The links below are highlights from a June 2008 investigative article presented by the Boston Globe entitled ‘Grim proving ground for Obama’s housing policy‘ The star players in this saga are Barack Obama and his long time associates some of whom serve on his campaign staff. All have contributed money to his campaigns, some since his state senator days. They have all been connected financially and have a dismal record in the housing business which bears directly on Obama’s community organizing activities and failures in judgment in the public and private sector.
Everyone is probably familiar with Tony Rezko but there are others here who may not be so well known. Hopefully that will change as their records and connection with Barack Obama for many years and to this day say a great deal about the man running for President who is so protective of his past. Barack Obama’s string of bad decisions and failure to meet the most basic standards of propriety are demonstrated in this report from the Boston Globe. How is it that even though this report has been available since June 2008 there is very little effect from it in terms of travelling through the media? How would a story like this affect a political candidate other than the Messiah? Yet those opposed to Obama for President are sometimes referred to as ‘bubbas’ or simply racist. Is it racist to be opposed to corrupt real estate deals, mismanaging properties, using one’s office to receive special favors for associates and gross negligence of one’s responsibility to the public?
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama’s presidential campaign and a member of his finance committee. Jarrett is the chief executive of Habitat Co., which managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until this winter and co-managed an even larger subsidized complex in Chicago that was seized by the federal government in 2006, after city inspectors found widespread problems.
Allison Davis, a major fund-raiser for Obama’s US Senate campaign and a former lead partner at Obama’s former law firm. Davis, a developer, was involved in the creation of Grove Parc and has used government subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,500 units in Chicago, including a North Side building cited by city inspectors last year after chronic plumbing failures resulted in raw sewage spilling into several apartments.
Antoin “Tony” Rezko, perhaps the most important fund-raiser for Obama’s early political campaigns and a friend who helped the Obamas buy a home in 2005. Rezko’s company used subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,000 apartments, mostly in and around Obama’s district, then refused to manage the units, leaving the buildings to decay to the point where many no longer were habitable.
Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama’s campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised at least $200,000, by Obama’s own accounting.
One of those contributors, Cecil Butler, controlled Lawndale Restoration, the largest subsidized complex in Chicago, which was seized by the government in 2006 after city inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.
Woodlawn Preservation hired a private management firm, William Moorehead and Associates, to oversee the complex. In 2001, the company lost that contract and a contract to manage several public housing projects for allegedly failing to do its job. The company’s head, William Moorehead, was subsequently convicted of embezzling almost $1 million in management fees.
Woodlawn Preservation hired a new property manager, Habitat Co. At the time, the company was headed by its founder, Daniel Levin, also a major contributor to Obama’s campaigns. Valerie Jarrett was executive vice president.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Public Affairs, Money Matters, wordpress, Politics, campaign, election, conspiracy, News Media, disclosure, ethics, obama.
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