Free Republic

SACRAMENTO — Soon after taking office in January 2003, state Controller Steve Westly began helping three venture capital firms land multimillion-dollar investments from California's giant pension system, according to public records including e-mails and officials' calendars. Westly, now running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, received campaign donations from individuals associated with each of the funds, campaign finance records show. At any given time, hundreds of fund managers are angling for CalPERS investments. Westly is one of 13 members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System board, and as the state's chief financial officer, one of the most influential. The funds...

SACRAMENTO — State Controller and gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly steered California's giant pension system to invest in a fledgling venture capital fund whose politically connected partners helped him raise campaign cash. Before Westly's involvement, the pension board's outside advisors had rejected the fund as ill-suited for its portfolio. After the investment was made, one of the partners became enmeshed in an unrelated pension-fund scandal in Illinois, pleading guilty to attempted extortion. As New York-based Healthpoint Partners LP lobbied the California Public Employees Retirement System in 2003 and 2004 to invest in their fund, two managing directors, including the one in...

The Nassau County executive, Thomas R. Suozzi, will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor on Feb. 25, aides to his campaign and his administration said last night. He will face Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has a huge lead in early fund-raising, opinion polls and endorsements. As a moderate from the suburbs, Mr. Suozzi poses a counterpoint to Mr. Spitzer, who is a liberal from the city. Also yesterday, in another contested Democratic race, H. Carl McCall, the former state comptroller and 2002 Democratic nominee for governor, bypassed some better-known candidates in the race to succeed Mr....

ATLANTA (AP) - Turning to a businessman to lead one of the nation's seminal civil rights groups, the NAACP's board of directors said Saturday that Bruce S. Gordon, a retired Verizon executive, will be its next president. "Civil rights leaders throughout this country did what they did and died, so my generation has full responsibility to walk in the doors those brave people opened," Gordon said after his selection. Gordon was selected by unanimous vote to succeed Kweisi Mfume, former U.S. representative and a candidate for Senate in Maryland who resigned abruptly in December. Several months later, a report surfaced...