Do You Care about Chiropractic, Governor Davis?

By Donald M. Petersen Jr., BS, HCD(hc), FICC(h), Publisher

In a previous article,¹ we presented the speculations of chiropractic leaders on why California Governor Gray Davis had not appointed anyone to the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners (CBCE) during his first three-and-a-half years in office. They were:

There had not been enough contributions to the Davis campaign fund from chiropractors and chiropractic supporters.

He and his administration have a desire to move our independent chiropractic board under the thumb of the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

He just doesn't like chiropractic or chiropractors

The "Recommendations of the (California) Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)" for the CBCE of were released in early April 2002. Among the recommendations were these statements:

"The DCA notes that it has not been presented with any information suggesting a need to change the current regulatory structure for the chiropractic profession, and further reminds the JLSRC (Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee) that the Department does not monitor this Board." (Emphasis added.)

"The Department (of Consumer Affairs) recommends the requirement to review the BCE (CBCE) be delegated to another state oversight agency, such as the Bureau of State Audits or the Legislative Analyst's Office."

This clearly shows that the California Department of Consumer Affairs is not interested in bringing the CBCE under its jurisdiction, and is satisfied that the board retains its autonomy.

This now leaves only two conceivable reasons why Governor Davis refused to make appointments to the CBCE: We didn't make enough campaign contributions, or he just doesn't like chiropractic.

Just after the first article about this issue went on our website,¹ Governor Davis made the bare minimum number of appointments (two), so that the CBCE could have its first official meeting in nine months.² But there are some real concerns about whom he appointed, and why he appointed them.

Mr. Davis appointed one doctor of chiropractic and one consumer member to the CBCE on March 21, 2002. The consumer member is John Marder, the managing partner with the law firm of Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, LLP. This is a law firm our readers have told us works for Allstate, an insurance company not known for its friendliness toward chiropractors.

The chiropractor appointee is Dr. Ronald Hayes. According to the governor's press release,³ Dr. Hayes used to be a member of a state chiropractic association, but is currently a member of the "California Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine."

Although both of these gentlemen are probably nice people, they probably wouldn't be our first choices to oversee the largest state group of chiropractic doctors in the world, to say the least.

All of this calls into question Mr. Davis' attitude toward chiropractic. Gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon is willing to go on the record regarding his positions on chiropractic and the California Chiropractic Board. (See the Simon interview on the front page of this issue). How about you, Governor Davis? Are you willing to:

go on record regarding your stance on chiropractic;

grant an interview on the subject of your appointment history with the CBCE; and

open the doors of communication to us?

Mr. Davis ignored the needs of the CBCE for over three years. Maybe we just aren't worth his time. He could demonstrate otherwise in just 15 minutes with an interview. This would allow him the opportunity to tell his side, and give the profession a chance to judge the merits of his words and actions.

How about it, Gov. Davis? Do you care enough about the 10,000 DCs and their approximately two million patients to spend 15 minutes with us? This is an open invitation - yours to accept or reject as you see fit.

References

Demise of the California Board of Chiropractic. Dynamic Chiropractic, April 8, 2002. (www.chiroweb.com/archives/20/08/01.html)
California Governor Davis responds to DC article. Dynamic Chiropractic, April 22, 2002. (www.chiroweb.com/archives/20/09/04.html)
Governor Davis names members to the state board of chiropractic examiners. March 21, 2002 press release on the California government site: (www.ca.gov/state)

Donald M. Petersen Jr., BS, HCD (hc), FICC(h)
Editor / Publisher of Dynamic Chiropractic

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