We asked each candidate to answer a few questions so that you can know a little more about their priorities. See responses from other candidates: Dawn Addis, Zoë G. Carter, John R. Drake, and Vicki Nohrden.
Which Assembly committee has the biggest impact on our region and why?
Housing and Community Development because we’re so far behind on our regional housing goals. Our workforce should be able to live in the communities they serve, and a thriving workforce makes for a thriving economy.
Rank the issues in order of importance for our city:
If elected, what will you do to address the issue you identified above as most significant?
Having worked for Habitat for Humanity and now as a policy director for the Campaign for Fair Housing Elements, I know that the housing crisis is far from fixed despite the steady march of new bills that have been signed into law over the past several years. If elected, I will leverage my housing expertise to advocate for real, lasting solutions to our housing crisis, like legislation to create new tools for local government and promote transit-oriented housing development. Our region’s teachers, nurses, first responders, and working families deserve to live in the communities they serve.
Do you think the state government is doing enough to support housing in our region? If not, what would you do to change it?
As a state, we are woefully behind on our housing goals, but I’m cautiously optimistic about the many newer bills that have been passed or proposed in the last few years. We’re making some progress but need to do more. We desperately need to increase our housing inventory at all levels of affordability. Too many families are struggling to keep up and stay in the communities they call home. As a start, if I’m elected, I’d advocate to increase Mullin Densities, remove the barriers to transit-oriented development, and require community colleges to provide student housing.
Which theme in the Chamber’s economic vision, Imagine SLO, do you think deserves the most focus in the next four years and why?
I think “We Before Me” is the most powerful and warrants the most focus over the next four years. Our challenges as a region, particularly housing, water, and infrastructure, are bigger than any one individual and any one city and need to be coordinated regionally. It’s why I’m running for Assembly. I respect the need to take a regional approach to solve our problems. No community, no matter how big it is, can solve all of its problems on its own, and despite well-meaning efforts, when partners and neighbors don’t work together, it leads to wasted effort and poor outcomes.