Meg Whitman's East L.A. Office Target Of Protests

By Gene Maddaus Mon., Oct. 25 2010 at 5:13 PM

Categories: Politics

Ted Soqui

Meg Whitman: ¿Dónde está el amor?

Updated at 5:14 p.m. with comment from the Whitman campaign.

With her polling numbers dropping dramatically among Latinos, Meg Whitman vented her frustration recently, calling out Jerry Brown for taking Latinos "for granted."

"He's living on what he did for this community 40 years ago," she said. "I'm the first Republican in 30 years to open an office in East L.A."

Oh, right. The East L.A. office. How are things going over there? According to this report over at L.A. Eastside, not so good.

Her office has been picketed since day one and almost once a week by unions, orgs or people that just plain don't like her. It's become a regular thing, so much so that her office staff have started counter-protesting. It's quite hilarious.

For the better part, her staff has mostly resorted to yelling over protesters as they are interviewed by media or chanting. Usually ending with yelling back and forth by both sides. The workers also 'impose' themselves in front of other protesters, invading their personal space and getting physical with out provocation. This almost led to some fights. They're also adamant about 'getting off private property.'

Sounds like a blast. Whitman's staff has called the cops just to make sure things don't get out of hand.

Update: Whitman's spokesman for Spanish-language media, Hector Barajas, says that the protests are "staged."

"They come by so often that we have gotten to know them and the cars they drive," he says. "They come by and say they are Nicky, as in Nicky Diaz. Some claim to be United Farm Workers... and then they leave. We have had (state Sen.) Gil Cedillo visit about 3-4 times. This is all for attention and I guess they got yours."

Meanwhile, Whitman is addressing her poor favorability ratings by reintroducing herself to the electorate. It's a little late in the game for that, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Watch, as Whitman acknowledges that you think she's a "billionaire with no government experience."