City/Town: Hibbing
Legislative District: House District 07A
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Candidate responses in italics.
Q1: Housing plays a critical role in economic stability, health, and quality of life for individuals and families. However, disparities in housing continue to affect communities of color, people with disabilities, rural communities, and other historically underserved populations. What meaningful actions should be taken to acknowledge, address, and eliminate housing inequities and advance housing opportunities for all Minnesotans
I believe families should be given rebates for building accessory dwelling units, or granny pods to encourage multi-generational living.
I believe the state should consider building housing that is available for low income homeowners to rent to own on a 10-year plan which would build equity until the homeowner could obtain a conventional mortgage for the property and pay the state back.
I believe we should have a moratorium on corporate entities purchasing single family homes for rent. I believe we should create limits on vrbo’s and other vacation rental type properties.
I believe we should reduce the funding we provide for large corporate builders and increase the surveillance of enticement programs to make sure that they are complying with the requirements to have a percentage of units maintain affordable rents.
Q2: Supportive housing combines affordable housing with support services that help people who face the most complex challenges to live with stability, autonomy, and dignity. Supportive housing provides better outcomes and is fiscally responsible. What will you do to ensure community members who are unhoused or unstably housed receive the support they need to obtain or keep their own homes?
I believe that social service programs are best provided as a government service to ensure that the primary motivation is to help the people who are served rather than to create profit for a private contracting company. I would increase social service funding and hire than necessary afscme employees to assist those who are unoused or unstably housed with the financial, maintenance and behavioral supports needed to maintain their housing.
Q3: Homeownership is a way to build generational wealth, provide family and household stability, and support community vibrancy. More and more Minnesotans are priced out of owning a home because of rising housing costs, including purchase price, homeowners’ insurance, and property taxes. What steps will you take to increase opportunities for renters and first-time homebuyers to purchase homes, condos, or cooperative ownership models?
refer to answer one.
I would create a program where the state actually builds and owns houses that are for sale to lower income renters who do not have a cosigner. a rent to own program where renters build equity over 10 years, with their portion of the rent payment being equal to a mortgage payment, would be a benefit to renters and to the state.
with this program, there would be a pathway to homeownership rather than a lifetime of subsidized rentals. the state would have the opportunity to get all of their money back when the renter is able to obtain a conventional mortgage because they have sufficient equity in the property. when we pay rental subsidies, that money never comes back and the renter is no closer to home ownership than before we paid that money for them.
Q4: In the last several years, bipartisan action to streamline building of new homes and apartments has passed in several states, including: allowing for multifamily buildings in select commercial areas, limiting parking requirements, allowing smaller homes on smaller lots, and more homes per lot in residential areas like duplexes, fourplexes, and accessory dwelling units. What reforms do you support to modernize zoning to both enable homes to be more affordable statewide and improve city tax bases?
I would allow for two or three designs of freestanding accessory dwelling units which are attractive and comfortable. by mass producing these units, we could make them more affordable for average families. encouraging multi-generational living opens up single family homes in the community, addresses shortage of personal care attendance and the shortage of childcare.
Q5: Despite housing being the largest cost in the average household budget, housing receives only a small fraction of the total state budget at just 0.3%. A lack of ongoing reliable funding for housing in Minnesota’s state budget has resulted in an undersupply of stable homes affordable to our workforce, our elders, and our families. In recent years, a constitutional amendment for housing, which would dedicate revenues from a sales tax increase to housing, has gained momentum at the legislature. What revenue options will you champion to more adequately meet our need for reliable funding for homes we can afford?
much of the money for housing is federal. I would lobby for changes in federal policy which would allow States more flexibility in spending that money. I would add graduated taxes on corporate rental companies based on the number of units that they own as well as units they are actively renting.
Q6: If you have other housing policy priorities, especially specific to your district’s housing needs, please share them here.
I would rework the Iron range resources and rehabilitation landlord subsidy programs to ensure that the work they claim they are doing is actually being done, there are lifetime maximums per landlord to avoid building monopolies, and there are clawbacks when landlords raise the rent beyond a certain percentage, leave the building empty or sell the property within 5 years of the remodel.