Few issues under the Dome are as arcane or difficult to grasp as the subprime mortgage mess. Here's a list of a few people who do get it – and play key roles in how it's being dealt with:
• Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden. The 14-year legislative vet who's termed out this year is chairman of the Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee. He's hands-down the most knowledgeable lawmaker on mortgage financing.
• Preston DuFauchard. A former lawyer for Bank of America, he's the commissioner of the state Department of Corporations and is the Schwarzenegger administration's point man on mortgage matters. DuFauchard engineered the voluntary freeze of adjustable interest rates by four lenders last November.
• The Lobbyists: Jonathan Ross for the California Mortgage Bankers Association, Kevin Gould for the California Bankers Association, Mike Belote for the California Mortgage Association, among others, and Stan Wieg for the California Association of Realtors. Considered to be at the top of the list on the issue, not only because of whom they represent, but for their depth of experience and breadth of knowledge.
• The Advocates: Paul Leonard, director of the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition and Norma Garcia of Consumers Union are considered knowledgeable, pragmatic and persistent in representing consumers.
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