"Young lady, Wells Fargo does not make mistakes."As a professor, I could study and point out problems. But I wanted to do more to actually change our system. That's why I first ran for Congress in 2018.
Young lady, Wells Fargo does not make mistakes. Those were the words I heard in late 2007 after presenting my research showing 70% of lenders were trying to collect more money than homeowners believed they owed. Back up for a second: In 2007 I was a law professor researching whether banks were taking advantage of homeowners by claiming Americans owed more than they really did. In a sample of 1,700 cases, I found banks were asking people to pay $6 million more than they expected. Banks repeatedly didn’t have the documentation to back up their claims, and nobody in the system was willing or able to stop them. For so many families that meant losing their home entirely. It was a Wells Fargo lawyer who stood up after I presented my findings at a conference and lectured me on how the vast teams at Wells Fargo could afford to follow the law, and plenty of other Big Bank lawyers chimed in. The conventional wisdom was that banks were always right, and nobody needed to question it. If banks don’t make mistakes, the next logical conclusion was that this was in fact a deliberate strategy to break the rules and cheat borrowers. Because of this research, a few months later I was asked to testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Senator Chuck Schumer came prepared with a poster board, and pointed out how Wall Street boasted their strategy of foreclosure and late fees helped them become even more profitable. I left that hearing thinking punishment was coming for those lawbreaking banks, but for the most part they continued to collect every penny without following every rule. As a professor, I could study and point out problems. But I wanted to do more to actually change our system. That’s why I ran for Congress in the first place, and why I’m running for the U.S. Senate: to fight for the people who have been taken advantage of by big corporations and are struggling to get ahead. Thanks for reading, Katie P.S. – I don’t take a dime from corporate PACs, so if you’d like to help send me to the Senate, I’d be so grateful if you chipped in a few bucks to our campaign.
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Saturday, November 4, 2023
"Young lady, Wells Fargo does not make mistakes."
This email is a little more fun than most
While I've called California home for much of my adult life, I was born and raised on a farm in Iowa. And in fourth grade, I chose the state of California to do a state report on. I dug it up the other day:
Finding this report got me thinking about the unique job of not just being a U.S. Senator, but of being California's Senator.
I've heard time and time again that we need a Senator who forcefully pushes the federal government to invest in affordable housing for Californians. We need to make sure climate investment is coming back to California, where we lead the way in reducing pollution and creating clean energy. And we need someone who will help the best of California policy go national—like two years of free community college.
I'm proud to be a Californian, it's where I've chosen to raise my kids and send them to school. Now, I'm ready to continue campaigning in every part and pocket of our great state.
Onward!
Katie Porter
PS: If you want some early 1980's California travel tips, here's a look inside the report!
Friday, November 3, 2023
Speaker Johnson’s very desperate (but honest) fundraising plea
Speaker Mike Johnson is being honest in at least one part of this over the top hyperbolic fundraising plea: I refuse to put people over politics.
Our job is to serve our constituents, not score political points. But the new Speaker has already shown what type of leader he'll be. He's cozying up to lobbyists, corporations, and his fellow 2020 election deniers. It's the worst representation of what Washington can be.
Republicans reportedly had their best online fundraising of the year after Johnson was elected last week. It's critical Democrats stay ahead and take back the House. Our campaign's organizing work across California is going to help us do just that.
Katie
New poll alert!
A poll released today by the LA Times shows Katie one point ahead of all other candidates in this race!
But this same poll found that nearly half of likely voters have no opinion of Katie, and about a third of voters remain undecided about who they'll support.
So while our slim advantage is a sign of our momentum, there are still a lot of voters who could decide this race, and we need to introduce them to Katie ASAP.
I told Katie I'd email to see if you can chip in today. You can use this link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kp4s-em-20231103-1?personal=jambrose01.munchkinlegs@blogger.com
Thanks so much! You're an important part of Team KP.
Lacey
Campaign Manager
Katie Porter for Senate
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Why I’m endorsing Katie Porter for the U.S. Senate
Robert Garcia here. I'm the former mayor of Long Beach and a current Congressman serving Long Beach and Southeast LA. This week, I enthusiastically endorsed Katie Porter to be California's next U.S. Senator.
In this tough race, Katie is not taking any federal lobbyist or corporate PAC money. More on why I chose to endorse her below, but first, can you give $5 to her people-powered campaign right now?
When I ran for the U.S. House in 2022, Katie was the very first Member of Congress to endorse my campaign. Her support was incredibly valuable, and now that we serve together, I've seen firsthand what a force of nature and true warrior she is for working people.
Lots of politicians talk about making change, but Katie's actually done it. Before being elected, she took on the Big Banks and helped deliver financial relief for California families following the 2008 mortgage crisis. And in Congress, she's passed real legislation to crack down on fossil fuel companies and lower prescription drug costs.
Katie asks the tough questions that too many in Washington are afraid to ask. She's exactly who we need representing California in the U.S. Senate.
I can't wait to continue working with her to address our affordability crisis, invest in housing, and combat climate change. There are just four months until the primary, and she urgently needs your support. We'd be so grateful if you could pitch in a few bucks today.
Onward!
Robert Garcia
An idea so large and impactful, I need your help to get it done.
Jason -
This March, Californians like you will vote on an important ballot initiative — a once-in-a-generation reform to help people with acute mental illness and substance abuse problems get out of the shadows and out of encampments, and into the housing and treatment facilities they need to get better.
The initiative — Proposition 1, Treatment not Tents, will expand mental health and addiction services for tens of thousands of Californians each year, create supportive housing settings where over 11,000 Californians with the most severe mental health needs can live, recover, stabilize and thrive, and provide $1 billion to ensure our veterans experiencing homelessness, mental health and substance abuse issues are given the care they deserve.
The plan will save people's lives. It will give peace of mind to their families. It will make our communities safer.
No state has ever done anything at the level I am proposing. This is a priority for me, but it's an idea so big and bold that I can't do it alone. I need your help, and it starts with making your voice heard.
We see the signs of our broken system every day – too many Californians suffering from mental health needs or substance use disorders are unable to get support or care they need.
This will prioritize getting people off the streets, out of tents and into treatment.
Forget the cynics out there who say we can't save lives with smarter approaches to mental health. That's just not true.
We know what it takes to get it done.
This is one of those issues where we are truly all in it together.
There's not a human being reading this message that can't lay claim to this issue. Some of us more intimately than others.
But it impacts ALL OF US.
And we're not going to be able to help fix it without ALL OF US getting involved to make it happen.
And like I said, it starts with making your voice heard. It's a small and simple action, but it will get our campaign off on the right foot and demonstrate the strong desire to get people the help they need in our state.
Thank you for making your voice heard on this issue.
- Gavin Newsom
This email was sent to jambrose01.munchkinlegs@blogger.com . Email is a very important way we communicate with supporters like you, but if you want to, you can unsubscribe here.
PAID FOR BY CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY PAC
1787 Tribute Road, Suite K
Sacramento, CA 95815
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Add your name: We will never accept a nationwide ban on abortion
After Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, Republicans told us that if they control the House, Senate, and White House, they will ban abortion nationwide. Currently, in that scenario, there's nothing states like California could do to stop them.
Now, Mike Johnson—the new Speaker of the House—supports a national ban on abortion. This fight isn't over. Abortion and reproductive freedom is a fundamental right that can and must be codified into federal law.
In the Senate, Katie will be a fierce advocate for overturning the filibuster to protect and restore abortion access. We need to send a message to Mike Johnson: our movement is more powerful than his extremism and hate.
Thank you for being in this fight with Katie.
—Katie Porter HQ
