Is Rich Cordray Counseling, or Campaigning?

I’ve received the following e-mails in the past seven days from the office of Richard Cordray, Ohio Treasurer and Democratic candidate for Attorney General to replace Marc “The Man” Dann aka Marc “My Beloved” Dann (dates are per my e-mails):

Aug. 11 — BORROWER OUTREACH DAY RETURNS TO YOUNGSTOWN ON TUESDAY
Aug. 11 — BORROWER OUTREACH DAY TO BE HELD IN ELYRIA ON MONDAY
Aug. 8 — BORROWER OUTREACH DAY TO BE HELD IN CANTON ON WEDNESDAY
Aug. 5 — BORROWER OUTREACH DAY TO BE HELD IN DAYTON ON AUGUST 20
Aug. 5 — BORROWER OUTREACH DAY TO BE HELD IN LIBERTY TWP. ON AUGUST 19

I may have received one or two others and trashed them before I detected how frequent they have been.

A search on “borrower outreach” (without quotes) at the Treasurer’s yourmoneynowonline.org web site indicates that there has been a great deal of activity in August, while it appears as if the only previously announced “Borrower Outreach” event in 2008 was in March. A review of the Treasurer’s press releases indicates that only three Borrower Outreach events were announced in all of 2007. (I obviously can’t speak to how many events have actually been held, whether more or fewer).

The Ohio Democrats’ Central and Executive committees selected Cordray as the party’s AG candidate on June 21.

My concern is about the increased frequency of these event as opposed to their substance, which for the moment I won’t question. But did the mortgage foreclosure problems in Ohio, which I believe may have peaked some time ago, suddenly take some kind of turn for the worse?

Maybe Rich Cordray’s “Borrower Outreach” events aren’t really thinly-disguised “Rich Cordray for AG” campaign appearances, but their increased frequency is certainly curious — and awfully convenient for a November candidate who needs to get around the state for a different kind of outreach, i.e., “voter outreach.”

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UPDATE: While we’re on Cordray, the AG candidate’s web site boast about his early endorsement of “The One” I refer to as “Mr. BOOHOO-OUCH” (Barack O-bomba Overseas Hussein “Obambi” Obama – Objectively Unfit Coddler of Haters) puts him squarely in the “I’m OK with the reinstatement of partial-birth abortion” camp.

UPDATE 2: Russell Hughlock, who is Communications Technology Director for Mr. Cordray’s office, e-mailed me. I appreciate his response to this post.

He wanted to correct me on the number of previous events announced. But there are six announcements relating to four events at the Treasurer’s web site, so what I’ve posted remains correct.

Russell said that “These (events) are an on going effort to help homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure.” I have not questioned the events’ validity, and I’m not claiming that politicking takes place at them (I doubt it; it would be a total turn-off). My concern is their odd frequency — there are more events taking place in August 2008 than have taken place in the previous 12 months — just as the campaign season is beginning to heat up.

Russell supplied data indicating that Ohio foreclosures are on the rise — “current data indicates there were 84,751 new foreclosure filings in 2007, up from 79,435 in 2006 and 23,697 in the first quarter of 2008 alone.” I’ll take his word for it, though I believe that the number of actual properties involved may be fewer than the number of “new” foreclosure filings.

Given all of that, I would either question why there is so much activity now, or, alternatively, where the Treasurer has been in the past 18 months. This blog post, which I came across after receiving Russell’s e-mail, unfortunately has stats that don’t tie in (not surprising, given how many “filings” can be involved with one property under disclosure), but more importantly gives the impression that the problem has peaked:

The rate of foreclosures in the state of Ohio is flattening as per the reports of a firm that keeps a check on the US real estate foreclosures. It has also been stated by a lawyer, who has been playing a great role in providing help to the homeowners of Ohio to prevent foreclosures, that within a year or so the number of foreclosure homes is further going to come down in Ohio.

It has been reported by RealtyTrac that about 37,689 properties in Ohio got into foreclosure process on 25th July, 2008 (This sentence is very vague, but I’m going to take it to mean “all filings, including duplicates, during the second quarter of 2008.” — Ed.). This is 21 percent more than the records of the previous three months and 27 percent more than the same period in 2007. An attorney of the Equal Justice Foundation, Paul Bellamy said that there is still an ongoing shock due to the boiling down in the sub-prime mortgages. This situation started in Ohio and also in the Midwest before it affected the rest of the nation. Ohio has been facing it for the past 10 years.

I also don’t buy “the past 10 years” claim in the excerpt.

I DO acknowledge that the foreclosure workout process extends over many months after the date of foreclosure filings, and that the workload of those involved in this effort will not likely be going down any time soon.

I still (excuse the expression) “question the timing” of the increase in Borrower Outreach activity. I suppose the best way to demonstrate that the August flurry represents only a legitimate interest in troubled borrowers’ well-being would be to show the voters that no campaigning or politicking has occurred on the days he has previously visited the areas involved, and that none will occur during similar future visits. That’s why diaries and itineraries exist.

If that’s not the case, and campaigning is taking place before or after these events, in the towns in which they have been or will be held, or at locations en route to or on the way back from them, I would think that the Treasurer’s campaign should, at a minimum, be footing the bill, or reimbursing the state, for the costs involved in these trips, as well as all costs not directly related to the Borrower Outreach events. In fairness to Ohio’s Old and New Media, Cordray should also be notifying them that this is what he is doing, so they can decide whether or not to cover him.