(April 16 – 12:10 ET) – U.S. president George W. Bush has had a hard time finding anyone willing to take a pay cut to head the Securities and Exchange Commission according to a story in the Financial Times.

The regulator’s top job has been officially vacant since February when long-time chief Arthur Levitt stepped down. SEC commissioner Laura Unger has been filling in while the Bush administration seeks a replacement. According to the FT, a number of early candidates have turned down offers for the job, which pays a relatively paltry US$131,700.

The FT reports that Joseph Grundfest, professor at Stanford Law School, and John Mack, former president and chief operating officer at Morgan Stanley, are among those who are believed to have declined the offer.

The paper says that Washington, D.C. lawyer Harvey Pitt is the new front runner for the job. Pitt works for Fried Frank Harris and served as general counsel at the SEC in the late 1970s.

The list of candidates also includes: James Doty, a partner at Baker Botts in Washington and also a former SEC general counsel; Peter Wallison, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Dana Mead, former chairman of Tenneco.