"Guess" Who's Running for Governor
Updated 1:19 PM PST, Mon, Apr 13, 2009
Georges Marciano, a co-founder of the Guess clothing empire, is the latest person seeking to become governor of California.
The one-time fashion magnate's paperwork was recorded on Monday with the secretary of state's office, allowing him to run as an independent in 2010, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is termed out.
The 62-year-old Beverly Hills resident plans to campaign on a platform that focuses on exposing and eliminating political corruption and putting "the power of government back in the people's hands," said his publicist, Rod Harrell.
"He doesn't really want to be tied into the same old good-old-boys network," Harrell said.
He said Marciano plans a formal campaign launch soon.
Marciano helped found Guess in 1982, five years after he and his three brothers moved to the U.S. from France. The brothers bought out his share in the Los Angeles-based company for $240 million in 1993.
Harrell said Marciano now works in real estate. He was last in the news in 2007, when he bought what then was the largest top-quality, brilliant-cut white diamond ever to appear at auction. The 84.37-carat diamond sold for just under $16.2 million.
Marciano named the diamond "Chloe" after his daughter.
He joins a gubernatorial field that includes 21 other candidates who have registered with the secretary of state's office.
Among the Democrats considering a run are attorney general and former governor Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also is considered a possible contender.
On the Republican side, two wealthy former Silicon Valley executives, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman, are competing with former Rep. Tom Campbell for their party's nomination.
Copyright Associated Press
First Published: Apr 13, 2009 11:03 AM PST
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