Meg Whitman’s hostile takeover of elections

For Immediate Release
February 9, 2010
Contact: Jarrod Agen (916) 325-6800

Meg Whitman’s Hostile Takeover of Elections

Poizner Communications Director Jarrod Agen issued the following statement today on the revelations about Meg Whitman’s plan to force Tom Campbell from the race for governor:

“Meg Whitman is attempting a hostile takeover of California’s election process with her plans to control the governor’s race, two U.S. Senate races, and even the Vice Presidential nomination. All of this from a billionaire who has never been elected to any public office and neglected to vote for most of her adult life. This is only further proof that Meg Whitman represents nothing more than politics as usual while Steve Poizner is the reform candidate in this race.” – Jarrod Agen, Communications Director

Conservative Columnist George F. Will Reported That Whitman Persuaded Campbell To Leave The Gubernatorial Race:

Whitman “Supposedly Persuaded” Tom Campbell To Switch To The Senate Race. “So Whitman supposedly persuaded a rival for the gubernatorial nomination — Tom Campbell, a former congressman of large talents but slender means — to switch to the Senate race, leaving her opposed only by Steve Poizner, another rich refugee from Silicon Valley. This may have been a bit too clever because Poizner can now make this a binary choice: Who is most conservative?” (George F. Will, Op-Ed, “Right Turn On The Left Coast,” The Washington Post, 2/10/10)

George F. Will Noted Whitman Is Harboring National Ambitions, Mentioning The Possibility Of Angling For The Vice Presidential Nomination In 2012. “Furthermore, Whitman supposedly harbors national ambitions, perhaps as 2012 vice presidential running mate with Mitt Romney, her business mentor and current supporter. If in 2012 Gov. Whitman is wallowing in this state’s multiplying disasters, she might not want Fiorina in Washington surrounded by television cameras and unencumbered by executive responsibilities.” (George F. Will, Op-Ed, “Right Turn On The Left Coast,” The Washington Post, 2/10/10)

Whitman And Her Operatives Offered Tom Campbell Financial And Political Support:

Whitman Sent Former Pete Wilson Chief Of Staff Bob White To Persuade Tom Campbell To Leave The Gubernatorial Race. “While Whitman’s operatives employed coercion in their backfiring bid to get Poizner out of the race, they employed persuasion to remove Campbell from the equation. While consultant Mike Murphy played the heavy with Poizner, several sources say that another former consigliere for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bob White, the longtime chief of staff to former Governor and Senator Pete Wilson who now heads a powerful corporate consulting firm in the state capital, played the lead role for Whitman on the Campbell project. Wilson is Whitman’s campaign chair.” (Bill Bradley, “The Machinations Of Meg Whitman: Behind Her Attempts To Eliminate Competition And Her Whopper About How Long She’s Lived In California,” Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, 2/10/10)

Whitman’s Operatives Promised Campbell “New Backing And Help With Fundraising.” “In December, according to well-informed sources, Whitman operatives began trying to influence people in the orbit around Schwarzenegger to persuade Campbell to switch out of the governor’s race and into the Senate race. Campbell, who in his varied career which has included stints as a Stanford law professor and head of the UC Berkeley business school, had been the state finance director in the Schwarzenegger Administration. The blandishments for Campbell included the promise of new backing and help with fundraising.” (Bill Bradley, “The Machinations Of Meg Whitman: Behind Her Attempts To Eliminate Competition And Her Whopper About How Long She’s Lived In California,” Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, 2/10/10)

Campbell Picked Up A Top Whitman Fundraiser When He Switched To The U.S. Senate Campaign. “Campbell picked up a fundraiser, too. Kristin Hueter, a top Whitman fundraiser, made the move to the new Team Campbell. Hueter had previously worked for Schwarzenegger.” (Bill Bradley, “The Machinations Of Meg Whitman: Behind Her Attempts To Eliminate Competition And Her Whopper About How Long She’s Lived In California,” Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, 2/10/10)

Bob White Confirmed That He Was Involved In The Effort To Get Campbell To Switch To The U.S. Senate Race. “When I reached him, Bob White acknowledged that he was involved in the effort to get Campbell to switch from the governor’s race to the Senate race. But he said that his role wasn’t as central as other sources said it was.” (Bill Bradley, “The Machinations Of Meg Whitman: Behind Her Attempts To Eliminate Competition And Her Whopper About How Long She’s Lived In California,” Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, 2/10/10)

“Whitman’s Moves Also Point Up How Reliant The Billionaire Political Novice Is On Highly Paid Consultants And Lobbyists.” (Bill Bradley, “The Machinations Of Meg Whitman: Behind Her Attempts To Eliminate Competition And Her Whopper About How Long She’s Lived In California,” Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, 2/10/10).