Working for AZ foreclosure relief this Labor Day

People deserve fair relief.

TUCSON -- Here's an opinion piece from me today about Arizona's foreclosure crisis and fighting for middle-class families.

ARIZONA DAILY STAR -- Sep 7 09

Dems worked to offer foreclosure relief

Re: the Aug. 30 article "Foreclosure forces elderly Tucson couple to relocate from their beloved home to rental."

The heart-wrenching feelings my family and I have about Jesús and Irma Terán's hardships are especially upsetting considering I and other Democrats worked hard at the Capitol this year trying to help families stay in their homes.

We introduced a package of bills to attack Arizona's foreclosure crisis and help keep middle-class families, our economic heart, in the homes they worked so hard for.

My House Bill 2601 offered a 60-day timeout to homeowners in danger of losing their home and suspended foreclosure for up to a year while fair loan terms were negotiated and honored. But Republicans refused to hear Democrats' foreclosure relief bills and more people are suffering because of it.

Jesús and Irma Terán are living a devastation too many Arizonans are increasingly facing. It is unacceptable that legislative Republicans continue to ignore this economic harm.

Rep. Daniel Patterson

Democrat, District 29, Tucson