Whitman
SACRAMENTO (Legal Newsline) - California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman announced late last week she received the endorsement of a business association challenging federal health care reform.
Whitman, in a statement released Thursday, said the National Federation of Independent Business -- which represents small and independent businesses and nearly 20,000 small business in California alone -- is supporting her for governor in November's election.
Whitman, a Republican, faces the state's current Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat.
"Small business is the job-creating engine of California. Small business owners know that I am the only candidate in this race with a serious plan to create new jobs and the management skills to deliver the results," Whitman said in a statement. "I am proud to have NFIB's endorsement."
The organization says it believes in the former eBay CEO's plan to lower taxes and reduce regulations so small businesses, like the ones they represent, can grow and thrive.
"Meg Whitman is a champion of small and independent business owners. At eBay, she helped thousands of small businesses join the digital age and gave many entrepreneurs the tools to follow their dreams of starting and growing a business," John Kabateck, California executive director of NFIB, said in a statement.
This spring, NFIB joined a group of states in a lawsuit challenging the federal health care reform law. The suit was filed in March after President Barack Obama signed the reform legislation into law.
The lawsuit claims it is unconstitutional to require an individual to pay a yearly penalty if he or she does not purchase health insurance.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.