Democrat to step down from SEC
Securities and Exchange Commission member Roel C. Campos, a Democrat who sparred with Republicans on the panel over how heavily to penalize companies for securities violations, is leaving the agency in a month for the private sector.
During his tenure, the SEC presided over the biggest overhaul of market regulation since the 1930s, responding to scandals at Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. He helped implement provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including stiffer audit rules for public companies.
“I have been quite fortunate and privileged to have served the American investor at a crucial period in the history of U.S. markets,” he said in a statement issued by the SEC.
Campos is in talks to join Palo Alto-based law firm Cooley Godward Kronish, people familiar with the discussions said. Campos declined to comment, and a Cooley Godward spokeswoman couldn’t be reached.
Campos, 58, was the SEC’s first Latino commissioner.
Senate Democrats are vetting Luis Aguilar, a former lawyer for asset management firm Invesco, as a potential successor to Campos, people with knowledge of the matter said. Aguilar, 53, a partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge in Atlanta, declined to comment.
Because the five-member commission already has three Republicans, President Bush by law can’t nominate a Republican to succeed Campos and therefore is expected to consult the Senate’s Democratic leadership on the appointment. The nominee must be confirmed by the Senate.
Annette Nazareth, the other Democrat on the SEC, may also be leaving soon, a person familiar with the matter said. Nazareth, 51, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Campos served under three Republican SEC chairmen: Harvey Pitt, William Donaldson and current chief Christopher Cox. Differences between Republicans and Democrats on the commission flared during Donaldson’s tenure from 2003 to 2005.
Joining Donaldson and former Democratic Commissioner Harvey Goldschmid, Campos voted to impose stiff fines against companies such as Time Warner Inc., which paid $300 million in 2005 to settle an SEC investigation of overstated advertising revenue at America Online. Other Republicans on the panel opposed the penalties, saying that shareholders ended up bearing the cost instead of company executives.
He also voted with Donaldson to subject hedge funds to stricter oversight and impose new rules on mutual funds, actions also opposed by the other two Republicans. A federal appeals court wound up rejecting both regulations.
