The two front-runners in the Republican race for California pulled in to San Diego on Monday, one of them leading by miles in voter surveys.
Both of the former high-tech CEO's were in town to talk about taxes, jobs and other money issues with local business executives.
It wasn't a debate -- the panel-discussion format meeting was hosted by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation at the La Jolla Marriott Hotel in University City.
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner weren't even in the same ballroom at the same time, but they were more on the same page than not.
"If I could do one thing as governor," Whitman told a corporate-minded luncheon audience of about 250, "it would be to turn around the business climate in California. To do that, we're going to have to cut taxes. We're going to do a series of targeted tax relief that incentivizes companies to start hiring."
Whitman finished nearly 50 points ahead of Poizner among likely Republican voters in the latest Field Poll and has more than doubled his spending.
Poizner, who sold his startup companies to Qualcomm, doesn't embrace "targeted" tax cuts, though. He is calling for 10 percent reductions on sales, income and corporate taxes, and a 50 percent cut on taxes on capital gains.
Politics
"There's over 900 different taxes and fees in California," Poizner said before turning the audience over to Whitman and a new panel of executives conducting the Q&A.
"Our per capita tax burden is 50 percent -- higher than the western states," he noted. "That's got to change or we'll never get this great state back on track."
Poizner and Whitman held their first debate two weeks ago, after Poizner baited Whitman with accusations that she was ducking him. The pair are set for another debate in early May, with more possibly to follow.
But for now, according to political observers familiar with the the two campaigns, the two rivals would "rather not cross paths."
