I have had a standing invitation to the Poizner campaign for Steve to speak at an SFVRC meeting.  I received a call today that the only one of our meetings that he can speak at prior to the primary is the March meeting.

As a result I have rescheduled Kevin James for the April meeting.

Steve Poizner, candidate for Governor of California, will be the speaker at our March meeting.
 

 
The meeting will be on:
 

Steve Poizner, Gubernatorial Candidate
 

A highly successful entrepreneur, Steve Poizner founded two successful technology companies in Silicon Valley. His last company, SnapTrack, pioneered the technology that put life-saving GPS receivers into 700 million cell phones around the world. Steve also founded and served as chief executive officer of Strategic Mapping Inc., a company that assists police departments, utilities and transportation companies with strategic planning and logistics.

In 2006, Steve became one of only two Republicans elected statewide when he defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante in the race for Insurance Commissioner. As Insurance Commissioner, Steve oversees the California Department of Insurance (CDI), the largest consumer protection agency in the state. Since assuming office, Steve has permanently cut the operating budget at the Department of Insurance by 15% - making him the only candidate running for Governor who has actually cut waste from state government. Along with cutting the budget at CDI, Steve has cut thousands of dollars of fees, infusing consumers' pockets with extra money and stimulating the economy.

Steve's entrepreneurial success in Silicon Valley earned him the opportunity to serve in the White House fellowship program. Steve started the program one week before the September 11, 2001 attacks. As the Director of Critical Infrastructure Protection in the National Security Council, Steve was responsible for issues such as emergency communications planning for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and protecting the nation's banking system and power grids from cyber-attacks. In 2006, he was elected as a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations after being nominated by former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz.

Following his time on the National Security Council, Steve spent a year "in the trenches" as a volunteer teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in East San Jose, where he taught 12th grade American government. After seeing the crisis conditions facing public schools in California, Steve demonstrated his passion for local control of schools by co-founding EdVoice and the California Charter Schools Association - the state's leading charter school organization. Since his involvement in the charter school movement began, the number of charter schools in California has doubled.

Steve moved to California in 1978 to attend Stanford University, where he earned a Master's Degree with Honors in Business Administration. A Texas native, Steve was born in Corpus Christi and raised in Houston. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas where, based on academics and extracurricular leadership, he was named the Top Male Student in a student body of 40,000. Steve was also recognized as one of the top 10 electrical engineering students in the nation. In addition to his academic degrees, Steve also earned a black belt in Shotokan karate, a contact-style martial art.

Steve and his wife, Carol, live in Los Gatos with their daughter, Rebecca.

Find out more about Steve on his web site.
 

We look forward to seeing you on March 2nd at which time you will be able to ask questions of candidate Steve Poizner.

 

For those of you who didn't get to hear Meg Whitman at the Hollywood Republican meeting this week, we will try and get her to speak at a future meeting.
 

 

Sincerely,