LOSING THE DREAM Montbello Burns as Officials Stand By Op-ed by Theo E. J. Wilson
PRESENTED BY
DIANNE REEVES FEATURING:
Peter Martin Romero Lubambo Reginald Veal Terreon Gully
JAN 25 \ SAT 7:30 PM The lush vocals, unparalleled improvisation, and skilled lyric interpretations of Dianne Reeves make her a powerhouse of jazz and she has multiple GRAMMY® awards to prove it. Enjoy an evening of jazz as the legendary singer and University of Colorado graduate returns to Denver for a program featuring world premiere charts created just for us. BOETTCHER CONCERT HALL IN THE DENVER PERFORMING ARTS COMPLEX
TICKETS START AT
$25 SEE ALL THAT’S YET TO COME IN 2014
coloradosymphony.org CALL
303.623.7876 BOX OFFICE
mon-fri 10 am - 6 pm sat 12 pm - 6 pm STUDENT
$10 tickets day of with valid student ID
F
oreclosure: It’s what’s for dinner. Unless you live in Montbello, then you’re on the menu. A whopping 56 percent of the homes there have been foreclosed on in the last 10 years, as opposed to 13 percent for the rest of Denver, according to Denvergov.org. Yeah, it’s that bad! What’s worse are those elected officials who allow this to happen; officials whom, when given the choice to be public servants or careerists, have chosen the latter. Warning: Exposed here is a dangerous trend of double-dealing and political back-scratching in this city. It’s about to bring heavy losses to the average voter if politics and business continue to mingle like this. Scary to think that 25.4 percent of Denver’s homeless were newly homeless in 2013, according to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. Keep in mind that it has been a crime to be homeless in Denver since 2012. Both Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver City Councilman (District 8) Albus Brooks sponsored legislation banning the homeless from “camping” in public. This move was conveniently timed to strike at the Occupy Movement’s momentum. Occupy’s gripe was that regular folks can’t get ahead. There are almost no pensions and retirements left. The only way to collect substantial wealth is through the value of homes, nowadays. That wealth is being robbed. So, let’s put a human face on the foreclosure problem. Meet Montbello homeowner, Linda Donna. She grew up believing that doing all the ‘right stuff’ would make
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – January 2014
10
her successful. You know, to put God first, work hard, save money and you too can have the American dream; property ownership and its implied financial freedom. She got pretty darn close to that dream, too. During her 34 years at Denver Water, she was able to buy several properties from her income; the first was in Montbello in 1979. After she bought her second house, she sub-leased the older one to a family who needed a home and to build their credit. She continued this process until she owned the debt on four homes, but was fired from Denver Water for having “too ethnic of a voice,” allegedly. Donna took them to court and fought to keep the position that she created after more than three decades of service. Her efforts were unsuccessful. Then, the rough seas began. How would you like to find out you’re in foreclosure because Bank of America put your money in the wrong account and have paperwork to prove they misallocated funds for more than two years – then tried to take the houses. With no family here in Denver, her back was against the wall. Donna had to liquidate her 401K and savings to fight this case. What she found was that even when you can get a lawyer, the law firms can swindle you with outlandishly high attorney fees. Donna started a company called PaperWORKS 4 Seniors, LLC which she runs to help older homeowners cut through the fine print. The Denver Post ran a story about homeowners paying too much on August 18, 2013. In that article, they revealed that many homeowners were getting charged for nonexistent foreclosure cases. So, what if Donna didn’t have the assets? Where do they go once they lose? Who is the representative in charge of Montbello? Well, it turns out State Rep. Angela Williams is over District 7, the Montbello/Green Valley Ranch neighborhoods. She got herself into some hot water for killing House Bill 131249 (the Colorado Mortgage Accountably and Housing Stabilization act) after publically supporting it. This measure could have armed homeowners against this kind of corruption. Community activists were outraged, including Darren O’Connor, a member of Occupy