California Governor Race Pares Down

Former U.S. Representative Tom Campbell’s departure from California’s gubernatorial race last week has shaken things up in the Golden State… kind of. While he’d been arguably the best qualified of the GOP candidates – with a Harvard law degree, a Ph.D. in economics, a long history of public service – his financially magnificent adversaries Meg Whitman (former eBay chief) and Steve Poizner (state insurance commissioner) have already brought to bear a collective $50 million in campaign funds, an amount that the former dean of UC Berkeley’s business school was simply unable to match.



For a taste of Campbell's approach to public finances, watch the video above, in which Campbell gives The Commonwealth Club's 2008 economic forecast. Whitman will discuss her plans for the governor's office in a February 16 speech to The Commonwealth Club in Lafayette.

As Campbell moves on to less-competitive pastures (on the other hand, now he’s contending for a Senate seat with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina? hmm), Whitman and Poizner are preparing to square off in earnest.

Whitman, who has delivered a strong message to Californians with months of radio spots and campaign advertisements, has a lead of 45 percent to 17 percent over Commissioner Poizner in a recent Field Poll. The same poll indicates that Whitman’s campaign clearly benefited the most from Campbell’s exit, picking up moderate, financially conservative voters and putting her even further ahead of her remaining, quiet challenger.

The balance will doubtlessly change as Poizner finally loosens his purse strings – but after Whitman’s shock-and-awe strategy, will it be too late? Thirty-eight percent of Republican voters remain undecided, yes; but 20 percent say they view Poizner unfavorably. That’s 17-percent positive versus 20 percent negative. It’s a simple metric, sure, but it looks like the California GOP may actually prefer Poizner to run for the other team.

Would it be too impish to suggest that the Democrats are also working toward a GOP win? All of its candidates have successively dropped out of the race against a man who hasn’t even announced a formal candidacy, yet: former California Governor (1974-1983) and current California Attorney General Jerry Brown. The mayor of L.A., the mayor of San Francisco and the lieutenant governor were all able to assess their collective chances as less than excellent against the man who fought Clinton all the way to the Democratic National Convention in ’92.

But then, Brown did it almost on a dare, using only a $100-per-person contribution limit and an 800 number. Maybe he is the one to challenge Whitman — the most likely GOP candidate, at this time.
Perhaps predictably, both sides of the party line are acknowledging the economy as a primary issue in the gubernatorial election. The impact of Republican Scott Brown’s recent Senate win in Massachusetts, too, reveals an important shift as voters begin leaning away from Washington and toward small-government, fiscally conservative candidates – campaign finances aside, of course.

--By Andrew Harrison

Schwarzenegger Tells Commonwealth Club California Must Lead on Energy, Never Follow

In his third appearance at The Commonwealth Club of California in 13 months, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told a room of nearly 500 attendees that the state must always be a leader on fighting climate change and on generating economic growth from environmentally friendly activity.

Though his appearance focused on the third anniversary of AB32 -- legislation that set California on a path of being a national and global leader in green economics -- Schwarzenegger also touched on a wide array of topics, particularly during his question-and-answer session with Greg Dalton, director of The Commonwealth Club's Climate One program. When he was asked by a member of a fourth-grade class that was in attendance what advice he gives to his own children regarding the environment, the governor related his own upbringing in postwar Europe, where his family lived in a home without running water. As a result, he closely monitors the length of his children's showers and threatens to cut off the hot water after five minutes. He also makes his children make their own beds and do their own laundry.

From Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's recent comments about rescinding some of his green policies, to discussing his desire to do anything possible to make the Obama administration (and future administrations of either party) successful, the governor shied away from no topic. He gave an impassioned explanation about the necessity of painful across-the-board budget cuts when an audience member questioned reductions in higher education funding.

To end the program, he was asked if, after he leaves the governor's office, he would consider holding a post in the Obama administration, being an international ambassador for green issues, or starring in a TV series about a California governor ("...like West Wing, only better..."). Schwarzenegger said he was open to all three.

We'll post the full video of the program here when it's available.

(Photos by John Zipperer)

Meg Whitman Wants the Governor's Office

Former eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman has thrown her hat into the ring by announcing her intention to run for the California governor's office. The business leader, who was an advisor to Republican Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, is expected to make a high priority out of California's business competitiveness.
That was also the focus of her September 23, 2008, speech to The Commonwealth Club (see video below.) In it, she openly questioned whether California's tax and regulatory environment would allow a company like eBay to be born and thrive today like it did.
"A significant portion of our population is unsuited for today's high-paying jobs," she told the audience. "You can't grow your business if you can't find the people you need, and if you can't find the people you need, you have to move the company to where those people are. We need to make education a priority in California."

Whitman joins a possible field of candidates including current San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, former Governor and current state Attorney General Jerry Brown, current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and others. His possible candidacy is likely to be brought up when Newsom speaks to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco March 11. For information on that event, go here.

Meg Whitman: Could She Save the Finance System?

Reacting to the ongoing struggle between Wall Street, Main Street, and the federal government, Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently mentioned that he would consider appointing investor extraordinaire Warren Buffett and former eBay president Meg Whitman to senior financial posts in his administration, if he is elected.

Whitman spoke to The Commonwealth Club on September 23, 2008, and in the video above you can get a sense of what her priorities and approaches might be if she were to be appointed Treasury secretary or some other economic post.

A side note, to all voters who watched last night's vice presidential debate in St. Louis between Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and Democratic Sen. Joe Biden: Meg Whitman was on McCain's short list for vice presidential candidates. How would she have performed in the debate if she had been chosen? Only she knows, but you can get an idea from her speech in the above video.

Whitman's speech was part of Orrick's A-ha Speaker Series at The Commonwealth Club, generously underwritten by Orrick.