Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about Rob Reiner’s legacy as a progressive policy advocate.

The slain actor, director and producer was also a Democratic power player, championing causes including same-sex marriage, environmental conservation, and early childhood education.

Yaroslavsky recalled Reiner’s energetic support of Proposition 10, a 1998 California ballot measure that levied a tax on tobacco products to pay for a variety of early childhood programs across the state, many of which are still in existence.

“Nobody had ever proposed something of this magnitude before,” said Yaroslavsky, who for decades served as an elected official in Los Angeles. “That was his baby, and it’s made a huge difference that’s helped hundreds of thousands of kids.”