Bill Kier was the Director of the Senate Office of Research (SOR) who hired Martin away from the Dept of Finance (DOF) in 1975:

It was [Senator] Steve Teale who suggested (rather than my simply being chucked onto the street) that I be sent ‘over there – with the old guys’ – and that’s how I ended up in what became known as the Senate Office of Research (SOR) with [Dave] Cox, [Vern] Gleason and [Richard] Lazansky – I was the ‘environmental policy specialist.’ 

Within a year or so Cox, who was frail, retired, recommending to Senate Rules on the way out the door that they make me the office’s director; then Gleason (who I loved working with – he’d been a hard-rock Grass Valley goldminer in his day/ got into welfare administration during the Great Depression) retired; and then Lazansky. Lazansky’s SOR role – telling us what the economy had in store for the upcoming budget year – was so vital I was panicky about how, if at all possible, to replace him. Dick Lazansky recommended the young genius that he’d left behind at Finance, Martin Helmke.

 

It didn’t take much to lure Helmke away from the Dept of Finance.

 

I had the great good fortune of recruiting/hiring a dozen or so totally brilliant SORers over the seven years that I ‘ran’ (the Senate leaders had a lot to say about my hires) the SOR. They all brought something special to the office/team.

 

But Martin, above all, was good for more punchlines than any. Martin would dutifully trek to UCLA for its semiannual Anderson Forecast economic data-thrashing. I caught him on returning to the Capitol from one of those Anderson events, anxious to hear what he’d learned – we were in a first-ever economic situation that we were having trouble getting our heads around: stagflation ..

 

And Martin said ‘Bill, if we laid every economist in that room end-to-end they’d have pointed in all directions.’

I treasure my professional and just-plain-fun relationship with Martin Helmke.

 - Bill Kier (excerpt posted with permission by Peter Detwiler)

CalTax had a great working relationship with Martin, and we valued his sense of humor and his passion for improving our state. After he retired from state service, he worked with CalTax for many years to continue producing his signature spreadsheets of tax-related legislation -- a resource we still refer to when researching legislation. 

Martin was a giant in the tax policy arena, and he will be missed.

California Taxpayers Association President Robert Gutierrez

Without exception, it was always a pleasure to meet with and engage with Martin. I learned from him every time we worked or spoke together, but even more, I valued his friendship and will always hold him in the highest esteem as a public servant. His memory will always be a blessing. Prayers and condolences to all his family as we celebrate a life of service so very well lived. California is better for his many years of dedicated service.

Richard Mersereau

 

I first met Martin in the early 1990’s in the Wilson Administration, as I was learning how the capitol operates. I was working on a tax amnesty proposal with Willie Washington (Manufacturers) on one side and Tom Rankin (Labor Fed) on the other.  If I remember correctly, Senator Wadie Deddeh was the chair at the time.  

 

In that experience, I had the honor of getting to know Martin Helmke.  

 

He was the guy I would reach out to to provide new data and details about the proposal (before e-mail or excel).  He would always take my call or drop in.  And he wanted to hear what I had to say.  He asked the right questions to get to the core of the issue and figure out how the amnesty proposal would really work.

 

Martin had this very unassuming and quiet demeanor.  Always polite and professional.  And with a dry sense of humor.  Frankly, I was never sure what was going to happen next.  And then I would see my information featured in his analysis and framed in a fair and factual way.  

 Martin excelled in the legislature because he demonstrated how to treat people with dignity as we did our jobs while also being a quiet and unassuming leader.  He did this by gathering the facts and then doing the right thing for the right reasons.  

Over the decades our paths crossed several times in my work in the Senate and Assembly. To Martin's credit, the years never changed him.

 

Martin Helmke was an early mentor for me.  RIP Martin.  

 

Michael Miiller

I first met Martin when I came to the Capitol in the 80’s but really came to know him best during those trying budget deficit years when leadership and budget staff sought to close huge budget gaps.  Not surprisingly, the Assembly and Senate weren’t always in agreement.  As one of the group of so-called “budget weenies” from the Assembly, I often found myself working closely with Martin and others from the Senate in crafting solutions.  Martin’s smarts and good humor shown through! He would listen to everyone’s ideas, then very politely explain why the tax policy made little to no sense.  What was so remarkable is how nice and kind he was in the process.  And how, for me especially, he taught me tax policy – of which I knew little – along the way. He was always patient, generous and ready with a perfect dry wit when needed.  He didn’t need to take the time with me, a person from the other house.  But he did.  And, I learned so much from him both about policy and working with others.    

 

I will always remember you fondly, Martin.  You were a wonderful mentor and teammate with a great sense of humor, for whom I hold the utmost respect.  You were really one of the “class acts” in the Capitol.  May you rest in peace.  

 

Now, Martin, about that business tax credit we were discussing …. ???

 

Leslie Medina