Meg Whitman: Anti-LGBT, and Maybe California's Next Governor?

by Michael Jones · 2009-02-09 15:43:00 UTC
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WhitmanIt was long-suspected, and now it's official: Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and former surrogate superstar for Sen. John McCain, has entered the race to replace California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger.

She's certainly got the money to back up her race.  The Guardian (UK) puts her worth at roughly 1.3 billion.  But do Californians know enough about her?  Maybe not.  A November poll showed that 67 percent of Californians don't know her yet.

But one thing we do know about her: Whitman publicly came out in favor of Proposition 8, the statewide amendment that rescinded marriage rights for gay and lesbian Californians by revising the State Constitution.  And before she worked the crowds for Sen. John McCain in 2008, Meg Whitman endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for President, who threw everything (including the kitchen sink) into efforts to prevent Massachusetts from recognizing gay marriage.

This news isn't surprising, as Meg Whitman was weighing a bid for months.  But Whitman's support of Proposition 8 is troubling, and places her at odds with current Republican Governor Schwartzenegger, and fellow 2010 GOP candidate for Governor Tom Campbell. It's also troubling to know that eBay has made millions off of selling LGBT items and marketing to LGBT consumers, only to see that money feed the coffers of a CEO who would support taking marriage rights away from same-sex couples.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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