Congresswoman Laura Richardson Stiffs Local Vendors and Banks

If All is Fair in Love and Politics, Does This Include Not Paying Your Bills to Instead Finance a Run for Congress?

LONG BEACH, CA - Congresswoman Laura Richardson is a rising star in the Democratic Party. Beginning her career with the Long Beach City Council in 2000 and becoming an Assembly member in 2007, she filled the unanticipated vacancy created by the untimely death of Juanita Millender-McDonald. With a 99% voting record, as outlined by her congressional website, it is clear that she takes her appointment to elected office rather seriously and is a very driven career politician.

Environmental Surprise

A supporter of Hillary Clinton's bid for the democratic nomination, it was thus a bit of a surprise when Kelly Puente reported in 2007 on Congresswoman Richardson's unwillingness to partner with Greenpeace in offering her legislative support for a gas emissions reduction bill. Termed the Safe Climate Act and considered the brainchild of democratic Representative Henry Waxman from Los Angeles, this bill was thought by many to be the answer to the brown cloud so frequently seen hovering over Los Angeles and nearby communities.

Mortgage Embarrassment

The early year of 2008 has not been a good one for Ms. Richardson and her public relations either and when her name is now bandied about in the local papers, it has to do with an acute mortgage embarrassment.

Gene Maddaus from the Daily Breeze reported that since 2004 on her three properties - one in Sacramento, Long Beach, and San Pedro -- there are eight recorded mortgage defaults. It became obvious that instead of paying her mortgages, Ms. Richardson was taking money out of her real estate in order to fund her congressional campaigns. While for the last four years it appears that she avoided the direst consequences, embarrassment finally caught up with her when one of her properties was sold under foreclosure.

Local Vendor Outrage