Capitol Alert

The marathon for the governor's seat may only be hitting its first miles some nine months before the primaries, but most of the candidates' campaign staffs are ready to run.

On the Republican side, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has already spent millions of dollars on her campaign and brought in national figures such as communications director Tucker Bounds, who won headlines as a spokesman on the McCain-Palin campaign. Whitman has also tapped California expertise, such as Rob Stutzman, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's former communications director.

GOP candidate Steve Poizner, another former Silicon Valley CEO with deep pockets, has also brought in national staff, including deputy campaign manager Audrey Perry, who served as campaign finance counsel for McCain-Palin. Poizner's campaign manager, Jim Bognet, was Schwarzenegger's chief deputy special advisor for jobs and economic growth.

The third Republican, former Congressman Tom Campbell, runs a tighter ship. His former congressional aide Hana Callaghan is coordinating the campaign.

The only declared Democratic candidate, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, has tapped Democratic heavyweights such as campaign manager Nick Clemons, who worked on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, and veteran politico Garry South, most notably former Gov. Gray Davis' chief consultant and now a Newsom strategist.

Attorney General Jerry Brown hasn't declared his candidacy yet but is already talking like a gubernatorial hopeful. Longtime strategist Steven Glazer is serving as de facto press aide to the former governor's unannounced gubernatorial campaign. Asked about Brown's campaign staff either for re-election as attorney general or for governor, Glazer responded, "We have a wonderful collection of volunteers and only have paid positions in accounting, web and clerical."

Here are the complete lists, minus Brown as noted above, courtesy of the campaigns:

Tom Campbell

Hana Callaghan, campaign coordinator
Jamie Fisfis, press secretary
Mindy Finn and Patrick Ruffini, Web managers

Gavin Newsom

Nick Clemons, campaign manager
Garry South, strategist
Ricky Le, political director
Chris Corcoran, finance director
Abbe Ross, chief operating officer
Peter Ragone, communications adviser

Steve Poizner

Jim Bognet, campaign manager
Stuart Stevens, strategy and media consultant
Audrey Perry, deputy campaign manager
Sarah Simmons, senior political advisor
Lanhee Chen, deputy campaign manager and policy director

Meg Whitman

Jillian Hasner, campaign manager
Jeff Randle, general consultant
Tucker Bounds, communications director
Richard Costigan, policy director
Todd Cranney, political director
Sarah Pompei, press secretary
Rob Stutzman, senior advisor
Henry Gomez, senior advisor