Published: October 05, 2008 12:34 am      

Long Thompson's message: Mediate foreclosures

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson used a Friday appearance in Jeffersonville to talk up a plan that would use mediators to renegotiate mortgages on the verge of foreclosure.

It’s part of a legislative package for which she would push to address home loan foreclosures if elected next month.

“When a family faces foreclosure on their home … it becomes a community problem,” she said.

She said Indiana has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

The program is modeled after a similar one that she said has been working in Philadelphia, where mediators have been working with lenders and borrowers on a pro bono basis.

In that city, she said, about 80 percent of mortgage foreclosures were either stopped or delayed.

Further, she would push for laws that would ban predatory lending and extend foreclosure notice periods.

Long Thompson faces Republican incumbent Gov. Mitch Daniels, who came to office in 2005. Polls have varied on the closeness of the race — some have shown them as close as only a few percentage points, others show Daniels with a comfortable lead.

He touts economic prosperity in campaigning.

However, in a number of appearances, including two debates, Long Thompson has attacked the governor on the issue.

“Governor Daniels likes to talk as if everything is rosy,” she said Friday, adding that Indiana ranks second in business bankruptcy and has lost 64,000 jobs during the last year.

Further, she said, Daniels deserves some of the blame for the faltering U.S. economy, noting that he served as President George W. Bush’s budget director prior to running for governor.

Cam Savage, Daniels’ campaign manager, responded by saying that Daniels has been very proactive in attracting jobs to the state.

“Indiana is standing out from all our neighbors,” he said.

Additionally, Daniels created a solid budget surplus in Indiana during his years as governor, Savage said.

The clash between the candidates will continue later this month when they’ll meet in Bloomington for their final debate on Oct. 14.

Election Day is Nov. 4