Under the faded letters on a building wall spelling out CALIFORNIA, hung a banner declaring: Meg 2010, A New California. The juxtaposition of the faded letters with the hope of renewal was quite intentional as Meg Whitman announced the theme for her gubernatorial campaign.
Declaring her candidacy under a blazing sun in Fullerton, Whitman promised to focus on three key issues to build a New California: creating jobs, stopping and slashing regulations, and improving education.
Timing is everything, they say, and the candidate’s hard-hitting attack on business regulations could not have been better timed. Less than a day before the announcement, a study mandated by the legislature on the cost of regulation on California small business was released. It revealed some staggering numbers.
The report said that regulation costs small business nearly $493 billion and 3.8 million jobs in California. In her speech, Whitman promised, “On my first day in office, I’ll issue a moratorium on all new regulations until our economy has begun to recover.”
She went on to say that she would review all regulations with a goal of eliminating those that don’t make sense; and that any future regulations will be “reviewed for their impact on businesses and jobs in our state.”
Whitman said she would issue an executive order to halt AB -32, the greenhouse gases law, “until we fully understand the law’s impact on our economy.” By first halting, then reducing regulations, Whitman contends California could begin digging its way out of its dire unemployment situation and fiscal crisis.
One thing Whitman or any Republican candidate for governor has going for her or him is the disdain voters have for the legislature. Voters may want a check on the majority party that controls the legislature. Whitman seemed to understand this in calling for moratoriums on regulations and cuts in spending and public sector jobs.
How realistic is the approach? The public sector job cuts is sure to run into a union and legislative buzz saw and actions against regulations will undoubtedly prompt lawsuits. But the power of the governor to veto spending and limit regulations could effectively send the message that this lady means business.
And, Whitman wants voters to know that she can stand up against the legislature and bureaucracy in pursuing her goals. Not once, not twice, but three times – and from three different speakers — the audience at the campaign rally was told that Whitman had a “spine of steel.”
The way gubernatorial campaigns are conducted, she will probably need a suit of steel before she is finished.