Former Bank Bailout Chief Neel Kashkari Wants To Be The Next Governor Of California

Neel Kashkari, who oversaw the government's bank bailout at the height of the financial crisis, will attempt to succeed Jerry Brown as Governor of California in 2014, Bloomberg's James Nash & Michael B. Marois report, citing a Kashkari rep.

We'd previously reported that Kashkari was considering running for something. Now we know what it is.

Appointed by Henry Paulson to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008, Kashkari hopes to resume Republican leadership of Sacramento after Brown, a Democrat, took over in 2010. The state has only had four Democratic administrations in the past 40 years. Brown has represented two of them.

Kashkari left Treasury in December 2009 to become an exec at Bill Gross' giant PIMCO investment fund. He stepped down in January of this year to begin assembling a team to run, Bloomberg says. So far he's signed up campaign advisers who have worked with both Mitt Romney and John McCain, and has met with nearly 700 potential donors from around the country.

Nash and Marois add some details about Kashkari's life since a recent divorce:

"Kashkari lives in a rented three-bedroom home in Laguna Beach overlooking a cove by the Pacific Ocean. Neighbors in the Orange County town said they've seen him walking his two Newfoundland dogs, Winslow and Newsome, but know little else about him. His home, built in 1920, was assessed this year at $245,120, according to property records. He owns two cars, a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 2002 Chevy Tahoe."

Brown has not officially announced he's running for reelection, but his approval rating is the highest since he took office. He's credited with turning around the state's finances - having, for instance, passed a major tax increase while cutting spending. Although he is 75, Brown told the FT in April that he has, "...no intention of walking off the stage here, now that I'm on it."

Click here to read the full story on Bloomberg »