Politics

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― Meg Whitman, the billionaire former eBay CEO seeking to become California's first woman governor, acknowleged making a mistake Wednesday when she failed to vote in elections in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

"It was a mistake. I should have voted and I didn't," she told CBS 5 during an interview at a women's conference being held at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

"It was a mistake and I shouldn't have missed that opportunity," said Whitman, who didn't register as a Republican until 2007. "Everyone has an obligation to vote."

The GOP gubernatorial candidate also sought to downplay her support of Proposition 8, the controversial voter-approved ballot measure last November that banned same-sex marriage in California.

"So first of all, what you should know is I'm not running for governor based on social issues - I'm running for governor to fix and really transform the California economy," said Whitman, a Presbyterian.

"The reason that I voted 'yes' on Prop. 8 was that civil unions provide virtually all the rights and remedies to gay and lesbian couples that marriage does," she explained, "and my personal point of view is that the definition of 'marriage' is a religious term that should be between and man and a woman."

Given the state's current budget mess, Whitman was asked during the interview why she would even want to be governor. Her reply: "People ask me that question all the time, and the reason is I refuse to let California fail."

The 52-year-old mother with two adult sons also previewed the case she plans to make to California voters prior to the 2010 gubernatorial election.

"Make no mistake, this state is in tremendous difficulty," she contended in the interview, "and I think I bring the skills and the experience of creating jobs, managing big and large complex organizations. And frankly, I think we need to run the state government a little bit more like a business."

Whitman is credited with turning the online auction site eBay into a Silicon Valley heavyweight during her tenure as the company's chief executive.

When Whitman delivered her political coming-out address in February, she promised to create 2 million private-sector jobs in the state and eliminate $15 billion in wasteful spending within the first five years, if elected.

However, she has offered few details to date as to how she would make that happen.

Whitman began testing her aptitude for politics after leaving eBay last year, serving as an economic adviser first to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, then for GOP presidential nominee John McCain.
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The political rookie also enlisted former California Gov. Pete Wilson as her campaign chairman and has previously described the Republican brand as "damaged," although she maintained its principle of smaller government remains relevant.

Whitman is expected to face at least two well-known GOP rivals in next year's party primary, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner - who has been actively courting his party's political establishment for many months - and former Congressman Tom Campbell of San Jose.

Poizner was a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur before entering public office, giving him a claim on having a strong business background, too. His former company, SnapTrack, developed global-positioning chips for cell phones.

On the Democratic side, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has already hit the gubernatorial campaign trail. State Attorney General Jerry Brown and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are also said to be likely candidates.

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