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California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's campaign is responding to accusations that she subjected to "emotional and financial abuse" her former housekeeper, who was working illegally in the country.
Nicky Diaz, who was Whitman's housekeeper from 2000-2009, claimed in a press conference alongside attorney Gloria Allred that Whitman was aware that she was undocumented and that the Republican candidate fired her only after deciding to run for governor. Diaz also said Whitman failed to pay her on time and did not offer her medical leave during her pregnancy.
Allred said that Whitman ignored a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration notifying her of discrepancies in the Social Security number that Diaz provided.
Whitman, who has poured millions of her own money into the close race against Democrat former Gov. Jerry Brown, flatly said in a statement that “the charges are without merit.”
Whitman's campaign held a conference call with reporters - though not allowing follow-up questions – before the press conference to address the allegations.
On June 20, 2009, the campaign said, Diaz came to Whitman and confessed that she was not a legal resident of the U.S. and filed false documents. She was then fired by Whitman.
“As required by law, once we learned she was an illegal worker, I immediately terminated Nicky's employment,” Whitman said in a written statement.”It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I considered Nicky a friend and a part of our extended family.”
The campaign also argued that Allred had given Jerry Brown campaigns contributions in 1982 ($1,000) and in 2006 ($150), and said the timing of this complaint -- 34 days until the election -- was curious.
“I believe Nicky is being manipulated by Gloria Allred for political and financial purposes during the last few weeks of a hotly contested election," the statement read.
*** UPDATE *** A CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday showed Whitman trailing Brown 52 percent to 43 percent.
Leave a Comment:
Whitman and Fiorina are both too creepy for California.....
And Barbara Boxer and Jerry brown are just the epitome of 'Normal'??? LMAO
If you make blanket remarks about anyone you should at least provide some credence of evidence of their "creepiness". Fiorina and Whitman have had this evidence in that both of them have had very public corporate backgrounds with questionable practices, at least by Fiorina, and Whitman has come into question about her Ebay leadership from those within that company. Both have very negative campaigns being aired about their opponents.
Boxer and Brown have been public figures for as long as I have been a political junkie and both are very pragmatic, down-to-earth in their politics and personal lives.
Most CA residents were happy under a Jerry Brown governorship, he was young and full of new ideas. Very refreshing considering the economy at the time. Barbara Boxer has been the epitome of a standout leader since she hit the federal scene. She comes out front in the issues she supports and between her and Diane Feinstein, they make very credible female representatives.
CA will prosper under both of their expected leadership roles in the future.
Owlette - You are being facetious right? The situation in CA right now should give even you a glimpse of what is in store unless a gigantic change in leadership does not happen. Does this mean Repubs are the answer? No! But it is clearly demonstrated that Dems cannot be allowed to continue this process.
NiteOwlet - Speak for yourself! Most CA - except the usual nutheads in San Francisco - thought he was an absolute idiot! He didn't get the name Gover. Moonbeam for nothing! The fact that Californian's could actually consider electing this nuthead again tells me how far the state's IQ level has shrunk over the past 20+ years!
SO true, Kodiak -
He was called "Governor Moonbeam" for good reason. Do you hear those tv ads from him ? He's "now" ready to act, not as a Repub. or Democrat, but a "Californian" - why now after 40 years ?
He was the quintessential Democrat - tax and spend.....and he was VERY good at it.
If he is elected, California will open the border (even wider), and state aid to illegals will skyrocket - as will taxes. He's done it before. His platform is WELL documented.
Where have you been women(NiteOwlett) Nobody in their right mind with anything to do with Jerry Brown. That man is a disaster in the making and can't be trusted. If you think he is okay, better have a mental checkup before you harm yourself.
U of M Fan,
Unless you've lived in CA for a few years you are not qualified to comment on the situation here. Our governor, who is in the lame duck session of his 2nd term is a Republican. Like Meg Whitman, he financed his own campaign and promised to "clean up Sacramento". He's now limping out with Sacramento largely unchanged. We have the same problem with the Republican minority here that we have in the Senate in DC. A minority is able to paralyze the government by not approving the budget or any changes in the tax laws. Ms. Whitman has spent a fortune trying to buy the office and her only plan right now is to eliminate the Capital Gains taxes, so she can recover part of her "investment". Until we address the issue of having a majority rule that does not require an unattainable two thirds, we're not going anyplace.
Kodiak - The "Gover Moonbeam" comment you attribute to was given to him by a Chicago News Man who thought in 1979 That he was crazy for proposing an emergency Satellite communication system for the state of California to help the state to respond to emergency situations.
What a loon!
We will take Whitman and Fiorina here in Florida. We need some more smart Republican women in our state. We will give you Alan Grayson. He will be well suited in your state, with a bunch of goof-balls.
flapoboy
Speak for yourself repugnant- we have all the loser repugnants we can handle. Whitman and Fiorina are crooks like the bozo running for Governor of Florida- whose medical company stole from medicare and medicaid for 10 years- bet you can't wait to vote for the crook either.
Man, republicans will vote for any moron if they'll vote for Whitman. The woman is a total crackpot and a liar. Please CA, DO send Whitman and Fiorina to Florida. They'll fit right in with that other female nutjob crook who helped W's brother carry out a coup d'etat resulting in the WORST president this country has ever seen. Talk about goofballs: pot/kettle.
U of M:
One thing that has made the California legislature such a national joke is the requirement of a 2/3 majority to get a budget passed. That allows those on the lunatic fringes of both the left and the right to have an inordinate amount of say and makes it next to impossible to get anything done. It also makes for a powerful argument to do away with that stupid rule in the Senate that it takes 60 votes to get anything done because the Federal government is following lockstep in California's footsteps.
Cal how can you even consider USA a theme when you don't support the first Amendment --Freedom of Speach?
U of M has all the right in the world to write on this issue in this country. While it is you who has the right to disregard anything or everything that is written!
Kodiak/UofM Fan: You both must be sick. First of all, I would rather have Jerry Brown as governor (the least of the two) because he has the knowledge of how to govern, how to get things done, and where to go. Meg has NO knowledge, didn't even bother to vote, and has been caught in SOOOO many lies that it's not even funny! She ran EBay with a heavy hand, and she thinks she can run the State of California the same way. She has NO concept of running a state as it is MUCH different than running a country. She thinks she's going to be able to come in and make all these changes....much like Schwartzenegger thought he could when he campaiged -- but Meg will find out that she can't push the State Legislation around like she can her EBay subordinates. Personally, I don't care what party she's in....I wouldn't vote for her because I don't think California should "sell" it's governorship to the highest bidder, and that's what she's doing. Additionally, I wouldn't vote for her for the simple reason that she never voted herself -- she has NO idea how to run a state, and I fear she'll run us into the ground further than Arnie has!!! We have NO really good candidate running, but I'd rather give it to someone who knows his way around Sacramento than to someone who didn't even bother to vote and can't tell us why!!
The last time I was in Florida it seemed like they had all the crackpots any state could handle but if they want them, I say send carly and mr. whitman.
Flapoboy - Let’s see… Florida has got authorities in Miami that put peacocks on "the pill," a police officer who tried to tase a 450-pound boar into submission, a mother and son who allegedly tried to put a "hit" on two men and offered to pay the killer in anti-anxiety pills, a Tampa man arrested for riding his bike in a batman costume, and a man from Winter Haven who allegedly beat his baby daughter to death for not being a boy. I’ll admit, some of my fellow Californians push the envelope of wacky, but no denizen of Florida has any right to throw stones… unless glass houses are incredibly cheap out there.
So should I take it that the Goveronator is the preferred choice? Seems that CA has gone down hill like greased lightning what with being pretty much bankrupt and all.
Not half as creepy as Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer. It's politicians like Brown and Boxer that got America into the mess it's in now.
Neither Brown or Boxer have ever done anything except suck up a Goverment paycheck. Their contributions to the State of California have been dismal at best.
I do not agree with NiteOwl. I expect both Whitman and Fiorina to win. We are tired of an unemployment rate that is higher than the national average. We are tired of the spend, spend, spend Boxer.
I wish I lived in Florida so I could vote for the honest, common sense Alan Grayson. He speaks his mind, and is always right about what is best for his constituents.
All this left and right arguing sounds like one thing, the Majority of us hate our "choices" for polical leaders.
flapoboy
Please do not ask them to send these crackpots to Florida, I agree we need more intelligent Republicn women, but we have an excess of republican morons in the state.
California can keep them for all I care
David,
Mike Royko coined the phrase "Governor Moonbeam," and later he said that he regretted it.
I miss Mike Royko.
Also Mike Royko called Brown "Governor Moonbeam" because he had a communications satellite launched for the state back in the 1970's. Looks like we could use some more of that type of forward vision,
Ms. Nicki Diaz employment was thru an agency that supplied Meg Whitman with all the required employment documentation. Ms. Nicki Diaz work for Ms. Whitman for ten year. If there was ever a letter from Soc. Sec. admin., which I doubt, it most likely went to the agency. Ms. Whitman has a team Lawyers just to wipe her ass.
She was CEO of ebay. The company is worth $66 BILLION she came away with $2 BILLION. Meg grew the company from 22 employees to 20,000 employees.
You'd have to be a Crack Head Obama Zombie not to see right through this crap. Gloria Allred and Barbara Boxer thick as thieves. Both have hundreds of millions you think Meg is the only gazillionaire in this fight. Jerry Brown has never had a job in the private sector. Oh by the way he's a trustfund baby. He's got hundreds of millions in a trust fund set up by his parents no death tax for them they set up a trust. It's the elitist liberal established rich trying to keep the newby rich girl Meg out of their sand box. She just might be the next Reagan.
Besides I don't think anyone can save Cali. Please pass the Crack pipe Obama Zombie, crack is whack !
No offense but California is to creepy for California and I am a 3rd generation.
California is screwed economically. You are no longer the 3rd largest economy and business is fleeing more quickly than anything imaginable.
You have legislated yourselves into being the worst state to do business. On top of that your legislation has affected other states being forced to adapt. The only thing supporting your economy is High tech-NON-manufacturing (since you have lead and taxes on drainage). They are going to bail to Texas soon when they realize they will save money paying the new Insurance Reform and the fact Texas is State tax free.
3 companies right now are building new corporate headquarters.
San Fransisco/Silicon Valley are soon to be screwed.
Oh come on. Smoke the bong instead.
Yeah, but the problem with moving things to Texas is...you have to live in Texas.
Shut up if you don't live here.
And as far as this housekeeper thing goes, think it's a coincidence that Brown told a local Bay Area news crew about a month ago that Whitman was going to have "housekeeper problems"? It's just dirty politics as usual by a guy with a lifetime of experience.
Niteowlett. It is sad that Californians are satisfied with what Jerry Brown and other liberals have done to you state. California, if not the worst is at least the second to worst state in this nation. You are about bankrupt from all your spending, high taxes that force businesses out of the state, have all but bankrupted and shut down your farming industry to save a small fish, etc. It won't be long and you liberals will be begging the federal government to bail you out. You all ought to pay for what the liberals have done to your state. California is the laughing stock of America. I live in Michigan and we are not in the best of shape, but I look at California and am thankful I do not live there. California needs a governor, like Christie in New Jersey to set things straight. If not Fiorina, you all are looking at bankruptcy if you do not get your act together.
Mark-384387
I was born in MI and my sister now lives in NJ and voted for Christie.
I want Whitman in because she did create tons of jobs as you pointed out and knows what businesses need to return to our state.
We need business to return to the state because we are in a hell hole. We don't even have a budget and it's a record at this point.
Nevada is not that far away and many CA businesses relocated there because that state is more business friendly than we are.
Meg Whitman, an example of how to buy the Governor's job with over a hundred million of personal wealth--yet too cheap to hire a citizen to clean her home, cook her meals; then fire the person when knowingly hiring an illegal interferes with campaigning. Meg Whitman, NOT what California needs.
Yeah - California "needs" a career politician like Brown. Because in a state that is totally bankrupt due to the public emplyee unions and other special interests it would be stupid to have a someone run the state that has run a business, had to make payroll, and had to deal with the ridiculous regulations we have here in California.
And by hiring all those illegals, aren't we here in California just helping them out? That is why they came here illegally in the first place, to get hired?
I'm telling you, I wouldn't want to be either one of these candidates, having to deal with the mess that California has become.
At least Brown has Public Sector experience and, at his age, wants to make a difference. Whitman just wants power because, in politics, money buys power.
Also, Whitman wants to align herself to run for President in 2012 with Mitt Romney. Mark my words!
Spanky, the reason California is in so much financial trouble is due to unfunded mandates coming from the population under their proposition rules. No matter what the cost, if the voters vote for a program, the state has to do it.
When Jerry Brown was governor, he actually balanced the budget and a state is not a business. We saw how well an MBA did when trying to run the country from 2001 - 2009.
So she runs a business. Isn't hiring a housekeeper like hiring an employee?
Then, using your logic, we can assume she will hire illegals to keep the payroll down? Heck, let's go all the way and firing all the state employees and hire illegals to do their work. Imagine all the money that be be save by not paying them minimum wage, benefits, medical, etc. Let's go one step better and fire you spanky (if you work) and hire an illegal to replace you. It just business, spanky.
Do you really think after NINE (9) YEARS of employeement that the employer (Meg) didn't know? Or didn't want to know? Just stupid.
Matthew, good points. You too, Auzziegirl!
I was in journalism and then public affairs/campaign consulting in California both when Jerry brown first ran for office, and when Barbara Boxer undertook her first campaign. I couldn't stump for Jerry, as a journalist at the time, but was able to help with his re-election. I did contribute effort professionally in the Boxer campaign. They were both outstanding, and have continued in very effective political servie.
People who blame Democrats or "liberals" for California's problems have no understanding whatsoever of either the problems or the political history of the stae. Since Jerry Brown left office, the Republicans have held the stae house (except for Gray Davis' sadly-truncated 18-month stint). None of those Governors did anything to improve the state.
At the same time, the state legislature, although usually a slim Democratic majority, has been deadlocked by party conflict, and in the case of the Republican contingent, by a bitter ideological split between moderates and unltra-conservatives. It has been nearly impossible to get any constructive action done at all because of this narrow division and ultimate domination by the GOP. People unfamiliar with California see it as some sort of "loony left" place, but in fact apart from a couple of urban enclaves, the state is mainly Republican, and has been throughout most of the past 110 years.
Neither Whitman nor Fiorina offer any improvement upon California's needs and conditions, nor for the nation at large. Both have records and methods that argue very potently against them. Whitman's latest flap is no surprise, either. And pay atention to the patronizing tone of her description of Nicky Diaz: ”It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I considered Nicky a friend and a part of our extended family.” Ah, the pains of protecting one's political backside and horrors at the effects of having to find a more expensive servant ....
Matthew, Houston, TX is right. California has the most ridiculous form of Government, voters elect legislators but vote on every issue in the form of propositions creating unfunded mandates. I know, I lived there. Why have a legislature if they cannot make the decisions necessary to fix the system.
Aussie - SO WHAT if Brown has public sector experience ? That's a GOOD thing ? I'd much rather have someone who is not beholden to special interests and who has proven that they can create JOBS.
Jody - I hear you loud and clear, got a governors race in Tennessee being bought and paid for by oil cash. I sure don't understand how anyone could entertain the thought of another oil person in charge of anything.
you are right. She is in it for herself and buddies. going to bankrupt the state so she can sell it off on ebay
She will out live Mr Brown and will benefit financially at the tax payers expense.
Mr Brown has the best chance to get California moving in the right direction.
Meg speaks with forked tong
Brown has my vote
You live in Iowa? How do you know what Califiornia needs? Maybe you should stick to things you actually have any knowledge. Because Jerry Brown is not what California needs.
Jeff, yeah, you hand over the reins of a state to a bunch of know-nothing big mouths who simply want power, but are somehow pure because they've never done anything in their lives but suck the life breath out of working people. Meg Whitman does not give a damn if she ever creates a single job. She is a power monger of the highest order. When will you people open your eyes and see these wingnuts for what they are?
Us Californians have had so many PROPs to vote on, because our government does not do their job.
And most PROPS are endorsed by members in of our elected Government! Why don't they just do their jobs and pass Laws?
Jody
The work documents the maid filled out said she was here legally. Do you want to revise your statement?
Auzzigirl
You have to be joking that Whitman is eyeing the Presidency. She's not that stupid.
Frankly, Brown is that stupid.
I really appreciate how some of you want to drive our economy deeper into the toilet - NOT.
Listening to the debate last night (driving home from work), I was reminded of the debate between Clinton and Bush Sr. Clinton was fresh and full of ideas. I remembered thinking that Bush Sr did not deserve to win because he could not even answer the questions the panel asked. I thought of that debate last night while listening to Whitman.
Substitute Whitman for Clinton and Brown for Bush Sr. It was simply no comparison.
Whitman has plans. Brown does not.
We need a non-politician who has actually run a business before. You can not compare Whitman to Schwarzenegger. At least she has actual business experience. Arnie plays a businessman on TV.
Julie
At e-Bay, the Human Resources department handles background checks and checks references, not the CEO.
Because business people are so effective? What about Corzine in NJ or W. Bush? Having skill as a businessperson doesn't uniquely qualify one to run a government, nor is heading a business much like being a governor. Bureaucracies don't allow for the wiggle room that helming a company does. Even if she has the right positions, there is no guarantee she'll be able to pass what she wants.
For what it's worth, I don't think any of her policies for bringing jobs back to CA could really hurt, but they're not going to do nearly enough. They'll put a further dent in state revenue, too.
So Karen in LA, e-Bay's HR department hired Meg's personal housekeeper? Isn't that a misappropriation of company resources?
Now I did see [in later comments] a poster stating that an outside cleaning business hired the illegal worker and she was place into Meg's home. If that's the case, then Meg might have not know she was illegal.
Excuse me, Whitman is no Bush. She actually ran a business successfully unlike baby Bush.
Not a good comparison.
This is silly. Someone posted that Meg hired people at e-Bay so naturally, she would follow the same procedures in her home. I was pointing out that HR does that stuff in a corporation, not the CEO.
You are only as credible as that what you post. And your comment is just plain dumb.
I really love the fact that WE THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA can vote in our own laws APART from the legislature. That means WE HAVE A VOICE. I like it.
I don't think any other state allows for this. And guess what? If WE THE PEOPLE pass a law, our legislature can not overturn it. The only way is for WE THE PEOPLE to overturn it ourselves.
In fact, this right stems from Amendment 1 to the U.S. Constitution.
WTH Karen, Now follow this logic...
Wouldn't you think she would be smart enough to check out who works in her home? Even though my neighbor's cleaning business comes into my home (without me there) I had them checked out. And I'm not a CEO living in a big house thinking of running for any political office. It's call common sense!
So, you're thinking of hiring home help. You call MJerry Maids, and check the company out. Good company, good record. Insurance and all that. So they send someone over to work that lied to them , and is an illegal. You rely on the company's judgement and vetting. Then you get a letter from SS, and call Merry Maids. They check it out, and everything is ok. Then, six years later, the maid tells you that since you are running for office, you should know she , or he, is an illegal. You do the right thing and send them back to Merry Maids. Then a lawyer who supports your opponent gets a hold of the maid,promises money, citizenship, whatever, and appears, not in court, but on the news. No criminal charges, no lawsuit, just talk:unsubstantiated.
Drink the Koolaid: it's free, but it won't set you free. If all the illegals were taken out of housekeeping jobs, you would be amazed at who all the people are who hired them. Business people, lawyers, actors, entertainers, athletes, politicians. But if they were progressives, they would be humanitarians. Repubs - opressive bosses avoiding paying union wages.
Want to know why your new car costs so much? It costs GM and Ford 1 billion dollars a month just to pay the retired union workers, EACH. Oh, and the unions made the following concessions to hepl the taxpayer funded bailouts.
@ Karen in Los Angeles:
Your quote: "I don't think any other state allows for this. And guess what? If WE THE PEOPLE pass a law, our legislature can not overturn it. The only way is for WE THE PEOPLE to overturn it ourselves."
You should have stopped at, "I don't think." That's about all that's accurate in your post. Yes. other states' citizens can write their own laws. Of course, you could check that out. Why bother? Since when do facts matter to Republicans?
As far as writing law, Proposition 13 was and remains a disaster. That law has done more harm to California than any other law in the state's history.
As far as the recall of Governor Davis, you have no idea what you are talking about. That recall was the work of a professional troublemaker named Ted Costa. Go ahead, check it out.
Perhaps you remember that the current Republican Governor, a fellow named Schwarzenegger was going to come in and turn the state on its ear, clean it up, and golly gee, everything would be spiffy. He ran head-on into Republican intransigence, the result of Prop. 13.
You are clueless.
She deserves everything she gets, as far as california I grew up with Jerry Brown (family friend) and if you think that pothead is gonna fix anything you are screwed. California is in that position of electing what they consider the lesser evil and not a true leader.
She did. She PAID an employment agency to do that. That's what employment agencies do.
David Walker,
You really do not understand what I am saying so I'll try another way. There is more than one way to pass a law in this state. The legislature IS NOT the only body that can do that.
If WE THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA get a measure on the ballot and it's passed, it becomes law. For example, Prop 19 to legalize pot. While there are legislators who have put bills forth for debate, they did not initiate Prop 19. Our legislature did not initiate that measure. It was some rich guy. Can't remember his name. Don't care. But I do appreciate that he spent the money so we could put this up for a vote.
AND GUESS WHAT? If it passes (which it sounds like it will), then our legislature can not overturn it. Initiatives by the people are sacrosanct.
Please tell me THESE OTHER stateS so I can look into it noting that I have lived in 5. PS - I AM NOT A REPUBLICAN AND YOU ARE CLUELESS AS TO WHY DAVIS WAS RECALLED.
Just like Proposition 8 is "sacrosanct" and cannot be overturned, right, Karen? *sarcasm*
Erin NJ
This post is about Meg Whitman and her maid and witch Allred. What is your point?
So where were you during the primary? I was out there campaigning for someone other than Meg Whitman.
Then I had to decide how I was going to vote given the circumstances.
Brown is NOT for the people of California. Here is another matter over which he disregarded the will of the CA people. He just stayed the execution of the guy who sexually molested and killed a 15 year old almost 30 years ago. Just for clarification, the current attorney general is Jerry Brown.
From CBS News in LA:
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2010/09/29/state-asks-appeals-court-to-ok-calif-execution/
Jody, you will eat your words. Whitman has all the documentation stating that the worker said she was legal and has admitted to having falsified identification. Whitman has covered all the bases here and will be releasing all the documents today to back up Whitman's claim. Allred needs to be sued and lose every penny she has for not doing her background check with Whitman first and then trying to smear Whitman, unfoundly. There are damages that Whitman has incurred and if I was sitting on the civil trial, would make sure Gloria and any others involved pay for this.
Karen in Los Angeles - The right of initiative, referendum and recall are not derived from the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution. It was a "progressive" and landmark package of government reforms pushed through in California in the early 1900's by Republican Hiram Johnson, who later was Governor of the state during the Depression. These individual measures were extremely controversial at the time, but were part of the effort led by Johnson to break the political stranglehold on the state by railroads.
The current outrage in California about "ignoring the will of the people" and "overturning laws passed by the people" is really anger that a Federal judiciary, adjudicating a Federal Constitutional challenge to the validity of a state Constitutional admendment approved in a statewide referendum, held that the measure was unconstitutional.
Oh, my goodness, what arrogance and daring to dispute the will of the majority!
Haven't any of those complaining ever heard of the Supreme Court overtuning popular measures because they violate the basic law of the land? Even if a majority of voters gave their approval in a referendum, if the proposal was illegal at its base, then it remains illegal.
And Karen, if you want to cite the brief filed by Brown in the matter of the execution, it is not fair to just use that one little snippet. After all, this follows a court ruling about the WAY the state was about to conduct that procedure, demanding changes the state had not been prepared to implement. Brown's brief addrssed the issue of then meeting the court's requirements and how the court had essentially forced a delay in the execution.
When you state facts, if you only employ a portion of the entire matter that endorses your view, but omit parts that overturn the point you wish to make, then you are not telling the truth. That is propaganda, instead.
Jody
I saw an Iowa tag this morning - labeled "gossip" - is that you visiting our lovely state?
John A - Maybe I did not use the correct term, but here is the First Amendment and it talks about petitioning the government. And I don't care that you do not agree with me about Brown. Plenty of people in CA do.
Karen in Los Angeles:
People like you are always too busy running your mouths to check facts. At least half of the states in the union have an initiative and referendum process. Here is a link - and for you I found one with a picture: http://www.iandrinstitute.org/statewide_i%26r.htm.
John A. has given an excellent history of how California came to have the initiative. You really must learn your history.
As far as the recall of Gov. Davis, well young lady, suffice it to say I have first-hand knowledge of what happened. The recall was the brainchild of Ted Costa, an ally of Paul Gann, and someone who made trouble just to make trouble. Issa came to the game AFTER it had started. The recall was a terrible idea from the get-go.
Unless and until the super-majority requirement of Proposition 13 is changed to reflect the will of a majority of the people, California is ungovernable. By the way, Prop. 13 was originally called the Jarvis-Gann Initiative. Does that Gann name ring a bell? Kind of ironic. He works to pass a law that destroys California and then blames someone else.
The last governor who met with any success after the passage of Prop. 13 was Jerry Brown, and that was largely because of the efforts of one of the most successful and brilliant Speakers in California history, Willie Brown.
Those are plain and simple facts.
Now as far as Brown ignoring the will of the people - and here we go with that history thing again....Governor Brown is on record as having pointed out that there are thousands of murders each and every year in California. Since 1976, there have been fewer than 1,300 executions in the entire country. Even you should be able to see that the death penalty is not applied with an even hand. That is his objection and it is very sound.
Really, really, really, go study some history.
Pro-Whitman fans, get your facts straight, she hired an employment agency to find an employee, the employee was Whitman's personal employee. Whether the Agency knowingly failed to check her status, or was not asked to do so is a separate issue, Nicky was a personal employee of the Whitman household, for almost a decade, she worked for Meg Whitman. This was not a Merry Maids employee, but a personal employee of Whitman's. If Whitman hired Merry Maids or a similar service, this would not be an issue. If Nicky was an employee of the employment agency in 2003 Whitmanwould not have received the social security notice, that would have gone to the agency. The notice only goes to the person or company that employees the person. It went to Whitman, because she paidNicky's wage, and withheld the FICA, and payroll taxes. If Nicky wasn't Whitman's personal household employee, and was an employee of a service, Whitman would pay the service, who would then pay Nicky, and Whitman would never be notified of the social security number discrepancy.
Whether Nicky lied out right, or with a wink when she was first hired by Whitman, and said:"Here are my papers ma'am" wink wink isn't really relevant. Whitman was notified of the false social security number in 2003, and retained her for six years, and she didn't Nicky until just before she announced her run for Governor. Whitman claims that this was after Nicky, for the first time admitted she was an illegal immigrant. Common sense dictates that Whitman's claim is false. Even if Nicky claimed, she accidentally had the wrong social security number on the forms, that would raise the suspicion of any thinking person who didn't want to violate the law. And why if Nicky had lied to Whitman about her status for over 9 years would she told her the truth in 2009.
Addition to David Walker's excellent post:
Gray Davis, who I know personally from campaign and political activities dating to 1970, was the first Democrat to reach the Governor's office since Jerry Brown completed his two terms. Davis wasn't much of a powerhouse, and exhibited something of a bland personality in office, but neither was he objectionable. He was about as effective as his Republican predecessors had been - which honestly wasn't much of an endorsement.
His recall became possible after Enron took control - illegally - of the state's power supply and manipulated it with false "shortages" to bring about futures contracts for electricity with the state's various utilities, all at immensely-inflated prices. A couple of other "wholesale"energy companies, including my former client Aquila Energy of Raytown, Missouri, joined that bandwagon for overpriced supply contracts, but had not participated in the falsified scheme of rolling blackouts and brownouts Enron engineered.
Californians previously rather proud and secure in their energy infrastructure, recoiled in horror, dismay, and fury. Davis seemed to be the one to blame.
Ted Costa, who had previously organized a four-person group of wealthy ultra-right conservatives to finance campaigns for candidates who would not have ever raised a nickle, jumped on the opportunity to toss Davis out. Well, it really wasn't so hard, he had never much endeared himself to anyone (including me, our personal interactions were not the stuff of dreams) and the most prominent feature of his short tenure was the engineered energy crisis.
What Costa didn't reckon with was that Costa's favored ultra-right candidate to replace Davis wasn't a winner, either. Much more than 20 candidates split the field, and Schwarzenegger shocked almost everyone by winning. Arnold has turned out to be about the best governor of the state since Jerry Brown.
Brown absolutely did not fail California. He attacked the issue of energy supply and cost caused by the 1973 Arab oil embargo by promoting rapid development and adoption of alternative energy resources, at that time various forms of solar and geothermal in the lead. He worked hard to build up the state's vital agricultural sector. He managed to mitigate much of the terrible destruction his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, had wrought on education. He took on the floods of homeless former mental hospital patients turned out into the streets by Reagan. The list goes on - and is expanded when you examine his very successful record as Mayor of Oakland.
And Karen, it doesn't matter what you think about the court ruling that overturned Prop. 8. It's a fact of law. And the initiative, recall, and referendum process still has nothing to do with the First Amendment (how kind of you to cite it, neither I nor my grandmother had the slightest idea how to hard-boil eggs). The three items were actually the original project of progressive Republican Robert LaFollett of Wisconsin. Hiram Johnson, a close ally of LaFollett (and later Franklin Delano Roosevelt), swiftly added them to his list of political reforms to achieve one of you goals today - give more power to the people.
Ultimately this kind of quibbling is irrelevant; you have your opinion and it is what you feel. But you damage the substance of your argument with incorrect information and stubborn denial of objective facts.
And now some direct comments about not only Meg Whitman's campaign, but also Carly Fiorina's:
There have been some prominent attempts in the past for very wealthy candidates to 'buy" a Senate seat, in particular. Arianna Huffington's ex-husband, Mike Huffington, attempted it in 1994. Earlier efforts at doing so were rebuffed just as was Huffington's. Republican record producer Mike Curb managed to buy the Lieutenant Governor's seat in the 1978 campaign (the second term of Jerry Brown as Governor, BTW).
Now that Whitman and Fiorina are doing so, it may be a record, I don't recall two such statewide campaigns at once before. The very fact that they are self-financing really delivers two strikes against them - first, by not working more diligently on fund-raising from small contributors, they don't effectively weld supporters to their causes; second, they arouse distrust and resentment for doing so.
Although both spout headlines about their positions, neither has offered either more information about HOW they will fulfill their objectives, nor any solid evidence that they have records supporting an ability to do so. Voters tend to forget that even successful business executives are not running businesses when they serve in government - the two are very separate and distinct entities that are not at all parallel. And while some claim government should be operated like businesses, in reality that cannot be done.
In the cases of both Whitman and Fiorina, any sane voter would not WANT these two to repeat their records in business management, either.
Only election results will show whether they can buy statewide elections this year. But the historical odds are against them, as well as their records and proclamations about how they would handle their positions.
David Walker
The only thing I want to hear from you are the states that allow for THE PEOPLE to pass legislation apart from the legislature. I clicked that link AND IT DOES NOT LINK TO ANYTHING.
By the way, I read the first paragraph and when I saw the rest, I thought of my favorite rap song by Run DMC - You talk too much and then you never shut up.
The missive in John A's post applies too.
Karen in Los Angeles:
What's the deal? Too lazy to type "States with initiatives" into a search block?
Speaking of talking too much, you might want to count YOUR entries in this thread.
When you can refute - or for you, "refudiate" - any fact in either John's or my posts, do so. As with post 3.37, you will have nothing.
By the way, the evidence is now crystal clear that your darling Meg is an outright liar. The letter is now in the public domain.
You are simply dead wrong. It doesn't reflect poorly on you to admit you are wrong. To the contrary. Honesty is the best policy. Oh wait! I forgot, honesty is not important to you folks.
I always close posts to people like you with this challenge: Don't waste time with name calling and other juvenile diversions. PROVE ME WRONG!
This is NOT true.
Here is a link that works. It is a report of the news conference. Allred said Meg's HUSBAND saw the letter. Meg is NOT her husband.
I would also read the comments from Los Angelenos. One of them called Allred the Jerry Springer of Law.
Since there are way more people in LA than anywhere in the state, I think Meg is a shoe in because Allred's plan backfired.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2010/09/30/allred-to-announce-more-whitman-accusations/
You have a nice day. I am done corresponding with you because you are a liar and can not admit when you are wrong. Not to mention, you are insecure because you love to call people names.
NO MEG.
Funny, but if Jerry Brown had hired this lady as an illegal a lot of the lefties here would be praising him for his compassion.
Brown failed as governor once before, why let him do it again.
If If's and but's were candy and nuts, It would be Xmas every day.
Hahaha, too funny! 9 years of employment and she did'nt know. Yeah right.
It makes one wonder about all the people she hired at e-bay. Was she just as careful about all the paperwork then? More seriously, it should show all Americans that people here without documents are hard working, pay into social security (without any benefits down the road), and deserve a serious debate about how to deal with immigrants. It doesn't say much good about Meg Whitman that in nine years she never talked to her housekeeper enough to know much about her family, and that she wasn't willing to share the truth with her own children.
What do expect from Meg Whitman? This is a woman who thinks she can do anything with her money. Apparently she thought she owned her former housekeeper and could do whatever to her.
I Guess this is why she has all that money, she ran a sweat shop right in her home, i wonder if she put bars on the windows to keep her from getting out. but that california for you.
why not just keep arnold as governer. he may be a womanizer but he pays his help right.
The former governor? You're referring to Moonbeam?
What makes ANYONE think Jerry Brown FAILED as a Governor before??? Give some examples. Generalities don't hold water.
Brown did NOT fail before. I lived there when he was Governor and California was doing quite well under his leadership.
working doc - He got the nickname for proposing a disaster assist communications satilite for California in 1979.
The journalist in Chicago who coined the phrase has since admitted how very wrong he was.
You want a failure from Jerry Brown? How about the 'Prisoner's Bill of Rights"?
Kirby....we'll do it again because we can't afford to have another person as governor who has NO knowledge of politics. Meg couldn't even be bothered to vote....where did she suddenly get her political acumen? I'm sorry, if I've got to choose between the two, and I'm not happy with either one, I'm going to choose Brown because he at least knows his way around politics! Maybe this time, he'll get it right. We can't afford to give the State of California to another know-nothing rich billionaire who's just in it for the bucks and notorioty.
Having survived one term of Jerry Brown as Govenor I rather not go through that again. The policies he put in place haunt California to this day and are alot of the problems we have today. Reagan left California in good shape and Brown managed to turn it upside down.
California use to be business friendly and because of that we had lots of high paying jobs. Now the Democrats have turned it into one of the most unfriendly states in the country for business and jobs have left the state as the businesses have.
Jerry Brown was the beginning of getting rid of California's jobs and I guess he wants to return and finish getting rid of the rest ofr them.
NiteOwl
Jerry Brown is FAILING as Attorney General. He renegged on his fiduciary duty to the citizens of this state by failing to defend Prop 8 in federal court.
THAT IS HIS JOB RIGHT NOW. He has failed at it.
Other examples - did you see the commercial where President Clinton tears into Brown? What Clinton said is true and it is accurate despite the backpeddling now.
I do not trust Brown at all. I definitely do not want him as our governor.
nope he did not fail as Gov last time.
Fail too broad a term. he was more like 80 good 20 bad
As for Davis he was more like 10 good and 90 bad
No one can fail 100 unless it was GB he came close As I remember the economy was going down the toilet fast when he left office
Karen, the AG is not obligated to defend a law, only to obey it -- and prosecute offenders if it is broken, as long as it remains the law. For that matter, the Governator did not defend the law, either (and he's not obligated to).
You are absolutely correct. To the people who complain that Meg is out to make money. GOOD. I want to make money too and want her to initiate legislation to make this state business friendly again. WE NEED THE JOBS. She knows what provisions will make the state business friendly.
If ALLRED is involved you know it is a scam!!!!
Allred is as bad as the criminals she represents.
Allred is a media whore. All she does is pose for pictures! When was the last time she actually went to court?? If this is the BS I can expect from Brown, then I am changing my vote to Meg. Time for a different flavor anyway.
Umm, Matt, how did you go from Allred to Brown? There is no connection. Methinks you are a Republican troll who wasn't going to vote for Brown anyway.
Matthew, Houston, TX....The article said that Allred has made campaign contributions to Gov. Moonbeam in the past...that's how....too difficult for you to connect those dots ??? Gloria is a Brown supporter and the timing is very suspect...I didn't think Texas had medical marijuana....
Matt from CA... like you were really going to vote for Brown. Give me a break.
Mike - you stated "The article said that Allred has made campaign contributions to Gov. Moonbeam in the past...that's how....too difficult for you to connect those dots ??? Gloria is a Brown supporter and the timing is very suspect...I didn't think Texas had medical marijuana...."
Please! One contribution for $1,000.00 and another for $150.00 that wont even get you a photo from most politicians.
Touting herself as an employment expert she should and did know better.
You Pubs. You're all over Geithner for a very technical failure to pay a tax, and you're shucking and jiving to try and find a way to excuse Whitman's flouting of the law. Is there anything as lowdown and dirty as a republican?
WOW Louee there is an enormous difference between NOT PAYING THE TAXES YOU KNOW YOU OWE AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL and FIRING a housekeeper that JUST admitted to being in our country Illegally and USED FALSE DOCUMENTS!
Also when it comes to illegal aliens Whitman seems to be far left to what most Conservatives consider all right!
Excuse me, but we Californians already know that Allred supports Brown. That's the connection.
I'm not a lawyer, but from what I have read, is Allred guilty of putting her client in danger of deportation and admitting she committed perjury by falsely stating her citizenship on her employment forms? Is a lawyer suppose to do that? I mean shouldn't the California bar look into this? I was just wondering.
WalktheWalk, Allred doesn't care, she would just go on cnn, oberman and other liberals talk shows and pretend that she actually cares for this woman even though all she cares is that someone remembers her from time to time. Although I agree this woman should be deported (according to the law), I just don't think that will happen especially that they will probably litigate in California. In fact, I bet someone probably promised her that she wouldn't be deported before she decided to be used under political reasons.
walkthewalk - you make a good point. But our attorney general (Jerry Brown) believes in amnesty so he won't be turning her in.
Allred probably cut some deal to get her to stay so that they could try and smear Meg.
Sounds like no matter who wins the Governership, California is f***ked.
I'm sure one of them is worse than the other, but it's really hard to tell.
I agree but knowing Jerry Brown, Meg is the lessor of 2 evils.
Better to have this lying, amoral b!tch as governor huh?
gaskilla -
which one are you talking about?
Kirby, that was hilarious.
Kirby - I support Brown and even I thought that was funny.
Actually, Ms. Whitman, the law requires that you know before you hire someone if they are illegal, or not.
You should know by NOW Matthew... that doesn't apply to the Whitman's & Romney's of the country! lol
The righties CRAVE exploiting cheap illegal labor all the while doing the double talk two-step about immegration!
Is that sound I hear... $119 million flushing down the toilet? I certainly HOPE SO!
They're rich...that means they can get away with it, right?
Isn't she a part of the movement that's against illegal immigration?
No way Whitman did not know. She may have allowed the worker to think she didn't but she did.
Ms. Whitman has provided documentation that this housekeeper initially provided a California Driver's License and Social Security Card when employed. She kept a copy of those along with the I9 that this woman filled out when applying for the housekeeping position. Furthermore, $25 per hour to clean someone's house at 40 hours a week is $1,000 weekly and $4,000 a month. If that's "slave-labor", please, where do I sign up.
Got anything to back up your claim Anono-mouse?
Sorry if I'm skeptical about just 'taking your word' for it?
Trillian, she only jumped on that bandwagon because Steve Poysner (sp) was so for it. First she denounced AZ for their tough stance, then stated she was totally against illegal immigration because she realized not to do might get her opponent on the ticket. Once she got him out of the way, she has never once readdressed the issue. Now we know why. She got caught with her hand in the "hiring an illegal worker" cookie jar.
Matthew - You are dead on point. Anyone running for public office as an employment expert should be expected to know and comply with laws especially those requiring due diligence to verify documentation. There are multiple ways to confirm ID through the social security office and basic knowledge on how to identify fakes.
I have been in the Human resource profession for the last 20 years and confirming ID's is common knowlege and common practice.
There is absolutely no excuse. She should admit the mistake pay her fine and put this behind her asap if she wants to nip this in the bud and get it out of the political discussion.
The Housekeeper admitted to providing false documents!
We have only the campaign office stating that, not an admission from the housekeeper herself.
There are numerous stories about this and all -- except this one -- make the point that the housekeeper provided Whitman with a social security card and valid CA driver's license when she got the job. After 9 years, the housekeeper came clean and admitted to lying on her employment application and providing false documents. Now she pops up -- a month out from the election with Gloria Allred by her side. Allred's involvement alone is cause for major suspicion. She is constantly taking on sketchy cases for the prime purpose of generating publicity and is a very poor excuse for an attorney. Regardless of who you support for governor (and BTW I am a Democrat and not from CA), this is a crock and shameless.
The work documents - ie, the I9 form? Didn't you have to fill one out for your job or are you unemployed permanently?
I am so impressed that Karen in Los Angeles has rode into save the day!
It''s like Jiffy Pop - once it's popped all your left with is the 'old maids'...
Actually yes, the documents have been posted at another credible website. These documents that I am referring to include this woman's Social Security Card, CA-issued Drivers license, job application AND I-9 form - all available for public viewing. Frankly I don't know of any employer who once they receive this information, requests it a second time. Additionally, she FIRED the woman upon her confession that she was an illegal alien.
Do your freaking homework and research, or are you too interested in slamming somebody who might have done theirs instead of blindly following the media's accounting? Furthermore, I long-ago filled out my I-9 form for my employer and have personal tax records dating back to 1986, thank you very much. I have been employed since I was 16 years old at a fast food restaurant to my current position with an international corporation, with not one day unemployed - for any reason. I find your personal attack on my character childish and futile.
How is she responsible for this house keeper ? She fired her as soon as she found out, right ? Let's say you need to remodel your house and you hire a contractor to do the job, then he brings his crew of 5 workers and a week later you find out one of them doesn't have the right to work and you confront the contractor to not use that worker again, well, did you BREAK THE LAW ?
anono
You have not been paying attention. Meg DID NOT request these work papers a second time.
When Meg announced she was running for governor, the maid asked Meg to help her become a citizen.
That's how corrupt our current politicians are. The maid thought Meg could make it happen once she became the governor. THE MAID TOLD MEG SHE WAS ILLEGAL AND WAS PROMPTLY FIRED.
This is the only version that makes sense to me. At the time, how many judicial appointments had to withdraw from consideration because THEY HIRED ILLEGAL ALIENS.
There is NO WAY that Meg would risk spending millions on a campaign after hearing that her maid was an illegal alien. No way. Rich people don't do stupid things like that.
You have to remember. She did build e-Bay and it is a major company.
You did not listen to the news conference. The maid said she told Whitman that she was illegal.
I could barely understand the maid because she was crying so hard. I wish you all would have seen or heard the news conference. The maid was pitiful.
The maid is suing for abuse. Puh-leez. Someone already said it. $25/hour at 40 hours a week to clean the house? That's $52K a year. That is not even the salary of some college graduates just starting out.
I did not say that Meg had requested the housekeeper's information a second time. I asked what employer does that once they already had the information. California is a bona-fide mess and honestly I don't think either candidate has what it takes to "fix" it.
However, thank you for again making my point that this housekeeper was making $52K a year and this silly woman with Gloria Allred (media-w***e) as her attorney are suing for more? Like you stated, there are college graduates out there who do not pull in that type of salary starting off, let alone find a job in today's society.
Anono- she's suing for mental abuse too. They are out of their minds.
Actually, Ms. Whitman, the law requires that you know before you hire someone if they are illegal, or not.
Half the population of California would have to leave if that were true...oh wait ....that's a great idea... anyone in California that isn't legal should not be able to work !!...Where have I heard that before..... Arizona perhaps ??? All your sanctuary cities would be ghost towns.....
An illegal showing fake documents to an employer....that never happens either......
Almost every state has that problem, not just CA and AZ.
and your food would vanish in 1 week
Food wouldn't disappear, we can improt it just fine.
Houston
Please read above, the maid provided false documents and then came clean. That report is on almost every REPUTABLE news story.
So she didn't check out the status of a potential employee before hiring her??? Not good business practice there and she wants to run the state of CA???
If you read the whole story, she hired her through a company that provides people, like Merry maids. She pays the maid, then the maid pays the company a percentage of her wages for the job. I am sure that any one using an employment agency would forward the SSAletter to the company. But the company wants to make money, and probably knows that 3/4 of their people are illegals. So they tell the client they cleared everything up. Client hears nothing else for 6 years, then the employee comes clean. Cudo's to her. Now, Allred doesn't do anything for free, so hwo is footing her fees? And what was promised the maid. Tax records show the lady was paid $52000.00 a year. Any one out there paying their housekeeper that much? And a lot of companies do not have paid maternity leave. Ever hear of Wal Mart? General Electric? Only their union people have it. Oh, I forgot, Wal Mart is none union.
cath8385, just one question, is Jerry Brown personally checking the backgrounds of every employee of the California's justice department ? If not, why not based on your comment.
Hopefully Whitman has the documentation to support her claim (or can get it from the IRS). This really has no relevance to the California gubernatoral election. It's not a good atmosphere when every priovate citizen is expected to supposed to suspect everyone of being here illegally (reminiscent of states with secret police) - the important thing is for the state and federal governments not to provide benefits for those here illegally and for the federal government to stop the inflow until and if the federal legislature changes US immigration and border crossing laws. Obviously larger corporations (and the state itself) can and should implement employee checks, but for small business employers and especially those with one employee, like a housekeeper, it is very difficult to broach that subject - I know from personal experience, although I have never hired anyone enough to have to pay their payroll tax, I have hired people for a few hours help babysitting here and there and did not feel comfortable asking how they got here from El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, etc.
David - I respectfully disagree and so dose employment law. It is required for all employers to confirm eligibility to work. In your case the argument could be made that the people you have hired are independent contractors. Ms. Whitman and others in a similar situation are part of the biggest reason we have these problems.
They provide full or part time ongoing employment, do not use resources available to identify illegals and identity thief's. There is a free 800 number at Social Security that anyone with an ounce of knowledge about employment knows to call for the purpose of verifying documentation.
Meg and anyone else who dose not take the time to carefully examine the documents and avail themselves of ID confirmation system is guilty of violating the law and must pay the fine for each offence.
Since the lynch pin of Ms. Whitman's candidacy is based on jobs and employment she has undermined her own credibility as an expert.
An illegal alien making $23.00 per hour! Give me a break. Don't like the way you are treated, quit!
She paid $23 per hour for a housekeeper? Where did that info come from? You can hire a housekeeper in Ms. Whitman's town for $15 per hour plus room and board easily. I'm not sure she would pay a premium.
Of more concern to me is the allegation that there was no maternity leave granted to an employee. That shows a callous attitude for others that can translate to terrible things in a governing position.
Ms. Whitman may be a good business person, but that is much different from governing. Building a consensus among equals is much more difficult thant dictating terms to people beholden to the company. I see nothing from Ms. Whitman that would convince me she can do any good for California.
The $23 was revealed in the press conference. I think they need to find out what agency represented her since they clearly broke the law.
Ms Whitman does not have my vote that is for sure, neither does Moonbeam Brown. California is in BIG trouble!
I know plenty of wealthy people who pay very well for employees.
Erin - we don't care if you vote.
Meg hired the wrong employee by not checking for her green card and its' legal status? Well I as and so many others I am sure are so glad we found out before she was hired...... Hit the road Meg we have to do better than you and your kind. Go buy an office in a country that may think your way because here you are trying to think both ways and only one is right...... California needs experience not a never "office holder" to do better than the 5 out of 30 years of budget shortfalls, you have to be kidding if you think people believe that you can take on seasoned politicians and win.... go home to the planet from where you came, because you are too out of touch to do California any good.......bye Meg
Probably won't be many seasoned polititains left in office by 2012.
Ms. Whitman, the nouveau Marie Antoinette.
yes she is!
The difference between the left and the right is that we on the left are not in this witch hunt to demonize undocumented workers, it is the position of the right that we need to round up the these people and force march them to the border. So the moral here: the right needs to stop abdicating positions that their "darlings" do not support.
Both Whitman and Fiorina are megalomaniacs. The only question is, which one of the two have the Mark of the Beast in their hairline?
Craig - they both have the mark, all that is left to determine is who has the biggest mark.
This person (meg whitman) has already been proven a liar (her payment of $200k to shut an employee up, proves that!) and now she wants us to believe that her ignorance to someone's, who was "part of the family", legal status was not known? meg whitman thinks Californians are stupid, blind, and deaf. I once told my kids that "lying to someone will ALWAYS make that someone not trust you"
Who the eff trusts meg whitman?!!
Just looking at some of the comments here: Whitman states that she actually had the lady in question fill out employment forms - a step most Californians never take. That's already an amazing feat. Some of these comments are from outside California, but as a Californian, as I mentioned, we al know the discomfort in raising immigration status with everyone you know and even hire. It's usually more of a don't ask don't tell policy. I could totally see someone hiring a housekeeper for nine years and not knowing how they got to this country. I know people who have had housekeepers for longer and have no idea if they're illegally here or not. Now they probably aren't paying their payroll tax either, and I guess that would be a problem for Whitman. But since I'm against most taxes, that would be between her and the IRS, and would not affect my vote (in fact if she doesn't like paying taxes, that's probably a vote in her favor - hopefully she'll lower mine too; I'm only bothered by those who want to raise my taxes and don't pay their own). On the other hand, she could easily have been an independent contractor - it depends on a lot of factors. However, Whitman says that the housekeeper filled out employment documents, so that doesn't seem to be the issue.
None of this is relevant as to who the better candidate is. Attack the candidates' positions, not this stuff.
Yes, David -- what is Meg Whitman's position on immigration reform? On businesses that hire undocumented workers? What fines should they pay? It is clear that Ms. Whitman was "outsourcing" the hiring to a company and that she didn't want to bother doing the vetting herself -- fair enough. That's possibly what she did at Ebay too....any immigration problems there? But at some point, in government, people want someone who is accountable, who doesn't "outsource" crucial aspects of government to a third party (like the prisons in Arizona). The better candidate is one who can talk about this issue with reporters rather than hide behind a bunch of legal jargon and facebook postings.
My personal feeling? Small businesses shouldn't pay fines. What the law is? I don't know myself, but maybe this will convince Whitman that she should not support fines for those who have only a few employees. I don't know where you saw she was outsourcing the hiring to another company, but I guess that makes sense. I'd have to see more of the agreed upon and contested facts here to make a decision. All I am trying to convey is that immigration is a very difficult issue here and you can personally believe that the government needs to do more to stop illegal immigration, but on a personal level, when you hire someone to work in your home, never feel comfortable asking them. Hell, I'm barely comfortable hiriing people to come into my home as I'm some wealthy burgher. :) Only the most inhuman do not have personal respect for those who braved the desert and border to get here for a better life (assuming no other crimes were involved). Most of us would do the same. I have special respect for those who got here through Mexico (Central Americans), because the Mexicans have serious border security - they shoot at illegal immigrants over the Guatemalan border. But my respect for the individual when I speak to them and deal with them as human beings does not mean I have to support a government policy that allows illegal immigration.
eBay is then a different matter and should be held to a higher level of responsibility. I think if she took actions to hire illegal workers there or to stop eBay from checking employees status, that would be a decent campaign issue. Of course, this is a lawsuit, and not a campaign issue, but it is being made such by the press.
David, this one made me laugh out loud. "None of this is relevant" huh? Well then, how come I've had to read wingnut screeds for the last 2 years over any Dem who has failed to properly pay employment taxes? I guess the old goose/gander thing doesn't hold if you're a Pub, huh? Crock.
David - I again respectfuly disagree with you. Most employees in California do not get jobs whithout filling out an employment app. All new hires are at a minimum required to fill out an app before they get paid. Any employer who dose not is violating the law.
To your second point even if that was to be the case most employers are not running for Governor or are making there business knowledge (which includes employment) the cornerstone of their campaign.
Finally Anyone with as large a net worth as Ms. Whitman runs there personal affairs as a business with large staffs. They are required to obey the law just like everyone should.
Again she is running for governor and a higher standard must be met. Especially a business expert such as Whitman.
Kate
You should have listened to the debate. Meg does not agree with amnesty which is a key reason I am voting for her. DEPORT ILLEGAL ALIENS NOW.
You can also check out her plan on megwhitman.com.
Household help can NEVER be independent contractors.
Wow...ignorant much? You must have an extra chromosome or something Karen from LA.
Rich - Your comment reveals YOUR insecurity. Anyone who makes such comments is a very sad individual indeed.
Karen, you work for Meg's campaign, don't you.
No, but I am voting for her and am urging all my friends to do the same. They work in the ENTERTAINMENT business. We sure could use some business friendly people in government since Arnie could not help us.
How about a write-in campaign for Gloria Allred for governor...she seems to know alot about everything and everybody
Ya know, for me...I don't like either one of 'em. Brown could'nt get it right the first time, and whitman is BUYING her way to where ever the hell she's going. As a Nor Cal Res I will keep doing what I do and simply ignore these two. At least I can provide a positive outcome to my own life, and those within it...
Brown marched with Chavez. He's the real deal. Whitman thinks Texas should be California's model. She doesn't get California nor Texas. Maybe she should join Branson in owning her own island for her personal queendom. She has wasted $110 million in irritating most of us with ad after ad. How about some experience beyond driving a sure winner like Ebay to half of what it should have been?
Are you kidding me? $1000 and $150 in political contributions and Gloria is out to get her. I've given almost that much to Jerry and I'm just a retired Marine on Social Security! The real problem is this lady candidate has a history of dealing with the "little people" badly during her tenure with money. She kind of thinks she owns them, she doesn't work well with people of "foreign" status whether they be housekeeper or Oriental employee in her office. Gloria has certainly picked up on that, as has everyone else. Do we really want a Governor of California, that's California with one of the most varied populations in the US, who can't even look at a worker under her with the respect we would like to think everyone should get in the workplace?
That's just not the way we do things in the Golden State, maybe on E-Bay though.
"None of this is relevant as to who the better candidate is"
I actually agree with you here, (except that illegal immigration is the Republicans favorite wedge issue at the moment, and the Republican candidate was caught employing an illegal immigrant for nine years.)
Wouldn't it be nice to hear candidates debate the issues, journalists informing the public about what's in bills like healthcare reform, instead of just focusing on the rhetoric, and maybe two years of a break in the political theatre while a new administration has a chance to try out the agenda it was elected to do? How do we get that?
um.. isn't harboring and employing an illegal immigrant a crime? In which case, isn't eMeg prosecutable, as opposed to being electable?
I know that most people in this state don't bother asking and checking into these things when employing domestic help (ignorance is bliss, right?), but, seriously, if you want to be governor, shouldn't you take care to check? What does it say about her that she didn't? I'm sorry, I know this "mistake" is commonplace, but, seriously, somebody who knowingly or not harbors an illegal for 9 years shouldn't be governor. How is this better than being an adulterer in South Carolina or a Blagothug in Illinois?
The Whitmans were NOT this woman's employer, the agency that placed her with the Whitmans was. The agency had her fake social security # on file, along with pictures of her fake CA driver's license and her falsified 1099 forms. She also signed documents under penantly of perjury that stated she was a legal resident of the U.S. Now she's claiming that Whitman owes her not only back wages, but also MILEAGE? To drive on roads she had no right to be on, with her fake CA drivers license and no insurance, back and forth to a job she had no right to be doing in a country she had no right to be in- and she was the one being taken advantage of?? PLEASE. I have no sympathy for her- zero. (before you judge, my wife is Latina and my daughter is bi-lingual, and we happen to have lost not one, but 2 family members to illegal alien drunk drivers in the past 3 years)
I'm not a huge fan of either Brown or Whitman, (we call her "Nutmeg"...) but this is simply wrong.
Like so many Republican companies who rant and rave over illegal immigrants, but continue to hire illegals, this broad got caught. Is she trying to tell us that she did not check in ALL THOSE years? If we took away all tax credits from them until they obeyed the law, this would be GREATLY curtailed. This woman just broke the law. No matter how she or FOX spin it, she just broke the law and should just apologise and pay her fines or make restitution. Republicans always holler about misdeeds in the other party, but never want to take responsibility for their own actions. Just as now, after they have bankrupt the nation, they want to blame THEIR continuing fiscal irresponsibility on Obama. Repugnants give us the highest debt in history EVERY TIME they get in charge. Look at the congressional budgets and recoil in horror at what Repubs have done. This squealer broke the law.
What law did she break?
SHe provided the employee with the proper paperwork...emloyee filled it out then she filed the paperwork
If the EMPLOYEE lied on the paperwork then the EMPLOYEE broke the law not whitman.
Nice try..
I do love the last minute DIRTY TRICK attempt froma FLAMING LIBERAL Lawyer like ALRED
She didn't break any law. She just had to tie up a few loose ends before she bought the election in Calf. Let 's hope she don't treat the people of Calf. like she does her employees!
Bottom line, it is all talk and no action!!
The bottom line is that Whitman has no ware to hide on this issue. Any employer knows that by contacting the Social Security office 800 number you can confirm an employees identity and to not do so is making you complicit in any fals identity or identity theft. It is strict policy at any company ( including ebay) that wishes to avoid both problems.
For Some one who claims her business knowledge qualifies her to be governor of any state her personal actions would speak to the contrary. Also for someone with a personal net worth in the billions you can't tell me that her personal life is also not run like a business.