Thursday, October 8, 2009

Does Meg Whitman Have the Judgment to Be Governor?

From the CDP:


Planned to Campaign for Candidate Who Wrote Working Women Were "Detrimental to the Family" Will Whitman Renounce McDonnell's Antiquated Views?



Meg Whitman is already struggling to answer why she’s qualified to be California governor if she didn’t have the time or inclination to vote here for years.

Now another troubling question demands an answer: Does Whitman have the judgment to be governor?

Just days ago, Whitman was poised to raise funds and throw her support behind far-right candidate Bob McDonnell, who is running for governor in Virginia. As a 34-year-old graduate student, McDonnell wrote a thesis in which he espoused an ultra-conservative government agenda [http://www.bobmcdonnellblueprint.com/] targeting working women, contraception for married couples – even child care. McDonnell worked to put his plan into action once elected to the Virginia legislature.

Despite the fact that McDonnell’s views fall far outside the mainstream in California and the nation, Whitman agreed to raise money for this far-right candidate. After her fundraiser attracted attention, Whitman canceled her trip.

“Every day, Meg Whitman shows California voters that she is not ready for prime time,” said California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton. “Bob McDonnell advocates far-right positions that, if implemented, would hurt all women, including Meg Whitman. If Whitman supports someone like Bob McDonnell enough to raise money for him, voters deserve to know: Does Whitman support McDonnell’s antiquated ideas? Is she as out of touch as he is?

“As the election draws near, the people of California need to know who Meg Whitman is and where she really stands,” Burton said. “Will the real Meg Whitman please stand up?"

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Monday, October 5, 2009

Sen. Christine Kehoe to Serve as Honorary Chair for New Leaders Council in San Diego

California State Senator Christine Kehoe has agreed to serve as the Honorary Chair for recently-formed chapter of the New Leaders Council in San Diego.

The mission of the New Leaders Council (“NLC”) is to train and support the next generation of progressive political entrepreneurs - those who are leading industries, setting trends, and building institutions that support robust civic and political life in a global America.

NLC accomplishes this mission primarily through the NLC Institute; the nation's premiere political entrepreneurship training program that builds local teams of outstanding young professionals in twelve cities across the nation. NLC Fellows engage in an intensive ten days of training over a five-month period to learn cutting-edge entrepreneurship, leadership, and political management skills from over 150 industry-leading volunteer faculty. Upon graduation, Fellows are paired with career mentors, join a national alumni network, and agree to fundraise to support the next class of Fellows.

Senator Kehoe has been a long time promoter of leadership development in the San Diego area, including through her participation with the Aaron Price Fellows Program, which introduces high school students to San Diego’s governmental, cultural, business communities. She has also participated in workshops to encourage women to run for public office through the Women and the Law Conference as part of the Annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture series, and through “San Diego Political Bootcamp” with the Lawyers Club of San Diego.

The NLC formed a chapter in San Diego over the course of the last six months, recruiting an advisory board of San Diego leaders from the business, labor, non-profit, legal and public sectors. The NLC board will operate the NLC Institute, and recruit accomplished professionals to train the 2010 class of NLC Fellows.

NLC believes in recruiting emerging leaders from outside of the traditional power structures, engaging them on both local and national levels, and equipping them to be civic leaders - not only for elective office, but also in their communities and workplaces.

The result of NLC is a growing corps of diverse and highly-skilled new progressive leaders who rise to the top of their fields, working together across sectors and in their local cities to build, expand, and improve the progressive infrastructure necessary for strong democracy, social justice, and equal opportunity.

To apply to the NLC Fellowship program click here.

To nominate someone to become a Fellow for the NLC program, click here.