Booher And Richardville Play Boy Toy To Lobbyists By Introducing Bill To Gut Homeowners’ Rights After Pocketing A Combined $137,000

Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and Freshman Senator Darwin Booher played boy toy to banking lobbyists. The two senators introduced Senate Bill 383 on Wednesday. The bill would reduce Michigan’s post-foreclosure redemption period from 6 months to 2 months.

It also appears the GOP majority wants to fast track this bill through the Michigan Senate. The Senate Committee on Banking already had a hearing on the proposal within 24 hours of its introduction. The Michigan Bankers Association wrote the bill. Lobbyists representing foreclosure mill operator David Trott also helped draft the bill.

I first heard about this Wednesday night from my contacts at National People’s Action. My first reaction was:

“Drag a wad of cash along the floor of the Michigan Senate Chambers and you never know who’ll be willing to play boy toy whore.”

I read the bill and sure enough, I was right. The two Senators who introduced this bill are known for introducing legislation written by lobbyists with deep pockets. They also don’t mind a lobbyist’s political whore.

Being A Lobbyist’s Boy Toy

Randy Richardville is the biggest boy toy in Michigan political history. He has taken $122,000 in campaign cash from banks and the Michigan Bankers Association since being elected to the Senate in 2006. Of this, $21,000 came directly from JPMorgan Chase, $50,100 from the Michigan Bankers Association and $24,000 came from other banks.

Richardville has been a fixture at the state capitol since 1998 and he hasn’t met a lobbyist he doesn’t like. In 13 years on the government payroll, he has also pocketed nearly $2 million dollars in campaign contributions from lobbyists.

Richardville’s partner in playing legislative boy toy is Freshman Senator Darwin Booher. Booher seems pretty comfortable being Richardville’s sidekick in their expeditions into playing political prostitutes. Bankers are more than happy to pay Booher. They got a much better deal with Booher. He was willing to whore himself out for $16,000 instead of the $122,000 it cost them with Richardville.