Scoop

Meg Whitman will announce on Monday that she intends to run for governor of California. The announcement will be made on her web site. 

Deborah Perry Piscione, CEO of BettyConfidential.com, talked with Whitman over the weekend about her plans. "She realizes her greatest strength is her knowledge of the economy and her strong business background," Piscione said. "She is very realistic and down-to-earth. She wants to help in practical ways to solve the problems real people are having right now."

Whitman, 52, the former CEO of eBay, has become increasingly involved in Republican politics. At first a supporter of Mitt Romney during the primaries, she was national co-chair of John McCain's presidential campaign. She spoke at the Republican Convention, and Senator McCain mentioned her as a possible Secretary of the Treasury.

Whitman has been repeatedly ranked as one of the most important people in the world by Time magazine. She joined eBay in 1998 as president when there were only thirty employees. Whitman's low-key and collaborative management style has been credited in helping the online marketplace grow faster in its first decade than any other enterprise in the history of capitalism. According to Forbes magazine, in 2007 her personal fortune was estimated at $1.4 billion. In preparation for her run, Whitman has recently resigned from the boards of eBay, Proctor & Gamble, and DreamWorks.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is barred from running for a third term in 2010 by term limits. He served more than half of former Governor Gray Davis' term after Davis was recalled in 2003, which counts as a full term under the term-limit law. There has been some recent discussion by California legislators about changing the law.

Whitman, a moderate, who could fund her own campaign, is considered potentially a strong candidate. But she has rivals. Another anticipated GOP gubernatorial candidate, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, is also a billionaire from Silicon Valley. But Whitman, like Poizner, could face a difficult Republican primary against a conservative candidate, such as Congressman Tom McClintock.

Whitman is married to Dr. Griffith R. Harsh IV, a neurosurgeon, and has two college-age sons. "She really has been an exceptional role model for women throughout her career, successfully balancing family and work," Piscione said."Obviously, she is up to the challenge of California politics."