit child-care referral network.

A collective moan rose from representatives of some of the 40 counties that at lightning speed have formed local Proposition 10 commissions and have begun planning how to spend the money.

They said counties need to prove quickly to local residents that they are not sitting on the money, which is estimated to total as much as $690 million next year.

“The key to success at the local level is money,” said Margaret Szczepaniak, a Riverside County health official.

A quick learner, Reiner suggested a July 1 release instead, which the commission will formally vote on at next month’s meeting.

The statewide commission could not meet until now because Reiner was appointed by Gov. Gray Davis only last week.

Without directly criticizing Davis, Reiner expressed frustration about the delay, saying, “It’s the reason why people like me don’t go into government.”

At a news conference with Reiner, Davis attributed his generally slow appointment pace to a desire to first get his education reform package through the Legislature. Since that occurred earlier this week, Davis promised that the pace would pick up.

He praised Reiner for championing the initiative although it meant fighting off opposition from the well-financed tobacco industry, because it adds a 50-cent tax to a pack of cigarettes.

Comparing the initiative campaign and his own campaign for governor, Davis said, “I took on an individual, he took on an industry.”

Davis and Reiner said they also had agreed, during a private meeting Thursday, on the need for annual audits of how counties have used the initiative’s revenues.

The delayed start-up means that the commission will miss the initiative’s April 19 deadline to appoint an executive director--a position critical to reviewing the counties’ spending plans. Instead, commissioners indicated that they intend to appoint an interim director, perhaps next month.

County representatives urged the state commissioners to consider at a future meeting whether money should be allocated based on where children are born--as the initiative suggests--or where they live. This distinction is of particular concern to rural counties that do not have hospitals.

The counties also asked the commission to oppose a bill by Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Pasadena) that would allow three cities--Pasadena, Long Beach and Berkeley--to receive Proposition 10 money directly because they operate their own health agencies.

Concern also arose about the lack of grass-roots representation on some county commissions. In Contra Costa County, for instance, two county supervisors and three county bureaucrats make up five of the nine members.

Reiner shook his head on hearing this, saying in his concluding remarks: “This is not about fiefdoms and running around trying to grab your money.”