Former Los Angeles Mayor and state Education Secretary Richard Riordan has endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, adding to her collection of high-profile endorsements such as from former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
In the Whitman news release sent out this morning, Riordan says, "Meg believes the future of our state and the strength of our nation depend on Californians rededicating ourselves to education. Her commitment to returning control of our schools back to parents and teachers and demanding accountability makes Meg the best candidate."
Whitman repeated the education theme in her quotes in the news release.
"I appreciate Richard Riordan's steadfast commitment to education reform,'' Whitman said. "Over the decades, he has worked relentlessly to ensure every California student has access to a quality education. I am honored to have Mayor Riordan's endorsement and he will be an asset to my team."
Whitman, the billionaire former CEO of the online auction firm eBay, has made fixing education one of the three priorities of her campaign, along with creating jobs and cutting state spending.
Whitman rival, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, has won endorsements from other former officials such as former UC Regent Ward Connerly and former state Treasurer Matt Fong.
Minutes after Whitman's news release was sent out, Poizner's campaign released its own endorsement news, this from David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which bills itself as the country's largest oldest and largest conservative lobbying organization.
"Steve Poizner's background of creating jobs in the private sector and cutting spending in government distinguishes him from all of his competitors and clearly qualifies him to rebuild California's economy," Keene is quoted as saying in the release. "Conservative principles are needed to fix California's broken economy, and I'm confident that Steve has the right plan of cutting taxes and reducing government spending to turn the state around. He is, quite frankly, just what California needs!"
Torey Van Oot and the Bee Capitol Bureau report on the people and politics of California government. Get 
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