Whitman Bids on California Governorship

Former Ebay CEO and President Meg Whitman announced Monday that she has formed an exploratory committee for a campaign to win the Republican nomination for California governor in 2010. Former California Gov. Pete Wilson will be campaign chairman, Whitman said in a news release.

The co-chairs of the exploratory committee are Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), chief deputy Republican whip, and fellow Republican representative Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs), along with state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks), state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego), Republican whip, and former State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner of Lancaster.

"After careful consideration and with tremendous loyalty to our Golden State, I have formed an exploratory committee, the first step in the process of running for governor in 2010," Whitman said. "California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history--a weak and faltering economy, massive job losses, and an exploding state budget deficit. California is better than this, and I refuse to stand by and watch it fail. Now is the time for people across the state to join in a cause for change, excellence and a new California."

Whitman, 52, retired from Ebay in March 2008 after a decade with the company, during which Ebay grew from a startup with 30 employees, 300,000 users and $4.7 million in revenue, to a global behemoth with operations in 38 countries, more than 15,000 employees, almost $8 billion in revenue and more than 300 million registered users, including more than 12 million Ebay users in California alone.

Whitman, in the coming weeks, through speeches in Silicon Valley, Orange County and at the California Republican Party Convention in Sacramento, Whitman will offer a vision for the Golden State, she said.

by BizJournals.com