Whitman ends California tour with Romney, McCain

[April 24, 2010]  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman wrapped up a week of fundraising Friday with help from some big GOP names while facing protests about the amount of money she is spending on her quest for California's highest office.

Whitman's political mentor, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, joined her at a donors-only luncheon in Sacramento, where tickets started at $1,000 and went up to $25,900. In the evening, Whitman ended her weeklong fundraising tour at a gala in Redwood City with Romney, former GOP presidential nominee John McCain, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State George Shultz.

Both events attracted about 100 protesters organized by the California Nurses Association.

The union says the billionaire candidate, who already has given her campaign $59 million from her personal fortune, wants to buy her way into office and crown herself queen of California. Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, has said she is willing to spend $150 million on her campaign.

Whitman has said she is "trying to run a smart, strategic campaign" that involves spending whatever it takes to win the governor's race. She argued to GOP convention delegates recently that she is the only Republican with the resources to win in California, where Democrats enjoy a 14-point registration edge.

The nurses union and other labor groups support Attorney General Jerry Brown, the Democrats' presumed nominee, whose campaign is benefiting from independent groups funded in large part by labor unions.

Outside the exclusive Sutter Club near the state Capitol, where the luncheon was held, an actress from Los Angeles who was recruited to play "Queen Meg" wore a red velvet crown, emerged in royal costume from a Rolls Royce and handed out Monopoly money.

"California can no longer afford democracy, but I can afford California," she said, waving a wand as she stood in the club's entryway.

Many of the protesters wore blond wigs similar to Whitman's hair style and held signs designed to look like Whitman's campaign posters but showing piles of money and a crown: "Queen Meg: Rich enough to rule! 2010," read one.

Another criticized her plan to cut the state work force by 40,000 employees.

Shirley Toy, 51, a nurse who works at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, said she wasn't sure whether she would be one of those workers. Toy said she has been turned off by Whitman's spending so far in the campaign, which started months ago and has given her a constant presence on television.

She said Whitman's personal wealth is another example of the stratification of American society in which the rich accumulate more wealth while the middle class shrinks and the ranks of the poor grow.

"It's a bad taste in my mouth," Toy said of Whitman's spending and fundraising.

The governor's office does not have direct authority over hiring in the UC or California State University systems, but Whitman's campaign said she wants to work with both chancellors to look for ways to cut the support and administrative staffs.

When asked after the Silicon Valley gala about the protesters' charge that she is out of touch with working people, Whitman said she draws back to her experience at eBay working with small businesses.

"I think what I bring to this race is an incredible understanding of what the conditions are that are required for small businesses to grow and thrive," she told reporters. "So I feel really connected to those small businesses."

She added that she hears stories on the campaign trail about people losing their jobs and said the primary focus of a Whitman administration would be "to put Californians back to work."

Whitman faces another Silicon Valley multimillionaire, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, in the June 8 Republican primary.

After blanketing the television and radio airwaves for months, Whitman surged ahead of Poizner, who says her lead has narrowed in recent weeks as he began his own advertising blitz.

Friday's portrayal of Whitman as an out-of-touch billionaire is expected to be a recurring campaign theme this election year from unions, which are stepping up their fundraising and media efforts on behalf of Brown in anticipation of a general election campaign that is expected to set a spending record.

On Monday, the California Labor Federation will start distributing 150,000 anti-Whitman fliers at work sites around the state, federation spokesman Steve Smith said.

He said labor groups are launching an earlier and more aggressive campaign this year than in previous gubernatorial races because Whitman's enormous wealth gives her a virtually unlimited campaign budget.

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Sacramento, who attended the Sacramento fundraiser, said Whitman focused on her campaign message of downsizing state government. The attacks calling Whitman an elitist billionaire won't resonate because in person, Whitman is genuine and warm, he said.

In Redwood City, Whitman highlighted four themes: jobs, government spending, education and leadership. She was joined on stage by McCain, Romney, Bush and Shultz in front of more than 500 people who dined on a butter lettuce salad with blue cheese crumbles, lamb chops or vegetable tartine and chocolate cake. Tickets cost a minimum of $1,000 each.

"It matters what happens in California," McCain told the audience. "This is a person who will set an example here and in all parts of the nation."

Shultz, now a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, invoked the memory of former President Ronald Reagan, who also served as California governor, when speaking about Whitman's leadership style.

"I think what we need is really strong leadership and I'm convinced that Meg will be able to do it," he said.

Whitman's fundraising tour de force this week included an Irvine event in which she was joined by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and an event Thursday with Romney in Beverly Hills.

Whitman credits Romney, her former boss at Bain & Co., with sparking her interest in politics after years of sitting out elections. She served on his presidential election campaign in 2008 and later campaigned for McCain.

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Associated Press Writer Brooke Donald in Redwood City contributed to this report.

[Associated Press; By JULIET WILLIAMS]

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