Old North News

Meghan Corneal wants to know whose side Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is on.

Corneal, managing director of Rooted Impact, an international feminist collective based in Asheville, is concerned McHenry, the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee, is putting Wall Street firms and employees who have supported his campaigns ahead of his constituents. She wants to see him push for bills that will help the struggling hotel industry, but fears he is more interested in Wall Street than Main Street.

“It has recently come to my attention that Congress is considering an important piece of legislation that would provide much needed reprieve to our very own commercial real estate owners,” Corneal told Old North News. “I have unfortunately heard that Congressman McHenry is not in support of this piece of bipartisan legislation. It is so important for Congressman McHenry and the House Financial Services Committee to pass this critical piece of legislation to help commercial real estate borrowers.”

Corneal, an Asheville resident, said she sees the need for congressional assistance for companies that have taken a severe fiscal loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hotels have been especially hard hit with travel restrictions and reduced business activity.

“Driving through downtown Asheville, you can see the number of commercial businesses that continue to be negatively affected by the impacts of the coronavirus,” she said. “There are lots of small and medium-sized commercial real estate owners in our district who are facing massive declines in revenues.

“These folks are trying to manage their own businesses while also offering rent concessions to their tenants — many of whom in Asheville are mom and pop businesses. Additionally, many of our favorite local businesses are both owners and landlords and they need debt relief to make it through these times, so that we still have our favorite coffee shops, restaurants, and shops when this is all over.”

Hotels across the country have formed a group to build support for congressional assistance to keep their industry afloat. HOTELS Together is calling for a package it has dubbed “Fairness in Hotel Lending Standards” to address the needs of hotel borrowers while preserving asset values for its lenders.

It also has supported the passage of the Workplace Recovery Act, sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.). 

“This proposed legislation would help not only commercial real estate borrowers but also the many small businesses who are their tenants,” Corneal said. “Asheville needs this legislation badly because the tourism industry really needs the assistance to pay down their mortgage loans, as so many businesses continue to suffer significant losses in revenues.”

She said she hopes McHenry, in his eighth term representing the state’s 10th Congressional District, sides with local businesses, not big investors.

 “I understand that big Wall Street firms are Congressman McHenry’s top campaign contributors and that many of these firms actually want commercial properties to foreclose so they can buy them up on the cheap,” she said. “But what’s good for Wall Street billionaires isn’t always good for main street businesses.”

In 2019-20 alone, McHenry received $682,700 from donors in securities, investments and insurance, according to the website Open Secrets, which tracks campaign fundraising and spending.

“As a constituent, it is troubling to hear Rep McHenry could potentially favor his Wall Street campaign contributors over our very own local business community,” Corneal said. “I would have trouble supporting Congressman McHenry if he fails to put his constituents above his campaign contributors. We want to avoid another 2008 with billionaires swooping in to benefit from foreclosures. Our small and medium-sized commercial community needs this debt relief package to keep going.”