Rep. Richardson's home declared a 'public nuisance'
Posted by: Craig DeLuz | 08/15/2008 10:01 AM
Laura Richardson just can't get get it together! First Rep. Laura Richardson was having problems making house payments, defaulting six times over eight years.
Then after a bank foreclosed on her Sacramento house and sold it at auction in May, the Long Beach Democrat made such a stink that Washington Mutual, in an unusual move, grabbed it back and returned it to her.This week, in the latest chapter in the housing saga, the Code Enforcement Department in Sacramento declared her home a "public nuisance."
The city has threatened to fine her as much as $5,000 a month if she doesn't fix it up.Neighbors in the upper-middle-class neighborhood complain that the sprinklers are never turned on and the grass and plants are dead or dying. The gate is broken, and windows are covered with brown paper.
"I would call it an eyesore," said Peter Thomsen, a retired bank executive who lives nearby.
The city action was prompted by police action.
Police were twice called to investigate reports of a suspicious person in or around the house, perhaps a homeless man squatting there. Officers called the Code enforcement Department, which boarded up a broken door.
Code enforcement inspectors visited the house twice in July, finding "junk and debris" in the driveway and "rotting fruit on the ground in the rear yard which creates rodent harborage," according to department documents.
Ron O'Connor, operations manager of the Code Enforcement Department, said homes in the Curtis Park area seldom were tagged as a public nuisance.
"It's a really nice neighborhood," he said.
Asked about the house, Richardson's office released a statement that said: "Neither Congresswoman Richardson nor her attorney have received any information referring to this matter. Any additional information will be provided at a later date."
Richardson has few worries in the November election. The 37th District is so solidly Democratic that no Republican is running against her. Democrat Peter Mathews, who has sought the seat several times before, is mounting a write-in campaign.
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The State of California is loaded with bad politicians, from the super-liberal to the corrupt, to the incompetent. One who might just take the cake is Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-CA), who represents the 37th District of California (Long Beach)in Washington. Prior to being elected to Congress, Richardson was a figure in California state politics.
What sets Richardson apart from all the other bums? Richardson may be the only one who could be termed a "deadbeat" due to her history of failure to pay her mortgages on various California homes.
After being elected to the state assembly in 2006, Richardson purchased a 2-story home in Sacramento with no down payment and at a sub-prime mortgage rate. On July 27 2008, the lender, Washington Mutual, foreclosed on the home when Richardson stopped making her payments and failed to make payments for almost a year. (A lien had also been placed on the home due to unpaid utility bills.) Total amount owed was $578,000.
Even though the house was later purchased by a broker at a foreclosure sale, Richardson was able somehow to get the bank to rescind the sale and return it to her. How she accomplished that is a matter of speculation. The broker charged "preferential treatment".
In addition to all that, neighbors have not been happy with Richardson's care -or lack thereof- of the home. Garbage and uncut grass have been a chronic problem. In short, the house is the eyesore of the neighborhood. According to the LA Times, the City of Sacramento has declared the house a "public nuisance".
The Sacramento house is not the only home that Richardson has owned. She also owns a home in San Pedro, in which her mother resides, and a home in Long Beach. Like the one in Sacramento, the Long Beach home is in disarray. The LA Times reported on 5-31-08 that, in the last 13 months (as of May), Richardson had defaulted 5 times to a tune of almost $71,000. According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, while Richardson has worked out a payment agreement on the Long Beach home, the San Pedro home faces foreclosure.
So aren't the voters of Long Beach proud of the representative they have sent to Congress? Visit Richardson's official webpage, and you will see nothing of this scandal. What you will read is the "accomplishments" of Richardson while in office. I won't bother to recite them here, I'm sure you all know them by rote. She also informs us that she is the 239th woman in Congress, blah, blah, blah.
Laura Richardson. Remember that name. If Obama names her as his running mate, you heard it here first.
gary fouse
fousesquawk