Уильям Эдвард Саймон: Американдық саясаткер және банкирдің өмірі мен мансабы

American businessman and politician

William Edward Simon Jr. (born June 20, 1951) is an American banker, businessman, and politician. In 2002, Simon campaigned unsuccessfully for Governor of California as a Republican against Democratic incumbent Gray Davis. Billed as a "conservative Republican," the virtually unknown Simon's campaign was significantly boosted by support from better known Republican officeholders from outside California, including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and President George W. Bush.

Simon was born in Neptune, New Jersey, the son of Carol (Girard) and William E. Simon Sr., the 63rd Secretary of the Treasury under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Simon Sr., also served as director of the Federal Energy Office. Simon managed the family business (which has over $3 billion in assets), as the Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as a trustee for The Heritage Foundation. Both Riordan and Simon are Roman Catholics and Knights of Malta, with Riordan pro choice on abortion and Simon pro life. Simon polled 1,129,973 primary votes (49.4 percent) to Riordan's 715,768 (31.3 percent). Another 387,237 ballots (16.9 percent) were cast for Bill Jones, then the California secretary of state.

Davis's campaign advertisements made heavy use of scandals relating to alleged mismanagement of Simon's business and charities, though one of the major court rulings unfavorable to Simon was since overturned. Simon's campaign centered largely on allegations of corruption in the incumbent's administration, and Davis's handling of the 2001 energy crisis. Immediately after the gubernatorial debate against Gray Davis, Simon accused Davis of receiving campaign funds in the Lt. Governor's office, a felony. Simon distributed a photo of Davis being handed a check and insisted that the picture was taken in the Lt. Governor's office in the State capitol. Within an hour of its release the location in the picture was determined to have no resemblance to the Lt. Governor's office, and within a few days the location was identified as Bruce Karatz's home in Southern California. Despite Davis's high disapproval ratings, he managed to defeat Simon by a margin of 47.3% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%.

When the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election became a reality, Simon announced he would once again be a candidate for California Governor but ran for only a short time after he qualified for the ballot before withdrawing from the race August 23, 2003. He said, "There are too many Republicans in this race and the people of our state simply cannot risk a continuation of the Gray Davis legacy." Simon did not endorse any candidates until several weeks later, when he endorsed front runner Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite dropping out, his name still appeared in the ballot, and he placed 12th in a field of 135 candidates. Simon spent most of 2004 and 2005 preparing to run for California state treasurer in 2006, and although he was the clear front runner for the Republican nomination, he dropped out in October 2005 citing the need to devote more time and attention to his family and four children. He is currently married to Cindy Simon, and together they have three children, Willie, Lindsay, and Griffith. They live in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, and have a vacation home on Maui and one in Sun Valley, Idaho. He also has a daughter, Cary, from his first marriage. On February 26, 2007, he was appointed as the Director of Policy for the Rudy Giuliani presidential exploratory committee. Simon was the most influential member of the Giuliani campaign, and was referred to many times as Giuliani's "Professor."