Kennedy vetoes Lynn foreclosure ordinance

LYNN – Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy vetoed a foreclosure mediation ordinance that drew more than 200 supporters to an April 9 City Hall hearing where City Councilors unanimously approved the proposal.”While I do not question the noble intentions underlying the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights Ordinance, I have serious concerns about approving it as law in the City of Lynn,” Kennedy wrote in a veto message to the 11 councilors.See also:Lynn group protests vetoCouncil President Timothy Phelan said he has eight votes needed to override the veto at the council’s next meeting May 14.”We are trying to save people’s homes. If we save one person’s home, it’s worth it,” he said.The ordinance, drafted by Phelan with help from Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano, required mortgage holders to sit down with homeowners facing foreclosure and try to work out a loan modification.Read the ordinanceSouthern Essex Register of Deeds John L. O’Brien Jr. drew cheers at the April 9 hearing when he vowed – if the ordinance became law – to not file foreclosure deeds for Lynn properties from banks and other loan holders unless they were accompanied by a city certificate indicating loan mediation had been attempted.Kennedy in her veto letter pointed to state and federal government as “the province” for addressing “many of the protections and remedies contemplated by the Lynn ordinance.””Put quite simply,” the mayor wrote, “the loan agreement underlying the mortgage is a legal, binding contract between the borrower and the lender, and I do not believe that it is the right of government to interfere with any such existing contract.”The Homeowner Bill of Rights is the second council proposal vetoed by Kennedy this year. Councilors on Feb. 12 voted 8-3 to override her veto of a council proposal limiting local locations for medical marijuana dispensaries.Kennedy also noted in her foreclosure veto that ordinance language allowing homeowners to remain in foreclosed properties as tenants “would likely lead to lengthy and costly challenges in the courts.”Phelan said capacity crowd attendance at the April 9 hearing underscores why the city needs foreclosure mediation.”There are a lot of people in the city who are struggling. Most of the time, they are a silent majority, but, at that council meeting, they were the vocal majority,” Phelan said.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].