Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, has resigned from three corporate boards, clearing the way for a 2010 run for California governor.
The 52-year-old Republican businesswoman departed the boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks Animation SKG on Dec. 31, due to "personal reasons and time commitment," said her spokesman, Henry Gomez.
She "basically wanted to open her calendar to focus on other things," Gomez said.
Whitman, a billionaire from her decade at eBay, has been making noise in the California political sphere for months.
She was a senior adviser to Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, traveled to the 2008 Republican National Convention with the California delegation, donated money ($150,000) to the state GOP, and is locked in a dispute with a cybersquatter over five political domain names such as whitmanforgovernor.com and meg2010.com.
In preparation for her potential campaign, she has already secured a campaign strategist, Jeff Randle, a former adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-Gov. Pete Wilson.
Removing herself from the three corporate boards was the next logical step, said Tony Quinn, a Republican political analyst.
"Why would she want to remain on those boards (where) she could get drawn into controversies regarding those companies?" Quinn said. "Running for governor is a full-time job."
A person close to Whitman said the former Silicon Valley leader made the final decision to enter the governor's race over the holidays. An official announcement is expected in the next four to six weeks.
In the GOP primary to replace a termed-out Schwarzenegger, Whitman would likely face Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a near-billionaire himself, as well as Tom Campbell, a former GOP congressman and state finance director.
All three are self-styled social liberals and fiscal conservatives.
Both Campbell and Poizner have opened exploratory committees and are raising campaign funds. Whitman, who could largely self-finance her campaign, has not.
Poizner has been trying to lock down institutional support, scooping up endorsements from two-thirds of GOP state lawmakers.
But the GOP field remains wide open. A Field Poll taken last November showed that two-thirds of voters had no opinion of any of the three potential Republican candidates.
On the Democratic side, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi are exploring runs. Other potential candidates include Attorney General Jerry Brown, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, former state Controller Steve Westly and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Call Shane Goldmacher, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.
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