People

Donna "Sissie" Childress has been named president of Community Resource Mortgage Inc., Orangeburg, S.C., a subsidiary of Community Bankshares Inc.Ms. Childress was most recently executive vice president and manager of loan operations at the mortgage company. She replaces Wade Douroux, who recently left the company to pursue "other opportunities," Community Bankshares said. Ms. Childress established an independent mortgage company in 1992 and launched two other mortgage businesses, Community Bankshares said. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.communitybanksharesinc.com.

Argent Mortgage will be a "major associate sponsor" for two cars owned by Andretti Green Racing, including the one being driven by Danica Patrick.The move apparently ends Argent's relationship with Ms. Patrick's former team, Rahal Letterman Racing, where it had been the primary sponsor of her car and that of former Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice. The other car of which Argent will be the major associate sponsor is driven by Marco Andretti (son of team co-owner Michael Andretti), who in his first-ever Indianapolis 500 last May finished a very close second to Sam Hornish. "Danica and Marco are two of the most talented young drivers in racing and two of the sport's most recognizable names," said Argent president Sam Marzouk. "Bringing them together under the Argent banner creates an unbeatable combination to highlight our brand." The new primary sponsor for Ms. Patrick is Motorola, according to the Andretti Green website.

Daniel P. Sussman has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of People's Choice Financial Corp., an Irvine, Calif.-based residential mortgage lender organized as a real estate investment trust.Before joining People's Choice, Mr. Sussman was senior executive vice president at New Century Mortgage Corp., where he formerly held the title of EVP and COO, People's Choice reported. He previously held senior management posts at EDMC, Western Financial Savings Bank, The CIT Group, and Novus Financial. Mr. Sussman also served as president and chief executive officer of City First Mortgage Corp. People's Choice also announced the promotion of Brad S. Plantiko to executive vice president of finance and strategic planning. People's Choice Home Loan Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the REIT, can be found on the Web at http://www.pchl.com.

Brenda Gaines, a former Citigroup executive, and Karen Horn, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, have been elected to the board of directors of Fannie Mae.The pair are the sixth and seventh new directors named to Fannie Mae's board since 2004, according to the government-sponsored enterprise. Ms. Gaines, who was president and chief executive officer of Diners Club North America at Citigroup, will serve on the board's Compensation Committee and its Housing and Community Finance Committee. Ms. Horn, currently a limited partner at Brock Capital LLC, was named to the board's Audit Committee and its Risk Policy and Capital Committee. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

John Johnson has been elected chairman of MERS, the industry-owned system for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights.Mr. Johnson is president and chief executive officer of MortgageAmerica Inc., Birmingham, Ala. He has served as president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Alabama and was chairman of the national Mortgage Bankers Association's Residential Board of Governors. The announcement of Mr. Johnson's election as chairman of MERS came at the organization's annual Strategic Planning Conference. MERS, based in Vienna, Va., can be found online at http://www.mersinc.org.

Beleaguered Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who got caught in a lobbying scandal and could face two years to prison, has resigned as chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on housing, effective immediately.The Ohio congressman recently agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and making false statements regarding the acceptance of gifts and travel from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Earlier this year, Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials. In a Sept. 15 statement, Rep. Ney said he accepts responsibility for his actions and is seeking professional help for a "dependence on alcohol." Rep. Ney is scheduled to plead guilty at an Oct. 13 court hearing, and federal prosecutors are expected to recommend that the congressman serve 27 months in prison.

James D. Hughes has been named senior vice president and chief information officer of Freddie Mac, effective Sept. 25.Mr. Hughes, 48, will be responsible for managing one of Freddie Mac's largest organizations, with information systems planning and development responsibilities that support the company's finance, investment, sourcing, servicing divisions, and corporate functions, the government-sponsored enterprise said. He comes to the GSE from Cleveland-based National City Corp., where he held positions as CIO and executive vice president and branch banking division head. Before joining National City in 1997, Mr. Hughes served in management roles at Andersen Consulting, USF&G, Seer Technologies, and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Louis Pizante has been named chief executive officer of Mavent Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of automated compliance systems for the financial services industry.Mr. Pizante has been with Mavent for four years, serving as chief operating officer and senior vice president of sales and marketing, the company said. He was previously responsible for originating, marketing, and executing real estate and structured finance transactions for Greenwich Capital Markets. Mavent can be found online at http://www.mavent.com.

Michelle Crecca has been named executive vice president of consumer lending at Webster Financial Corp., Waterbury, Conn., which cited her experience in home equity lending.Ms. Crecca was most recently a managing director in Retail Business for Citi Home Equity. She was previously a vice president and channel director for Smith Barney's Home Equity Cross Sell Program, Webster reported. Webster Financial, the holding company for Webster Bank, can be found on the Web at http://www.websteronline.com.

Former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo revived his political career Tuesday with a victory in the New York State Democratic primary for attorney general.According to the New York Times, with 98% of the vote counted, Mr. Cuomo led his nearest challenger, former New York City Public Advocate Mark Green (the brother of real estate developer Stephen Green), by a margin of 53% to 33%. The current attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, is running for governor. In 2002, Mr. Cuomo ran for governor but dropped out in the midst of the primary campaign. His name still appeared on the statewide general election ballot as the candidate of the Liberal Party, although he did not actively campaign.