Whitman Met By Rowdy Crowd In SoCal Campaign Stop
GLENDALE, Los Angeles County (AP) - Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman encountered a rowdy crowd—some yelling "go home"—when she stopped Friday to visit a popular Cuban pastry shop in Southern California in the final stretch of her campaign.
A noisy crowd of at least 100 swarmed Whitman while she attempted to greet customers at Porto's Bakery, famous for its guava cheese pastries and potato ball sandwiches. While some in the crowd applauded the former chief executive of eBay, others yelled at her.
Her detractors chanted "save our schools" and "I want my pension," a reference to Whitman's proposals to cut state spending and replace government pensions with 401(k)-style accounts. Whitman supporters responded by calling her critics "communists."
Whitman's voice was often drowned out as she tried to talk with customers, and she made no attempt to address the crowd. After the event, Whitman blamed the aggressive tone of the crowd on union-backed agitators who had arrived on a bus a few minutes before she did.
"The unions are fighting for the control that they've had on Sacramento for the last 10 or 15 years, and no one likes to give up control," she told reporters in a private room above the bakery. "If I am governor, their hand is going to be weakened."
The California Nurses Association has been following Whitman around California, staging protests and parading a character costumed as "Queen Meg" outside the Republican candidate's campaign stops. The union's bus arrived shortly before Whitman entered the pastry shop, and protesters lined the sidewalk chanting: "Hey, hey Whitman, get out of my town. All that money and you're 10 points down."
Whitman, a billionaire, has spent $142 million from her personal fortune in the race so far. A Field Poll released Thursday showed her trailing Democrat Jerry Brown 49 percent to 39 percent among likely voters.
"Polls schmolls," Whitman said. "The only poll that really matters is the poll on Election Day."
Brown had no campaign events scheduled for Friday but has scheduled three days of campaigning throughout the state starting Saturday.
Betty Porto, a Whitman supporter and owner of the pastry shop, said she was upset at the rowdiness of the event and probably lost some business that morning.
"But that's democracy," said Porto, whose family emigrated from Cuba in 1971. "If it was Cuba, they would have taken the clubs and beaten them all down."
As Whitman attempted to greet bemused diners, a man stood close to her and held up a sign supporting Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Clara Ferral, a Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1968, yelled at him and called him a communist.
"It was disrespectful," said Ferral after the event, noting that she would be voting for Whitman because she feared the government was becoming too "lefty."
Porto's is located on a busy retail street in Glendale, a diverse city with large Armenian and Latino populations.
Sayed Hussaini, who works across the street in a financial services office, said he was a registered Republican but hasn't decided whom to vote for in the gubernatorial race.
"A lot of special interest groups are involved and I don't think either of them are handling the budget deficit," he said.
Whitman has had a rough week on the campaign trail. She was booed at Maria Shriver's Women's Conference on Tuesday when she refused to agree to take down her negative campaign ads, a pledge sought during a panel by questioner Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show. Brown accepted the challenge to cheers, although only if his rival would do the same.
Whitman then reignited a controversy over her former housekeeper by proclaiming in an interview Wednesday on Fox News that Nicky Diaz Santillan should be deported. A day later, Whitman tried to soften her comments, saying Santillan's status should be up to federal authorities.
Whitman last month admitted her former housekeeper of nine years was an illegal immigrant from Mexico, after she called on holding employers accountable for hiring illegal workers.
Despite these difficulties, Whitman said she remained confident about Tuesday's result.
"I feel the surge coming my way," she told reporters. "I am going to win this."
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
