Whitman taps the grass roots, Harvard style

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Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor is doing some grass-roots outreach in the Los Angeles area – to fellow Harvard alumni. Jaynie Studenmund, a friend and former business school classmate of Whitman’s, wrote to other alums to say it would be ‘neat’ for about 40 of them who live in the area to reunite at a fundraiser for her in Beverly Hills on April 22, with tickets at $1,000 apiece and sponsorships at up to $50,000.

The event will feature an undefined ‘special musical performance’ and will be headlined by Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor for whose presidential campaign Whitman worked. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who also had Whitman as an advisor to his presidential bid, is also expected to make an appearance for her in late April, although it’s unclear if it will be at the same event.

Studenmund’s e-mail rankled at least one recipient, which she acknowledged it might. ‘I realize that politics, business, alumni and friendships do not always mix,’ she wrote. Studenmund has worked as an executive in the banking and dot.com industries, and for a brief period in 1999, for the Los Angeles Times.

The fundraising invitation is here and the text of her e-mail follows after the jump. Harvard alums take note! Wednesday is the deadline to RSVP.

--Michael Rothfeld in Sacramento

(Personal e-mail addresses have been removed.)

From: Jaynie Studenmund
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 4:44 PM
To:
Cc: ‘Gonzales Charissa’
Subject: Connecting re: April 22 event for our classmate, Meg Whitman...

Greetings Class of 1979 Fellow Alumni,

I am writing about our classmate, Meg Whitman, who is running for Governor of California. I realize that politics, business, alumni, and friendships do not always mix, and so please know that I carefully considered sending this email. There are about 40 members of our class who live in the greater LA area, and I thought that it’d be neat to get some tables together at a fun evening event for Meg on April 22, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton (see attached invitation). But, more about this later…

It is hard to believe that the CA primaries are less than three months away and the general election, eight months away. The CA Governor’s race has been called one of the major political events of the year, even on a national basis. Meg’s campaign has superb momentum

• Last week’s Field Poll had Meg nearly 50 points ahead of her Republican opponent and 3 points ahead of the presumptive Democratic nominee, Jerry Brown
• Meg is running a superb campaign and drawing Independents, Democrats, and Republicans alike
• Meg’s campaign to ‘build a new California’ is focused on three priorities creating more private sector jobs, controlling government spending, and fixing our K-12 education system (to move us out of the 48th out of 50th in the country ranking).
• For those of you who have not seen Meg on the campaign stump, she is a natural – articulate, fact based in her solutions, personable, warm, trustworthy, and humorous. She comes across as a genuine leader and has been tireless in her efforts to travel the state and meet people. I just heard Meg (again!) at a smaller dinner event in Palm Desert on Tuesday night, and the group of CEO’s in attendance were very impressed by Meg and very grateful that someone of her caliber is willing to undertake the near impossible job of governing California.
  

On a personal note, I have been a friend of Meg’s since we were section mates back in 1979 (Section H). Having been raised in a political family in Washington, D.C., my Dad was in the US Senate from Iowa, I have a ‘high bar’ for political candidates. Meg is the first candidate whose campaign I have gotten actively engaged in besides my Dad’s. I am far more of candidate person than a political party person, and a year ago I hosted several events for Meg, began serving as a campaign co-chair, and joined the MegaWomen steering committee.

I am active in Meg’s campaign because I am deeply concerned about where California is today across nearly every single measure. I have always been impressed by Meg, personally and professionally. Meg’s professional background is well known, but a big part of what is compelling about Meg is her personal story. She’s been married for 30 years to a wonderful man, Griff, and he’s an incredible neurosurgeon, husband, and father; they’ve raised two sons; and Meg is much the same down to earth person with strong core values that she was over thirty years ago despite her tremendous success and fame. I believe Meg can lead California forward, and I continue to be blown away by the fact that she wants to be our Governor and help turnaround this incredible state of ours.

I would deeply appreciate it (and I know Meg would be very touched and thrilled) if you’d join in showing support for Meg at this upcoming Thursday, April 22, fundraiser. It promises to be a fun night with special musical entertainment (David Foster is playing a key role in the evening), celebrity guests, and no doubt some rousing comments from Meg herself.

Again, the invitation is attached, but it’d be terrific if you’d email me at [........] indicating whether we can count on you to buy a ticket or two for the dinner. Tickets are $1,000 each. Also, if you would be interested in sponsoring a table yourself and inviting friends to join you to introduce them to Meg, tables are $10,000. In short, I’d love to create a critical mass of HBS 79ers to show Meg our support. At the same time, I respect the fact that Meg’s candidacy may hold no interest for you, and, if so, please let me know.

Naturally, I am happy to address any questions or suggestions. I am also copying Charissa Gonzales who is one of the key members of Meg’s campaign team, and she is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

Thanks tons for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you, ideally by March 31, with an initial indication of interest if possible. This way I can begin to organize some tables for the class of 1979.

Many thanks and my very best always,

Jaynie

PS To learn more about Meg’s campaign, her positions, and more, please visit her website at www.megwhitman.com.