Leonard M. Salle, 69; Co-Founded the Commonweal Institute

Leonard M. Salle, 69, who co-founded the Commonweal Institute think tank, died May 5 at Stanford Hospital from complications of heart bypass surgery.

After retiring as a civil engineer with the Santa Clara County Environmental Resources Agency, Salle was deeply disturbed by what he saw as the grip conservatives had on the nation’s conscience during the 2000 presidential election, his wife, Katherine Forrest, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

With his wife, he formed the Santa Clara, Calif.-based institute to talk to progressive leaders and organizations about how they could better fashion their message to win public support. The group hired its first executive director a year ago and in March held a round-table discussion with 40 communication specialists and political strategists from around the country.

Born May 15, 1936, in Detroit, Salle graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit and moved to San Mateo in 1960, where he launched a career in engineering design.