Received this e-mail today from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. MA) in support of former Consumer Financial Protections Bureau director, Richard Cordray’s (D. OH) gubernatorial campaign:
When we were setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to hold the big banks accountable, I couldn’t do it alone. We needed people – smart, courageous people – who were willing to fight.
And that’s why I recruited former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to join our team.
Everyone was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis – but Ohio got hit really hard. Wall Street had gambled with our economy, and Ohio families paid the price with their jobs, their homes, and their life savings. So Rich Cordray fought back: He took on AIG. And Merrill Lynch/Bank of America. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. His office forced Wall Street to return nearly $2 billion to the workers, retirees, and investors of Ohio.
Rich Cordray spent six years leading the CFPB, but his fight isn’t over yet: Yesterday, Rich announced he is running to be the next Governor of Ohio. I’m going to miss Rich in Washington, but I couldn’t be happier for him or the people of Ohio. Time and again, Rich has fought for working families everywhere, and now is our chance to fight for him.
Electing Rich Cordray isn’t going to be an easy fight – the big banks and powerful interests are going to fight as hard to stop him in Ohio as they fight to stop us in the Senate. Will you stand with Rich and be one of the first supporters of his campaign to take back Ohio for working families?
With Rich Cordray in charge, the CFPB handled more than a million complaints of people who had been cheated on their credit cards, mortgages, student loans, and other financial products. And the CFPB has forced big financial institutions to return about $12 billion directly to the people they cheated.
That means Wall Street banks already have about 12 billion reasons to stop Rich Cordray from becoming Governor of Ohio.
The people of Ohio deserve a leader they can trust to have their backs when it matters most. They deserve a fair and effective leader who gets things done. And they deserve an honorable public servant who will fight for them at every turn. There is no better person to do that than my friend Rich Cordray.
I am proud to be standing with Rich Cordray today – and I have no doubt he’ll be a great governor. He’s been fighting for working people his whole life – and I hope you’ll consider fighting for him today to help him continue his work as the next governor of Ohio.
Click here to make one of the first contributions to Richard Cordray’s campaign. Even $5 can make a huge difference.
And let me make one more point. In Ohio, Rich isn’t going to be on the ballot alone. The consumer agency will be there right along with him. There will be a lot of people who take shots at the agency to undermine Rich. I want to make sure he has the resources he needs to fight back and defend the agency and the great work he did – because he deserves it, and so does the agency.
Thanks for being a part of this, and Go Rich!
Elizabeth