Poizner takes early shot at rival Whitman
Meg Whitman is touting her business bona fides as a main reason people should elect her California governor next year.
But one of the key deals she orchestrated as chief of eBay — the $2.6 billion purchase of Internet phone service Skype in 2005 — has turned out to be a loser for the company. And her leading opponent for the GOP nomination, fellow Silicon Valley tech alum Steve Poizner, is wasting no time making it a campaign issue.
"If past performance is indicative of future results, Californians can't afford Meg Whitman's disastrous record of fiscal mismanagement," said Poizner's communications director, Kevin Spillane, in a missive to reporters last week.
EBay announced last week that it plans to unload Skype, which failed to mesh with the online auctioneer as envisioned. Poizner's campaign also took a shot at former Skype President Henry Gomez, who now serves as a Whitman campaign adviser.
"Her successor at eBay is now cleaning up the failure of Meg Whitman and her campaign major-domo, Henry Gomez, on the backs of eBay's shareholders," Spillane wrote.
Whitman's campaign declined an invitation from IA to swat back at Poizner.
"What they choose to do is their business," said Whitman spokesman Mitch Zak. "Her track record as a business leader speaks for itself."
In case you were wondering, the gubernatorial primary is still 14months away.
(trimmed for relevance).
