When the banks we've bailed out -- with money that could have gone to pay for a far better national health care system than what we managed to keep yesterday -- insist on kicking us out of their homes illegally, lie to us about it, cheat on foreclosure documents and steal the roofs over our childrens' heads, it's time to say no mas.
On Monday, July 2nd, the California Legislature will have a chance to do just that. It will be voting on important provisions of the Homeowners' Bill of Rights, legislation which California's bankers and mortgage brokers still bitterly oppose (and which, even if for no other reason, all progressives should be highly supportive of). The most important provisions of the bill will
- Prevent banks from initiating foreclosure proceedings while negotiating loan modification agreements as banksters have been wont to do.
- Establish a single point of contact for a homeowner entering loan modification negotiations or foreclosure proceedings, thereby reducing the "we never received / we lost your documents" bullshits banksters have employed time and time again to torment homeowners and wear them down.
- Provide a homeowner with a right to contest in front of a judge whether a foreclosing entity is legally entitled to foreclosure and whether legal procedures have been followed. Right now there is little or no judicial recourse with respect to foreclosure proceedings in California.
No, we're not going to stop all foreclosures with this legislation, but if it passes a lot more people are going to have a fighting chance.
We can expect no Republicans to vote for such socialist claptrap. Fortunately, we don't care. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Senate 25-15, and in the Assembly 52-27-1. This should be a no-brainer, especially as the legislation is supported by both the Senate and Assembly leadership.
But no. Life is not fair, and nothing is ever simple. There are far too many ConservaDems in the California legislature, some of whom are deadset against helping their constituents at the expense of their benefactors the big banks, and some of whom are on the fence. The worst of it is that many of these same ConservaDems are in districts where the foreclosure crisis has hit California the hardest! Yeah, it's insane, inane, and inexplicable. But there it is.
Fortunately, the Courage Campaign, which is strongly backing the Homeowner Bill of Rights, has put together a whip list for us of these crucial on-the-fence Senators and Assembly members.
On The Fence Senators
Sen. Correa |
Santa Ana |
916 651 4034 |
Sen. Hernandez |
West Covina |
916 651-4024 |
Sen. McLeod |
Chino |
916 651 4032> |
Sen. Padilla |
San Fernando Valley |
916 651 4020 |
Sen. Rubio |
Shafter |
916 651 4016 |
Sen. Vargas |
San Diego |
916 651 4040 |
Sen. Wright |
Los Angeles |
916 651 4025 |
We need at least three out of these seven Senators to reach the magic twenty-one vote majority threshold, assuming all other Democratic Senators vote in favor.
On The Fence Assembly Members
Asm. Fletcher |
San Diego |
916 319 2075 |
Asm. Fuentes |
Sylmar |
916 319 2039 |
Asm. Galgiani |
Livingston |
916 319 2017 |
Asm. Gatto |
Los Angeles |
916 319 2043 |
Asm. Hernandez |
San Gabriel Valley |
916 319 2057 |
Asm. Huber |
El Dorado Hills |
916 319 2010 |
Asm. Lara |
Bell Gardens |
916 319 2050 |
Asm. Mendoza |
Artesia |
916 319 2056 |
Asm. Perea |
Fresno |
916 319 2031 |
Asm. Torres |
Pomona |
916 319 2061 |
Asm. Solorio |
Santa Ana |
916 319 2069 |
Asm. Hayashi |
Hayward |
916 319 2018 |
Asm. Hill |
San Mateo |
916 319 2019 |
Asm. Perez |
Coachella |
916 319 2080 |
Asm Pan |
Sacramento |
916 319 2005 |
Asm. Hueso |
Chula Vista |
916 319 2079 |
Asm Bradford |
Gardena |
916 319 2051 |
|
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In theory we only need five of those seventeen Assembly members to hit the magic forty one vote majority, since there are forty two other Democrats. Still, the Courage Campaign whip list of Assembly members may not be perfect, and every aye vote is that much more insurance that the legislation passes. (There is also the perennial problem of California legislators being strategically absent when a vote is taken on a controversial subject. Being absent is logically equivalent to voting nay, but the public does not perceive it as such).
If you see your representative or representatives on this list, give them a call and tell them you want them to support SB900 or AB 278.
If you you recognize the town they come from as being near to where you live and think one or more of them might be your representative but aren't sure, you can
figure out who your California representatives are by
If your representative is not on this list, calling and telling them you want to support SB900 / AB278 is still a good idea. The more calls they get in favor, the more certain they might be to actually be present on the floor and vote aye when the roll is called.
Each circle represents a foreclosure in or near Santa Ana, CA, represented by Senator Correa, who is not yet committed to vote for the HBoR