Steve Poizner's gubernatorial campaign chairman, former state Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte, is taking a swipe at the idea that Meg Whitman's experience as chief executive officer of eBay qualifies her to be governor of California.
In a letter to legislators backing Poizner, Brulte says of Whitman: "Though she has much to offer, her campaign is once again proving why first time candidate business executives never win."
Brulte adds: "Like Democrat Steve Westly, Meg is running based on her experience at eBay. Voters were unmoved by the millions of dollars Westly spent touting eBay's success (in a 2006 gubernatorial run)...as Republicans will be too. Voters simply don't buy the connection that running an online auction company is the best training ground for our next governor. And never in modern history has there been a worse time to be running on the 'corporate CEO' brand."
But it is not as if Poizner hasn't run on his own corporate brand.
In 2006, he pitched his business acumen to win election as state insurance commissioner, five years after selling his SnapTrak Inc. -- a developer of global positioning technology for cellphones -- for $1 billion.
In the battle of Silicon Valley billionaires, Team Whitman spokesman Mitch Zak responded to Brulte's missive by touting her endorsements and business savvy.
"I think Pete Wilson would disagree with his friend Jim Brulte strongly. So would John McCain. So would Mitt Romney," Zak said. "These folks all know what it takes to be leaders in government and are convinced Meg Whitman would be the best choice. She's helped create millions of jobs and build organizations. If they're interested in a side-by-side, Steve Poizner vs. Meg Whitman, we'll take that discussion every day of the week and twice on Sunday."
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