Names in the News: Gov. Bill Richardson


 

Publication Date: January 2009

Publisher: National Institute on Money in State Politics (U.S.)

Author(s): Pete Quist

Research Area: Politics

Keywords: Gov. Bill Richardson

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

When President-elect Barack Obama nominated New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be Secretary of Commerce on Dec. 3, 2008, he selected a seasoned politician who could raise millions in donations -- even when he faced little opposition -- from the very interests he was to regulate: finance, insurance and real estate. In fact, Richardson has been the focus of an ongoing federal probe into a financial company and the contracts it received from the state, and he withdrew his name from consideration because of that investigation.