Carla Marinucci reports at The San Francisco Chronicle:
Spence had been saying such things even before the John & Ken interview, however.On Wednesday, former eBay CEO Whitman took to the airwaves in Southern California and again jabbed at Poizner, suggesting the state insurance commissioner refused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request last year that state officers put their employees on unpaid leave as part of a plan to cut expenses during the budget crisis.
In her interview with KFI radio station hosts John and Ken, Whitman also said Poizner spent more than $30 million to attack her during the primary campaign.
Whitman's pointed remarks prompted Poizner, who has maintained silence since the primary, to issue a terse response. He said Whitman "apparently hasn't gotten the memo that the primary is over," adding that she is "still misrepresenting my track record."
In an e-mail to The Chronicle, Poizner said: "I opposed furloughs for the Department of Insurance because my team and I had completed a top-down review years ago - and I successfully cut operating expenses permanently by 15 percent."
Conservative Republicans in California, where Democrats hold a 14 percent voter advantage over GOP voters, are watching the set-to with concern. Some say the continued tensions suggest Whitman hasn't sufficiently reached out to Poizner to get his support - and his supporters.
"Since the John and Ken interview, I have gotten more e-mails and phone calls from people who are just furious about numerous things that were said," said Mike Spence, a conservative activist and state Republican Party official. "They're telling me that they're not going to vote for anyone. Or they'll vote third-party."
