Meg Whitman is the best candidate for governor in California. Whitman believes in better education, cutting spending by reducing the number of government workers, no more tax raises and promises to cut taxes for small business owners so they can expand.

Whitman is smart (having graduated from Princeton and Harvard), driven, tough and has an excellent record of making things happen. She led eBay from 1998 to 2008, and according to Whitman’s Web site, she helped the company grow from 30 employees and a little more than $4 million in revenue to more than 15,000 employees and nearly $8 billion in revenue, with a network of 12 million users in California alone. Under Whitman’s leadership, eBay expanded globally and developed a culture and infrastructure that turned the company into an unparalleled business success story.

Whitman has the experience, the dedication and the drive to save California from furthering itself into higher deficit. We need someone who will not crawl into a little ball or give in to Sacramento, but instead stand up for Californians wants and needs. Gov. Schwarzenegger broke his campaign promise not to raise taxes. With this kind of economy, Schwarzenegger still has the heart to raise taxes. Californians are losing their jobs and homes left and right. Has he lost his mind?

Whitman, on the other hand, has signed a taxpayer protection pledge promising not to raise taxes. According to Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, “By signing the Pledge, Whitman makes clear that if elected she will stand up for taxpayers and not the tenured bureaucrats, coercive utopians, and union bosses that currently run Sacramento. In a state with one of the highest tax burdens in the country, a dismal business tax climate, rampant overspending, and a government that is so costly that Californians had to work 235 days this year, well over half the year, just to pay for it, higher taxes should be a non-starter for all elected officials and candidates. In signing the Pledge, Whitman has made clear that she recognizes this.”

I am so tired of empty promises, higher taxes, higher registration fees and underfunded education.  I am sure many students like myself are tired and frustrated with the state cutting back on education spending. Don’t they understand we are the future of America? Students are piled into overcrowded classrooms. Tuition and parking continue to rise every year, and students are being turned down left and right because there isn’t enough adequate space for them.

According to Whitman’s Web site, she plans to set up a grading system for our schools that go from A to F, so parents can easily go online and determine how well their children’s schools are performing. This in turn, gives parents the ability to move their children out of failing schools and into better ones. She also plans to reward outstanding teachers, including those in the key areas of math and science. I believe this creates more drive and competition to perform better in schools. After all, what’s the point of success when you’re not getting rewarded and most importantly a raise?

California has increased spending, but things around here haven’t been better. I drive around every day and still notice the same big potholes on the freeways and roads that were around since last year. The freeways have little to no landscaping and there is always so much garbage in the emergency lanes. I’ve seen mattresses, basketballs, a baby stroller, and couches since the beginning of this year.

Whitman states on her Web site, “California politicians need a new attitude when it comes to government spending. The cost of California government has grown an amazing 80 percent over the past ten years, but is government serving the people 80 percent better? Are California’s schools and roads 80 percent better than they were a decade ago? For 30 years in business, I was held accountable to meet the bottom line.”

Whitman is in tune with the future and needs of California. We need better roads, schools and government.

With her strength and toughness, she can save California.

Vote for Meg Whitman for governor of California in 2010.