How will Leventhal vote on repeal of anti-predatory loan legislation?

George Leventhal’s possible support for a vote to repeal a significant Montgomery County Council piece of legislation on predatory loans is an important one to watch. Takoma Park-based Leventhal, who holds an At-Large council seat and is current council president, has been excellent on environmental and health initiatives but is often regarded as a fence-sitter when it comes to broader issues.

Presently, the only consistently progressive council members are Tom Perez, Marilyn Praisner, and Phil Andrews. Lone Republican Howard Denis sometimes votes right. Historically both Leventhal and Floreen were backed by current county executive Doug Duncan and his developer-friendly slate; hence the question of their loyalty when it comes to fast-growth votes.

You can always count on upcounty councilmember Mike Knapp to take the most conservative position. Lately Michael Subin has been the most rebellious and anxious to distance himself from the former Duncan slate. Steve Silverman is generally voting liberally since he is running for county executive. The predatory loans legislation recently passed by the county council, which became law on March 8, curbed discrimination by mortgage lenders and established tough fines for violations. What happened next was a small group of mortgage brokers trying to get independent agencies such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to issue opinions denouncing the law. In fact, those entities said the law would have no effect on their business. However, the brokers did succeed in getting the Bush Administration to issue an advisory opinion denouncing the bill, and state judge Michael Mason ordered the county not to enforce the law until he schedules a July hearing.

Knapp and Denis, who opposed the original bill, see this as a chance to repeal the law. If they can recruit Leventhal, Floreen, and Silverman to join them, the Montgomery County anti-lending discrimination legislation could be quashed.

To date, over 60 local jurisdictions including Fairfax County, Va. have laws on the books that are as strong or stronger and have experienced no negative repercussions. But because of a lot of fear-mongering generated by a small group of mortgage brokers, African Americans and Latinos might be denied a chance to get decent housing in our county.

Leventhal’s vote might be key. What he decides will tell us a lot about the courage of his convictions.

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