The architect of California's $3 billion stem cell agency is set to keep his job for a little longer. Bob Klein—the man who co-wrote the ballot initiative that created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and then served as the agency's only chairman for the past six years—was reelected by its board of directors in a near-unanimous vote last month, meaning he will stay in his post for another six months while the organization regroups in its search for a suitable successor.

State officials tasked with nominating his replacement had originally tapped current vice-chairman Art Torres as well as Alan Bernstein, executive director of the New York–based Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise as possible successors. But Bernstein, a Canadian national, was forced to pull out of the race at the beginning of December because of a state law requiring the head of a public agency to hold US citizenship, and Torres, a former state senator, withdrew his nomination a week later. As a result, Klein effectively became a shoo-in for the post.

No exit: Klein stays a little longer. Credit: Elie Dolgin

Under the terms of the agency's statute, the board members' reappointment of Klein means he could serve as chairman for another six-year term. But the board also passed a motion calling on Klein to find a replacement and step down within 180 days, if not sooner.

“I'm going to be aggressively trying to find a replacement,” Klein told Nature Medicine. “Going forward here, we're going to have the time to go through a process to define the criteria” for the next chairman. Klein insists that he didn't intend to remain chairman and has agreed to stay on an unpaid, temporary basis.

Not everyone was happy with this scenario. In a strongly worded letter sent two days before the board's vote, state controller John Chiang urged the CIRM board members to delay their decision and start anew with fresh nominees. “It is clear that the current selection process is fundamentally flawed,” Chiang wrote. “The taxpayers who provide the funds for CIRM must be assured that the chair and vice chair are selected in an open, transparent process—not through a backroom deal or by default because a deal has fallen apart.”

“This path that they've gone down is a face-saving path for Klein, who screwed up this election by trying to manipulate it and tap his own successor,” says John Simpson, stem cell project director of the Santa Monica, California–based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. “He needs to let go and let the board step up and exercise its oversight responsibilities without constantly trying to pull the strings.”

Bernstein's name is not necessarily off the table. According to Klein, the 1978 attorney general decision ruling the requirement of US citizenship for holding public office may be unconstitutional. The state attorney general's website states that such opinions “have been accorded 'great respect' and 'great weight' by the courts,” but they do not technically define the law.