California pension board president ousted

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The president of California's state pension board was voted out of office Wednesday.

Sean Harrigan was voted out by the state Personnel Board after reportedly raising the ire of colleagues with his high-profile demands for corporate responsibility.

The Los Angeles Times said during his tenure with the California Public Employees Retirement Board (CalPERS), Harrigan lobbied for the removal of corporate executives who allowed auditing companies to perform non-auditing duties.

Such arrangements were seen as a precaution against Enron-like accounting scandals; however Harrigan's critics said he went overboard and should have concentrated on getting the highest possible rates of return for CalPERS' retirees.

CalPERS is one of the nation's largest investment funds with assets of some $177 billion.

The Times said Harrigan was expected to be replaced by Ronald Alvarado, who was appointed to the board by former Gov. Pete Wilson.