For California, Attorney General Insisted on Better Terms in Foreclosure Deal
LOS ANGELES — Kamala D. Harris, the attorney general of California, could have derailed a nationwide settlement with big banks over home foreclosure abuses when she walked out of talks last September.
Last week, though, she emerged with a prize and a little vindication. Ms. Harris, already a rising Democratic star and a potential candidate for governor, announced that California would receive by far the largest share of the benefits in the deal, which is expected to climb beyond the $26 billion in the initial announcement.
Along the way, Ms. Harris charted a lonely course, keeping her distance from potential allies and angering some of her peers in other states, who saw her as grandstanding. On one side, Ms. Harris, a close Obama ally, faced increasing pressure from the administration to return to the negotiating table. On the other, liberal groups mounted a concerted push to get her to wring more from the banks.
But Ms. Harris wagered that holding out until the end in the settlement talks would give her the most leverage. In the end, she walked away with far more than California was slated to receive in the early days of the talks and a little more than was on the table as recently as January. Beaming into the cameras last Thursday, she said California homeowners were guaranteed $12 billion in debt reduction, while most other states received only promises.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/business/how-kamala-harris-finessed-a-foreclosure-deal-for-california.html?pagewanted=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25
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