From the desk of Jim Brulte

Dear Friend:

If you’re like me, you think California is headed in the wrong direction. Every day the news gets worse and our great state slips further and further behind.

But the good news is that strong, tested leadership can turn this around.

I’m proud to be Chair of the Poizner for Governor Exploratory Committee. Steve Poizner has exactly the combination of hands-on experience, innovative vision and conservative instincts to save California.

While much of Sacramento has floundered in the current crisis, Steve Poizner has taken bold, common sense action. As a strong fiscal conservative, he knows that furloughs are only a stop-gap measure that do nothing to shrink the size of government. He did what needed to be done to make a real difference, permanently cutting his budget by 10% and cutting fees for small business people who deal with the Department of Insurance by millions of dollars.

With that one tough minded decision, Steve Poizner became the only candidate for Governor in either Party who has actually cut their budget. Some may promise to do it, some may try to explain why it can’t be done. But Steve Poizner got it done.

There are a lot of reasons we’re supporting Steve Poizner. He’s the only candidate who has proven he can win a tough, state-wide campaign. He’s the only candidate who has undergone the tough press scrutiny that comes with running and winning a state-wide office. He’s the only entrepreneur in the race, a man who started from scratch an important, life saving, wildly successful company. He’s the only candidate with a proven commitment to public education, fighting for charter schools and even teaching in a large, public high school.

But most importantly, he’s the only candidate who can stand toe to toe with a candidate like Jerry Brown and say, “You grew government. I shrank it. You say we can’t govern without tax increases. I’ve proven we can.”

The Republican Party has never had a candidate with Steve Poizner’s background and strengths. And that’s what it will take to win.

It’s for all of these reasons that Steve Poizner has received hundreds of key Republican endorsements from across California. This list continues to grow by the day. We have already earned notable support from major GOP donors as well as important business and community leaders. We have the endorsement of close to three-quarters of the GOP members of the state legislature, countless local elected officials, numerous Republican county chairs and an enormous group of grassroots activists..

I’ve seen a lot of California campaigns in my day. I can tell you that this one is more advanced and better organized than any campaign at this stage in California history. To win tough races, you need a team that’s proven they can get it done. We’ve hired one of the nation’s top Republican media firms – Stuart Stevens and Russ Schriefer – to be the leads on the campaign.  They have a history of winning tough races in blue states and have helped elect President Bush in both his national campaigns, elected Gov. Tom Ridge in Pennsylvania, elected Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, and elected governors in the bluest of blue states – Massachusetts.  We’ve also put together a top notch group of experienced and successful California professionals, including Wayne Johnson and Matt Rexroad, to serve in senior roles in the campaign.

As Republicans, we embrace competition. Meg Whitman has announced an exploratory committee for governor. The fact that she may run in California and recently joined the Republican Party is a sign of the strength of our Party.

This will be a very, very long campaign and we are in the earliest of its stages. The field of candidates in both parties is not settled. Candidates will come and go, events will be constantly developing. But what will not change is California’s desperate need, the Republican Party’s need, for a strong leader who can start turning California around on day one — an entrepreneur, an engineer, a proven budget cutter, a man uniquely qualified to lead California.

I look forward to closely working with you over the next 21 months as we join together to elect Steve Poizner as the next Governor of California.

Best,

Jim Brulte