Stem cell research is in, but Prop. 66 strikes out

Deepa Bharath

June Gutierrez remained awake into the wee hours of Wednesday as did

many eager locals who followed a race or a ballot measure close to

their hearts.

The Costa Mesa resident’s 6-year-old daughter, Leilani Gutierrez,

suffered serious chest and head injuries on Mother’s Day 2002, when a

car ran a red light, hitting her mother’s Ford Explorer. The accident

left the little girl quadriplegic.

Proposition 71, which triumphed Tuesday with a narrow margin,

gives hope to Leilani and millions of others, Gutierrez said. The

ballot measure calls for state funding for stem cell research.

“My whole family is just ecstatic,” Gutierrez said. “Of course, we

realize Leilani is not going to get a cure right away. But it’s a

beginning. It’s a constitutional right for our doctors and scientists

to pursue this area of research.”

Gutierrez and her daughter have been active local spokespersons

for Proposition 71. They appeared in a commercial, circulated fliers

in the community and took part in outreach activities in local

schools, Gutierrez said.

“I learned so much about stem cell research,” she said. “I learned

that almost everyone I know probably has a member of their family who

could benefit from it.”

She was getting nervous through the night because the vote was so

close, Gutierrez said. The measure won 52.4% to 47.6%.

Another closely watched measure was Proposition 66, which appeared

to be winning late Tuesday but ultimately lost statewide. The measure

called for a revision of California’s three-strikes law, under which

felons with prior convictions for serious or violent crimes can be

sentenced to 25 years to life for a third felony conviction. Had

Proposition 66 passed, it would have limited the three strikes to

violent or serious felonies. In Orange County, 64.1% voted against the change in the three-strikes law.

The voters’ rejection of the measure relieves 70th District

Assemblyman John Campbell, who represents Newport Beach.

“This is about keeping hardened, repeat criminals in jail,” he

said.

Campbell attributed the proposition’s failure to what he called “a

good communication plan” throughout the week before election day with

a little help from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“We have now kept 26,000 felons in jail and off the streets,” he

said. “And we’ll all be safer for it.”

Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley agreed.

“The three-strikes law has been directly responsible for the

decrease in crime over the last 10 years,” he said.

A majority of Orange County voters also favored Proposition 69,

66.5% to 33.5%. That measure, which won statewide, will make it

mandatory for those convicted or even arrested in connection with a

crime or charged with specific crimes to submit a DNA sample that

will be entered into a statewide database.

Costa Mesa was able to solve two cold cases over the last year

thanks to advanced DNA technology, Hensley said.

“With the new law, maybe some of these cases won’t be cold

anymore,” he said.

County voters rejected Proposition 72, which requires healthcare

coverage for employees by employers of large- and mid-sized

companies. Those opposed to the measure considered it hostile to

businesses. That measure was voted down 62.2% to 37.8%.

Despite a staggering increase in voter turnout on election day and

new electronic voting machines, the county experienced few glitches

Tuesday, said Brett Rowley, spokesman for the Orange County Registrar

of Voters.

“We had a few minor things happen, but we took care of them right

away,” he said. “The feedback we got about the new eSlate voting

machines was that people found them fun and easy.”

The minor problems did not affect any votes cast, and most were

fixed within minutes by the Registrar of Voters’ tech team, Rowley

said.

There was also a minor crisis in UC Irvine Tuesday night when

nearly 200 students showed up close to 8 p.m., he said.

“We sent out 12 additional eSlate machines and four staff members,

so everyone who showed up to the polling booth would have a chance to

vote,” Rowley said.