Speaking of Opie
This morning we mentioned ex-Portland city commissioner Erik Sten in a post about his look-alike, Jefferson Smith. Perhaps coincidentally, an alert reader has found Sten, who quickly and mysteriously vanished from Portland after quitting the City Council in 2008, wheeling and dealing real estate. Not just any wheeling and dealing -- his company, Further Development, reportedly has a contract to buy up upside-down mortgages in Deschutes and Jackson Counties, with TARP money, and re-do them to help the borrower. The deals are being done by the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department through a nonprofit, Oregon Affordable Housing Assistance Corp.
A story on the program (without reference to Sten) appeared in yesterday's Bend Bulletin, but it will cost you 75 cents to read it here.
Sten's business partner is a guy named Morgan Smith, who once ran a Portland mortgage outfit called Morgan Financial. Also listed as a principal of the firm is David Thurman, who was the treasurer of the City of Portland during the Sten boy-wonder years. Apparently they'll get paid some kind of fee for sprinkling the TARP money around Bend.
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Comments (19)
And a minority, gender-diverse entity "partnering" around, to boot. How advantageous. And in Arizona, too. Shazam! Shazam! Shazam!
Posted by Mojo | July 25, 2011 1:37 PM
As I said on another post..."follow the money".
Posted by portland native | July 25, 2011 2:07 PM
Wasn't "Further" the name of Ken Keseys Bus? You are either on the bus or off the bus.
Posted by tom | July 25, 2011 2:19 PM
Two white guy form a front company of minority's to obtain and sprinkle government handouts to the white folk in Central Oregon. Huh. I don't know what to think. Smells funny though.
Posted by dman | July 25, 2011 2:59 PM
And the Further Development website is run by Mandate Media?
Now that was funny.
Posted by Ben | July 25, 2011 3:00 PM
That's funny that's the same thing I do, except I use my money and assume all the risk. Well looking at it again, it's not the same thing I do. Wonder what line you need to stand in to get his deal?
Posted by pj | July 25, 2011 3:08 PM
Well here is the money tree why don't you give them a call.
Financial Partners
Kapor Capital: kaporcapital.com/view/portfolio
The National Community Stabilization Trust: stabilizationtrust.com
The National Council of La Raza: nclr.org
The State of Oregon: oregonhomeownerhelp.org
The State of Arizona: azhousing.gov
Posted by Anon Too | July 25, 2011 3:26 PM
Another form of scam going on now is small to mid size banks taking on federal small business administration loans at subsidized rates, and then turning around and using these new federal largesse monies to pay off their existing TARP debts to the federal government.
Sounds like Sten has gone into the carpet bagger business.
Another carpet bagger may be a certain ex-director of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He started the Bonneville Trust which makes bank on government imposed "environmental" offsets and other government imposed constraints. You'll often see him running in and out of the Oregon capitol building with lawyer case in hand trying to swing some new lucrative new regulation (lucrative for the likes of his "non-profit" and other such organizations).
Good intentions ultimately make some connected folk good money although I can't say there's much actual value added in their services.
Posted by Bob Clark | July 25, 2011 6:29 PM
I wonder if any cuts in funding these scams are in Obama's plan?
Posted by Abe | July 25, 2011 7:29 PM
50% African American on the "Development Team" is surely progressive as I am dead sure that Portland and Oregon is not nearly 50% African American. Hell, I would wager the vast majority of underwater home mortgages in Oregon or Arizona are not 50% African American.
I wonder how many of those "330" of those underwater mortgages will be fairly applied for or chosen because the applicant is of minority status? Knowing Portland, OR, I assume the latter.
Why be representative when you can be progressive? Screw the majority as far as Little Beirut AKA Portland, OR is concerned. I don't wonder why the unemployment is so high in Portland, OR. Just wait until the bond markets collapse, then you will see the crap hit the fan.
Posted by Killiana1a | July 25, 2011 8:36 PM
Huh. I thought that might be him, shopping at my local Safeway.
Posted by Molly | July 25, 2011 8:38 PM
I wonder how many of those "330" of those underwater mortgages will be fairly applied for or chosen because the applicant is of minority status?
Have another drink. Read what it says. These houses are in Deschutes and Jackson Counties.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 25, 2011 9:23 PM
LOL. Jack wins the round!
Posted by dman | July 25, 2011 9:40 PM
Sten, in his private sector phase. In a way, Sten is like Neil Goldschmidt, writ small.
So this is the opportunity Sten quit the council midterm to exploit? In early January, 2008, he couldn't have seen the foreclosure crises and TARP coming. Even if some could, I don't think he in particular is that smart. When interest rates rise, which they are bound to do, the real estate market is going to take another hit, and will be a volatile place to be invested. Sten may end up losing his inheritance.
Posted by boycat | July 26, 2011 6:13 AM
Maybe Tigger the Tiger could come on board and do sign waiving in front of the foreclosed homes? His tenure in Congress is coming to an unseemly end and I'm sure he could use the money.
Bonus: another minority to add to the masthead!
Posted by Mister Tee | July 26, 2011 6:29 AM
Bonus: another minority to add to the masthead!
Beyond that, what's the Atlanta connection here? I'm not getting that.
Posted by boycat | July 26, 2011 7:00 AM
La Raza? The Race. This is a racist organization of Mexican reductionists. They have seen their American taxpayer funding go through the roof as Obama appointed one of their vicious and divisive hater grubbers to a key federal position.
Posted by LL | July 26, 2011 8:52 AM
Another sponsor is 'Chicanos por La Causa.' Can someone please tell me what The Cause is?
Posted by concordbridge | July 26, 2011 11:13 AM
make that "reductionist" irredentist
Posted by LL | July 26, 2011 4:02 PM