Insurance Commissioner and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner opposes Proposition 1A, his spokesman, Kevin Spillane, assured me last night.
I felt compelled to give Kevin a call for clarification because there were conflicting statements coming out of the Poizner campaign. Yesterday longtime FR blogger Jennifer Nelson wrote about Poizner’s remarks to a Bay Area Republican group whose meeting she attended, at which, in a response from Nelson, Poizner was clear that he opposed 1A, going even further to say that he would be taking a “major role” in leading the opposition effort.
Here is the relevant excerpt from Nelson’s blog post:
The most interesting part of his appearance was his response to a question (mine) about the spending cap voters will be considering in May. He had already stated his opposition to the spending cap because it extends the tax increases recently passed in the budget (he supports a spending cap in principal). When asked if he would take a major role in leading an opposition effort, he said yes, that he plans to work with anti-tax groups to rally opposition to the measure. Given the fact that the Sacramento insiders believe that the initiative will pass because the unions and business groups have agreed to support it, it is significant for one of the major GOP gubernatorial candidates to commit to helping mount opposition to the tax hike/faux spending cap measure. Given Poizner’s personal wealth, it would be interesting to see if he actually helps fund a viable campaign effort. Let’s see if it is more than just campaign rhetoric.
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