Six of the seven total contributions to CalPERS trustee Charles Valdes’ 2005 re-election campaign were above the $3,300 state limit for a single election, according to a report of an audit by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
For the primary and general elections, the campaign received a total of six $5,600 contributions and one $5,000 contribution, according to the documents Mr. Valdes’ campaign filed with the commission. Mr. Valdes’ campaign divided each contribution into $3,300 for the primary and the remainder for the general election, but the commission’s audit found, for undisclosed reasons, that six were over the contribution limit for a single election.
Roman Porter, the commission’s executive director, declined to identify whose contributions were over the limit. The audit findings have sparked an investigation by the commission. Mr. Porter declined to comment on the focus of the investigation.
Some contributions came from employees of a placement agent, ARVCO Capital Research, which successfully obtained more than $3 billion in private equity and real estate fund commitments from the $194 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Sacramento. Alfred Villalobos, a former CalPERS board member, is chairman and senior managing director of ARVCO and Capital Formation Partners, which also donated to Mr. Valdes’ campaign.
Billy Joe Hughes, treasurer of Mr. Valdes’ campaign committee, declined to comment on the audit report. Mr. Valdes and Mr. Villalobos could not be immediately reached for comment.
