Joe Dunn, a former state senator from Orange County, was appointed the new CEO and executive vice president of the California Medical Association. Following a national search, Dunn was selected from a field of outstanding candidates as "the right leader at the right time for the CMA," says Michael Sexton, MD, immediate past president of the CMA.

A veteran trial attorney, Dunn was elected in 1998 to represent Santa Ana, the 34th Senate District, and was re-elected in 2002. He will be termed out of the Legislature at year-end. Dunn begins full time at the CMA this month, after the close of the legislative session. He replaces Jack Lewin, MD, who has become the CEO of the American College of Cardiology in Washington, D.C.

"Joe Dunn brings extraordinary talents and a wealth of knowledge about California and politics in Sacramento to the CMA at a crucial moment in our 150-year history," Dr. Sexton says. "Joe has vision, intellect and passion. He will greatly enhance our ability to advocate for quality patient care, protect the profession, improve public health, expand access to care for all, and maintain practice viability for the physicians of California."

As a trial attorney, Dunn played a key role in the 1998 national tobacco litigation settlement that led to $200 billion in payments from cigarette companies to 46 states, with more than $25 billion going to California for healthcare and other purposes. He also fought industrial polluters who exposed neighborhoods to toxic chemicals and worked to give patients better access to quality healthcare.

"I am extremely honored that the physician leadership of the California Medical Association has chosen me to lead this premiere advocacy organization," Dunn says. "In this unique time in public policy, healthcare is the No. 1 issue on the average person's mind. I have an enormous responsibility to continue to craft healthcare policy for not only California, but the nation."

Physician leaders from the CMA and the Orange County Medical Association have a longstanding working relationship with Dunn. "Within the California Legislature and political circles of Sacramento, Dunn carries a lot of credibility on issues of healthcare, MICRA and public policy," says Anmol Mahal, MD, CMA president. "I know that he will be a great and effective advocate for the profession of medicine and patients in California. I am looking forward to working with him."

In 2000, Dunn partnered with the OCMA on the Measure H campaign, a local proposition that required 80 percent of Orange County's tobacco settlement dollars to go toward healthcare programs. The proposition passed with flying colors.

"I worked with him closely on the Orange County Measure H campaign," says J. Brennan Cassidy, MD, chairman of the CMA board of trustees and past president of the OCMA. "He was the legislative spokesperson while I was the OCMA spokesperson. He is articulate and capable of communicating with any audience. He was the OCMA and CMA 'go to' guy in the Legislature."

In addition, Dunn was the Legislature's investigative leader into the price-gouging practices of energy generators that caused the state's energy crisis. As chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation of the Wholesale Energy Market, Dunn provided valuable information to state and federal investigators to pursue criminal and civil indictments against energy traders.

Dunn also notes his strong record of advocacy for a variety of groups, including children's hospitals, emergency services, seniors and affordable housing.

"Joe Dunn will be a fantastic addition to the CMA," Dr. Cassidy says. "He brings unique advocacy skills, which combined with energy, intelligence and integrity, will serve the CMA well. His contacts and resources throughout the healthcare community and in the Legislature are remarkable. He is well respected on both sides of the aisle and is an astute negotiator and strategic thinker. I have great confidence with Joe Dunn at the helm of CMA."