Outstanding parking tickets. On a more dubious note, Obama also became adept at collecting parking tickets in Somerville, MA. BHO avoided paying the fines for over 19 years. They were only paid in 2007 after he announced his candidacy to run for president.
According to George P. Hassett, Senior Editor of the Somerville News, "Before Barack Obama was a United States senator and a presidential hopeful, he was a Harvard University law student living in Somerville who parked in bus stops and accumulated hundreds of dollars in parking tickets. And, for nearly two decades, those parking tickets went unpaid until a representative of Obama’s settled all his outstanding debts with Cambridge’s Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department Jan. 26 [2007]…"
During his time at Harvard, BHO lived at 366 Broadway in Somerville, according to his parking tickets. Records from the Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation office show that between Oct. 5, 1988 and Jan. 12, 1990, BHO was cited for 17 traffic violations, sometimes receiving two in the same day. The violations included parking in a resident permit area, parking in a bus stop and failing to pay the meter. Twelve of BHO’s 17 tickets were given to him on Massachusetts Avenue. In one eight-day stretch in 1988, BHO was cited seven times for parking violations and was fined $45. Thirteen of the 17 violations occurred within one month in 1988.
BHO’s disobedience of the rules of the road earned him $140 in fines from the City of Cambridge. The tickets went unpaid for over 19 years and $260 in late fees were added to the tab. On Jan. 26. the fines and late fees were paid in full. The final tally for Obama’s parking breaches was $400, according to Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation.
Obama spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said the presidential candidate’s parking violations were not relevant. "He didn’t owe that much and what he did owe, he paid…Many people have parking tickets and late fees. All the parking tickets were paid in full," Psaki said.
Most ordinary Americans are treated differently when parking tickets are not paid. The collection process commonly results in "offenders" being tracked down and forced to pay outstanding traffic tickets, including court costs; nonpayment of parking tickets can also result in suspension of driving "privileges," jail, wage garnishments, liens and/or foreclosures on real property. Why was BHO allowed to avoid paying those fines for more than 19 years despite his notoriety as a U.S. senator? What gives him immunity from the very laws he helps create?
Street view: