Former CEO of eBay and current candidate for Governor of California Meg Whitman spoke about the need for a smaller, more efficient state government during a speech today at the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce California Visionaries luncheon at the Long Beach Hyatt.

“We’ve got to reduce the size of the bureaucracy in Sacramento,” Whitman said to applause.  “The time has come to tackle the fundamental ways we run the government here.”

Following the speech, Long Beach City College Superintendent and President Eloy Oakley took to the mic during a Question & Answer session.  Earlier, Whitman had revealed that she will vote “No” on upcoming propositions 1A, 1B and 1C.  Oakley expressed that he was not pleased with the propositions either, but with a vested interest in education funding, he saw no other way to continue providing for students.

“There are no other solutions,” Oakley said to Whitman.  “At least, none have been presented.”

Whitman responded that she does not oppose education funding, but called for a change in the proportions of education funding that are directed to “overhead and the classroom.”  Currently, she said, California spends 60% of education on overhead and 40% in class.  She also said that other unnecessary sources will receive funding from the propositions.

“Your area is one of those things that we have to have, but there are lots of others that we don’t have to have,” Whitman responded.

By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor

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Disclosure: staging-live.lbpost.com co-founder Shaun Lumachi is a government affairs advisor to the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.