History has shown us that the people are not her top priority
This paper and many of the people who read it reflect the struggles and strife of the 99%. We know firsthand the hardship of being repeatedly taken advantage of by big banks and Wall Street- the 1%. Like many of the communities this paper reaches, the 44th Congressional District has fallen victim to the greed of corporate America time and time again. Corporate America is pushed families out of their homes and profited off of their misfortune. Home foreclosures, deceptive lending practices, and too good to be true mortgages far too frequently plague the average, hardworking families of our community and often leave them high and dry with no way out of their financial situation. Children are left without a good meal on the table, shoes on their feet, and parents are forced to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
Despite what her campaign suggests, Congressional candidate Nanette Barragan is part of this 1%. Barragan’s sunny enclave of Hermosa Beach is a world away from the real life challenges of residents in Watts, Compton, Wilmington, Lynwood and South Gate. Barragan has demonstrated that her priority is keeping communities like Hermosa Beach rich, while poor communities like those in the 44th Congressional District continue to suffer. Throughout the campaign, Barragan falsely said she’s “running to be a voice for the working men, women, and families” and has implied she’s “a candidate who puts working people ahead of powerful special interests — yet she gets paid by big Wall Street banks to prey on poor working families and foreclose on their homes.
Barragan is running for political office on a platform of standing up for poor and working class families, yet her background contradicts the core of what these issues mean. A corporate shill for greedy Wall Street banks like Deutsche bank, Barragan lined her pocket and got rich by serving as the attorney for these big banks as they sought to expedite the foreclosure process of poor working families during the housing crisis. At a time when the economy was in a downward tailspin and headed into the Great Recession, people were losing their jobs, their healthcare, and struggling just to make ends meet, and all the while Barragan was accepting huge sums of money from these bad actors for helping them to kick families and children out of their homes.
As a corporate lawyer, she represented the greedy Wall Street banks that pushed poor, working class families out of their homes. She is part of the institution that benefits and thrives off of the misfortune of the less fortunate. As a lawyer representing big banks, she forced families out of their homes on several occasions taking advantage of their situation.
On one occasion, Barragan representing one of the local banks wrongfully foreclosed on a Latino family. Barragan sided with the bank who deceived the hardworking family. The family was induced to forego mortgage payments under the false pretense that they would get a better deal and that the foreclose sale would be postponed. Instead of lifting up the needs of hard working people and ensuring their voices be heard, she took advantage of the financial situation of a hardworking Latino family to turn a profit.
On another occasion, Barragan represented the former Wall Street bank Washington Mutual who took advantage of an immigrant family who couldn’t speak English and couldn’t read the disclosures of risks of adjustable mortgage rates. Barragan faulted the couple for their lack of English and took advantage of their situation to kick them out of their homes and profit off of their loss. In her campaign communications she touts that “Immigrants are a crucial part of our nation’s economy, particularly in Southern California, and we need to embrace them and help better incorporate them into our society,” but she has proven time and time again that she has no mercy for the hardships and struggles of immigrants or poor families. Instead of helping to incorporate them into our society, she has kicked them out of their homes and hung them out to dry.
Barragan had a choice: does she side with poor immigrants or with rich corporations. Barragan has sided with big banks and big corporations time and time again deceiving families and taking advantage of those less fortunate. Barragan has gotten rich representing and defending big banks and Wall Street investment firms who thrive off of kicking families out of their homes, even if they can’t read the foreclosure notice.
Contrary to what her campaign is falsely advertising, Nanette Barragan has prioritized her personal wealth and Hermosa Beach lifestyle over the needs of our community, causing pain and suffering to many poor families who are struggling to make ends meet.
Actions have consequences. Barragan’s actions have hurt our community. Barragan is unfit for public office and voters should reject her deceptive, race-bating campaign for US Congress.
