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March 4, 2010 | Volume 4, Issue 3 | www.sdchamber.org | contact us California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman Visits Chamber Last Thursday, February 25, Chamber members and local business leaders heard from Meg Whitman, candidate for California Governor and former President and CEO of Ebay. The event was one of a newly formed series of Chamber Candidate Forums, which all candidates for California Governor and Senate have been invited to attend. The forum recently featured U.S. Senate candidates Carly Fiorina, former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company, and Tom Campbell, U.S. House of Representatives. The Candidate Forum is set to welcome another gubernatorial hopeful later this month - Steve Poizner, California State Insurance Commissioner. Whitman focused the discussion around her three priorities for California: creating jobs and restoring the state to the best place to grow or start a business, tackling K through 12 education, and reigning in government overspending to fix the $20 billion budget deficit. She also noted a number of problems for businesses in California, such as the difficult climate for small businesses due to over-regulation and high taxes. California is one of the only states that charges sales tax to manufacturers for factory equipment. The state also currently has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation. Referencing the growing population, Whitman addressed the state’s aging infrastructure – particularly for our water system and schools. “We are working with an infrastructure for a population half our size,” said Whitman. Audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions, which ranged from water, to the state’s prison system, to education. Whitman talked about the possibility of following Florida’s education reform plan, as well as increasing charter schools and focusing spending on better teacher pay and in-classroom needs. For more information on upcoming Chamber Candidate Forums, please contact Bill Holman at bholman@sdchamber.org.
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