SAN FRANCISCO -- Former eBay chief Meg Whitman is one of the fastest-rising stars in the GOP universe, and her stature as national co-chair for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign was highlighted this week with her speech at the Republican National Convention on economic reform.Whitman, who lives in Atherton, Calif., regularly travels with the campaign and has done nothing to discourage talk that she's interested in running for governor of California in 2010. But a year ago, Whitman was a voter who hadn't cast a ballot in some of the state's most important elections.Records from San Mateo County show that the billionaire businesswoman became a Republican last September and did not vote in more than half the federal, state and local elections since she registered to vote in the county in September 2002.Speaking before a full house of Republican partisans in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday night, Whitman painted herself as a dyed-in-the-wool member of the GOP."I am a Republican because our party understands that America's success -- the success of her people -- comes not from the size of its government, but from the character of its citizens, the strength of its communities and the nobility and truth of its ideals," she said. "Republicans know that John's solutions rest on a set of principles that are true and tested and enduring."But until this year, Whitman had missed every primary vote since 2002, along with such important GOP elections as the 2003 recall that ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, and the 2005 special election that Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had billed as a singularly important attempt to reform government in California.Since September 2002, Whitman, 52, has voted in six elections, including general elections in 2002, 2004 and 2006, along with the two primaries this year. By contrast, former Democratic state Treasurer Steve Westly, her Atherton neighbor and a former eBay executive, voted in 13 elections over the same period.Whitman's efforts to balance her fast-paced job and her family sometimes kept her out of the voting booth, a family spokesman said."I know it's no excuse, but for years she was heads down in her business and her family," said Henry Gomez, who worked alongside Whitman for years at eBay. "She didn't vote sometimes when she should have."Whitman grew up in a Republican family on the East Coast, Gomez said. But from the time she moved to California in 1980, she has been registered as a voter who "declines-to-state" a party preference rather than Republican."When she came to the state, she wasn't sure of any of the candidates, so she registered decline-to-state," Gomez said. "But she's a Republican person."Romney."If Whitman decides to run for governor, her recent conversion to the Republican Party is bound to be an issue, but possibly not an important one, Spence added."It really depends on what her views are and how she expresses them," he said. "Right now, the big question is 'What does she believe?' "There's no question Whitman could be an attractive candidate for California Republicans. With degrees from Princeton and Harvard, she has been an executive with nationally known companies like Hasbro, Stride Rite, Procter & Gamble, Disney and FTD florists before taking over at eBay and making it into a worldwide Internet giant.At a recent presidential forum in Southern California, McCain listed Whitman as one of the three wisest people he knows and said he would rely heavily on her if he becomes president. Her coveted speaking slot at the party convention this week will make her more visible to the party's rank and file. And with a fortune estimated at $1.4 billion, Whitman could put her own money into a campaign for governor.But Whitman, who left eBay in March, also would have to explain some of the political contributions she's made over the years. While most of the money she's given has gone to Republicans and GOP causes, she also has made contributions to Democrats such as Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry."She gave to Democrats who were very supportive of the tech industry and eBay," Gomez said. "So she was supportive of them, but she gave from a tech prospective."Now, Whitman is not talking about her political future, at least not yet."Right now she's focused on the McCain campaign, 24/7," Gomez said. "We'll see what comes afterward."(E-mail John Wildermuth at jwildermuth(at)sfchronicle.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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