September 22, 2009

FULLERTON – Meg Whitman launched her campaign for governor Sept. 22, telling Californians that it’s time “to reclaim the California we love.”

After months of laying the groundwork for her gubernatorial campaign, Whitman made her announcement before a crowd of about 350 in Fullerton, where excited supporters gathered to cheer on the woman they said will bring change to this broken state.


“The time has come for all of us to take a stand – to make an all-out effort to reclaim the California we love,” Whitman told the crowd. “I am running for governor because California simply cannot continue on the path it’s on. And I want your support because I believe I’m uniquely qualified to help turn our state around.”

Hundreds of supporters crowded around Whitman inside the courtyard of the Villa Del Sol, formerly a historic hotel that now houses boutiques, restaurants and other small businesses. Some traveled hours to see Whitman. Others waved “Meg 2010” signs and California flags and applauded Whitman with gusto as she vowed to return California to the Golden State it once was – to create jobs, cut government spending and reform education.

Whitman said Californians are eager for a strong leader who will act with conviction.

“There’s a profound hunger for change, for leadership, and for authenticity,” Whitman said. “Californians want to trust their leaders again. They want to be told the truth. And most of all, they want to live in a place of opportunity, not a place of small dreams and scaled-down ambitions.”

Whitman formed her exploratory committee for governor in February and has since been traveling across the state, meeting Californians, listening to their concerns and sharing her ideas.

The Fullerton event marks a milestone in the campaign and was the first in a series of announcements Whitman is making across California this week. She will appear in San Diego on Wednesday, in Fresno on Thursday and in Foster City on Friday. The week will culminate at the California Republican Party’s fall convention in Indian Wells, where Whitman will be a featured lunch speaker on Saturday. 


Several high-profile Republicans, including former Gov. Pete Wilson, who serves as the campaign’s chairman, State Sen. Tony Strickland, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, joined Whitman at the Fullerton kick off.

As she spoke at the outdoor courtyard, Whitman tapped into the desire for a leader with a clear vision and mettle to execute it. 


“She’s like the new frontier of California,” said Charmayne Mayer, a Laguna Niguel resident and a member of the California Women’s Leadership Association, which endorsed Whitman’s candidacy earlier this year. “And we need that, we need somebody to actually follow through with what they promise. She’s run so many successful companies and changed things around for them. She can do the same thing for our state.”

Kelly Steele, a sophomore at the University of California at Riverside and the Southern co-chair of “Students For Meg,” has long been interested in politics. But nobody has inspired her the way Whitman has. Whitman’s moxie and her authenticity have cemented Steele’s impression of the Republican gubernatorial candidate.

“So that’s really cool to hear (Whitman) speak and think, ‘Hey, I think that too,’ and I actually trust her to carry it out," Steele said.

California Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who energized the crowd before Whitman spoke, asked the audience if they’re ready for change. He asked them if they’re ready for a governor who’s committed to reforming California’s failing schools. If they’re ready for a governor who’s committed to creating jobs and prosperity. If they’re ready for a governor who’s going to hold state government accountable.

They cheered as Fletcher said 2010 will be the year California “turns the corner.”

“We hear the pundits speculate and say that our state is ungovernable, that it can’t be fixed. But those of us who live here know better. We know it can be fixed,” Fletcher said. “It’s just going to take the right woman to do the job.”

Whitman’s pledge to create two million jobs by 2015 drew applause. Moms nodded along with Whitman as she spoke of her plan to improve public schools. And Whitman’s criticism of state government’s overspending drew energetic cheers from crowd members who say they’re tired of seeing their tax dollars wasted.

“Every year we pay more to sustain an out-of-control state bureaucracy, a wasteful bureaucracy, out of touch with the needs of Californians. And a selfish and arrogant bureaucracy, unwilling to give even an inch in the toughest of economic times,” Whitman said. “We need a governor with a spine of steel who will look at the books, decide on priorities, deal with the legislature, and take the heat for what we cut and what we fund.”

“If you elect me to be your next governor, I will stop the insanity.”

Tom Raftican traveled nearly three hours from Santa Barbara to see Whitman make her announcement because he’s concerned about the course California is on and says it’s high time for a change.

“I think we’ve really got a state that’s in trouble and we’re in need of some dramatic change here. And I think Meg will be very good to lead that change,” Raftican said. “I think she’s got good priorities and I think her background in business is very important. She recognizes it’s going to take a balanced budget and getting more people employed to move California ahead.”

To read the full speech, click here.