GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, saying she wants to stop the Legislature from acting like a "bill factory," said Tuesday that she would create legislative teams to focus on her top priorities as governor and veto most other legislation.
Whitman has said she will concentrate almost exclusively on three areas as governor: creating jobs, cutting government spending and improving the state's K-12 education system.
"Let's come together in teams," Whitman told an audience at the California Taxpayers' Association's annual meeting in Sacramento. "Who wants to be on the jobs team? Who wants to be on the government efficiency team?"
Legislators and her political opponents were quick to dismiss her approach, pointing out that the Legislature already organizes itself by subject area.
"Meg's from Long Island, so she might not know that the Legislature already has teams — they're called committees," said Sterling Clifford, spokesman for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown. "There's an education committee, there's a budget committee and a jobs, economic development and economy committee. So I would like to respectfully suggest that after spending $46 million on campaign propaganda, the Whitman campaign set aside a few bucks for a California civics textbook."
Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg added that legislation aimed at job creation is already moving to the governor.
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