Think tank opens in Menlo Park
to give voice to progressive views

By Renee Batti
Almanac News Editor

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

But there's one aspect of those institutions it would be hard to argue with: the effectiveness of their efforts to influence the country's political agenda. Well-funded and focused, they have significantly influenced lawmakers, the media and the public in recent times, most political observers would agree.

This fact has not been lost on longtime Ladera residents Leonard Salle and Dr. Katherine Forrest. A married couple whose political views contrast sharply with the ideology espoused by the prominent conservative think tanks, the duo nevertheless has looked to those foundations as a strategic model in forming the Commonweal Institute, a think tank they recently established in Menlo Park.

"The models exist ... we don't have to do the inventing here," Mr. Salle said last week in the Middlefield Road headquarters of the new institute. In fact, the conservative think tanks have been so successful in framing national issues and pushing their agendas in Washington that voices representing other ideas and points of view are being left out of the national political dialogue, he said.

Established to add a strong moderate-progressive voice to that dialogue, the institute aims to consolidate the efforts of people and organizations that now often focus only on single issues, the founders said. As a result, they added, a more forceful, effective tool will be created to promote moderate and progressive political principles.

Although all the pictures are not yet hung on the walls of their new office, Mr. Salle and Dr. Forrest are throwing a party to introduce the Commonweal Institute to the world -- and particularly the local community. The July 25 event will feature as key speaker former Assemblyman Ted Lempert, who said he is hopeful that the institute can "get more folks involved in the (democratic) process."

Advocacy

In a prepared statement, Mr. Salle said: "There is a critical need to give an effective voice to ideas that will better serve the public rather than the narrow interests of a few. Conservatives are currently framing the issues and moving public opinion, while other ideas are not being heard. Commonweal Institute aims to give progressives and centrists the tools they need to compete."

Neither founder has been involved in public life in the past, they acknowledged. But, they said, their skills in effective organization and strategy, and their passionate beliefs in social justice and democracy, will serve them well in their new roles.

Mr. Salle, the institute's president, has extensive experience working with groups for a common cause, including serving as president of a union of engineers and architects. Dr. Forrest, Commonweal's director of development, has worked in the public health field and in the pharmaceutical industry.

Commonweal will focus on a number of issues, working with other research groups to gather and analyze information. But unlike other research groups, which tend to share data with academia or in limited contexts, the institute will put its energy into getting the information into the public arena, emphasizing how the policy or development under study will affect the lives of ordinary people, the founders said.

The issues that will receive the institute's attention, they said, are based on three broad goals: protecting the environment; promoting economic and social justice; and revitalizing democracy in the country.

Long involved in civic and social issues, Mr. Salle and Dr. Forrest said they had become increasingly dismayed by the growing strength of conservative forces in politics in recent times. But it was the turn of events triggered by the 2000 presidential election that pushed them over the line. "We saw a real breakdown of the democratic process," Mr. Salle said.

After George Bush was sworn in, new policies were quickly put into place that emphasized how ephemeral public policy can be. "A policy decision from Washington (can be made), and years of work is wiped out," Dr. Forrest noted. "We need to be concerned about protecting gains that have been made, and having a framework where it will be possible to keep moderate and progressive ideas ... alive and viable."

"I think a group like this can help in terms of ... the need to look long-term at some issues -- to frame issues in a broader context" than they now are viewed, said Mr. Lempert, a candidate for the state's 11th Senate District and head of EdVoice, a nonprofit, education advocacy group.

Mr. Salle and Dr. Forrest said when they first began talking to other moderate and progressive groups about the possibility of creating the institute, some people said it would be too daunting a task. But, Mr. Salle said, he and his wife determined that "the consequences of not doing it would be disastrous."

They said that, given their experience and expertise, the networking and communications aspects of their work are not at all daunting. What they are now turning their attention to, they said, is fundraising. Noting that the Heritage Foundation has a $40 million annual budget, they said they must establish solid funding sources to be effective.

They have received some financial support already from foundations and individuals, and have been provided free office space in the old Hewlett Foundation offices at 535 Middlefield Road, with help from the Compton Foundation, also located there. And the July 25 reception will be a kick-off for Commonweal's fundraising effort as well as a way to introduce the institute to the community, Mr. Salle said.
 

E-mail: Renee Batti at rbatti@AlmanacNews.com.
Reprinted with permission from the Almanac News