Howard J. Leonhardt Announces Candidacy for Governor of California

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to a lack of voter enthusiasm for the major-party candidates for Governor of California, a bio-medical pioneer and mega-entrepreneur, today announced his intention to conduct a write-in campaign for the governorship.

Howard J. Leonhardt, founder and Chief Science and Technology Officer of Bioheart Inc., a biotechnology company, and owner of Leonhardt Vineyards (www.leonhardtvineyards.com), an award-winning winery in Northern California, declared at a Los Angeles news conference today that voters deserve better choices than the ballot will place before them. He also stated that the State of California deserves a government which values both the encouragement of free enterprise and continued help for education and those who most need aid: children, the aged, and the disabled.

A second news conference is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Thursday, July 22nd, in San Francisco at The Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St. 2F, at 10 am.

"California needs to be restored to greatness and financial stability; the only way to do that is to combine a solid foundation of entrepreneurship with a healthy base of compassion," Leonhardt said. "We cannot shrink our way to greatness."

In his remarks, Leonhardt criticized the lack of workable solutions being proposed by either of the major party nominees and called for targeted tax increases on tobacco, unhealthy foods and drinks, and offshore oil drilling and polluting industries.  He urged that the borders be secured but that a limited amnesty program be put in place for those who come here to fill our need for workers and that make our job creating industries more competitive. Applicants that can prove their economic benefit to our society would be eligible for a version of controlled limited amnesty.

He urged action to help businesses obtain capital at less cost, stimulate exports, increase microloan financing for small businesses, promote education for life, and expand our clean-air transportation resources to further protect the environment.

He laid out a number of specific job-creating and innovative ideas including the formation of The California Stock Exchange that would permit companies seeking capital to raise it more quickly at less cost than any other existing stock exchange in the USA. Other new ideas included multiple financing options for buyers seeking to purchase products from California manufacturers and service companies.  Leonhardt's ideas additionally included the GO-POD electric car network for city zones under 35 mph that works like we utilize grocery carts in supermarkets today. You check them out, use them, and check them back in.

This spring, Leonhardt launched the highly successful and widely publicized Wine Country Baseball League in Northern California. The league consists of 12 teams in Sonoma and Napa counties focused on raising funds for local charities.  More information may be found at www.winecountrybaseball.com.

Leonhardt is an inventor with over 20 U.S. patents.  Most of them are related to devices and biologics for treating heart and cardiovascular disease.  His TALENT (Taheri-Leonhardt) stent graft is a market-leading device for repairing aortic aneurysms and is currently manufactured and marketed by Medtronic Vascular of Santa Rosa, CA, employing hundreds of Californians.  Bioheart Inc., (www.bioheartinc.com), the company he founded in 1999, is a world leader in applying adult muscle stem cells to repair damaged tissue in heart failure patients.  The firm published, at the most recent Heart Failure Society of America Annual Meeting, that their MyoCell treated patients improved 91.7 meters in exercise capacity testing while placebo patients on optimal drugs declined minus -4 meters in a Phase II/III study.  Heart Failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in the USA and the single largest economic drain on Medicare.

Kindheart Lionheart Media & Publishing, based in Santa Monica, CA, is a publisher, wholesaler, and retailer of inspirational books, movies, and music founded by Leonhardt.  The team produced the music CD Radian by the pop soft rock artist Ana Free earlier this year.  Ana Free, from Portugal, has more than 21 million hits on YouTube.  Leonhardt is the author of the soon to be published book, Dolphin Smiles:  The Legend of Kindheart Lionheart, which is a fictional inspirational tale emphasizing the power of gratitude www.kindheartlionheart.com .

Leonhardt is the founder of the Public Policy Institute— The Entrepreneurship Party-- which supports the causes of entrepreneurs; the primary goal is to create jobs and grow revenue to bring California back to greatness. To find out more about the party and Mr. Leonhardt's proposals visit www.entrepreneurshipparty.com and www.howardleonhardt.org.

SOURCE Howard Leonhardt for Governor