Voting is a powerful way to support affordable housing at every level of government. Federal, state, and local elections all have an impact on housing.
Key Dates
- October 11 | Voter registration deadline
- Oct 17 – Nov 2 | Early voting period
- November 5 | Election Day
Quick Tips: Make sure to bring a photo ID to vote (e.g. an NC driver’s license). Check your registration to make sure it’s updated to your current address. And don’t forget to flip your ballot for the local races!
Where to Vote
There are three main ways to cast your ballot:
Vote early in person at any early voting location between Oct 17 – Nov 2. Find an early voting location.
Vote in person on Election Day at your assigned polling place (polls open from 6:30am – 7:30pm). Find your polling place.
Vote by absentee ballot. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5pm the Tuesday before Election Day.
Make Your Plan
Making a voting plan helps you commit to going to the polls and ensure your voice is heard. Start by updating your registration. Next, decide how you’ll vote. Will you vote early, on Election Day, or by mail (absentee)? Finally, plan when you'll go—before or after work, or maybe with your church group or friends.
Habitat Wake Candidate Questionnaire
Habitat Wake collected responses from 2024 local election candidates to share their stances on affordable housing with our network. Affordable housing is a key priority in this election, so please use this resource to inform your decision at the ballot box on November 5!
Habitat Wake is a nonpartisan organization. All the information and responses provided come directly from the candidates and is not an endorsement. We invited all candidates running for local office in Wake County and the City of Raleigh this November to respond to this questionnaire. Below are the candidates who submitted answers to the questionnaire.
Raleigh Mayor
Paul Fitts
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Affordable Housing – First let’s make sure everyone understands, you cannot make housing affordable until you make it available. We need to start converting underutilized commercial space which is truly the most cost effective way to create homeownership in an urban setting. I have already spoken to members of our General Assembly about removing Central and Women’s Prisons from Downtown Raleigh, we simply need the space. Central prison has 44 acres of land, women’s prison has 189 acres of land. These facilities can be relocated in areas that have much cheaper land and areas that good state paying jobs will bolster their local economies. We missed the boat on Dix which could have had SOME of its area designated for housing, but most of the underused state properties need to become housing (townhomes/rowhouses/condos). We need livable taxable properties to keep our city strong and vibrant.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
The difference between myself and other candidates is that I've actually housed people, regardless of color. It takes a think outside the box mentality to help EVERYONE. My career speaks for itself. Using the plan that I stated above will be a boon to underserved communities and all.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
There's no blanket answer to solve rent markets, if the city needs to use existing properties (like the buildings on Dix park) to be converted for lower income housing, we should explore that.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Again....the same plan applies. Use underutilized government owned properties and expand housing.
Janet Cowell
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
1) I broadly support the changes made by previous councils to increase diverse housing choices in Raleigh.
2) As a former Treasurer, I'd like to see Raleigh use the Tax Increment Finance* tool that has been deployed by Durham and Charlotte to provide another source of subsidies for affordable housing. (*One can designate a district that will benefit from public investment and then 'capture' some of the value created to use to subsidize housing or provide other amenities.)
3) I'd work with trusted partners and financial institutions/foundations to provide financing so long-term residents could have the option of personally redeveloping their single-family properties to duplexes, triplexes or quadraplexes, securing a unit for themselves, so as to capture the value creation and stay in their neighborhood vs. third-party developers capturing the benefit and they are displaced.
4) Inventory and analyze all government- and church-owned property to see how can better utilize for housing. I understand that direct sale can be a challenging proposition. Long-term leases should also be an option.
5) Partner with Raleigh Housing Authority that has specific rights and tools unavailable to other players such as project-based vouchers and could produce units that are more deeply affordable for longer periods of time.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I've been reading Richard and Leah Rothstein's book "Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted under the Color of Law".
1) Improve resources - transportation, healthy food, parks, medical care, financial services, etc. in lower-income black neighborhoods = place-based approach. Realize in Raleigh this approach can result in displacement given how many traditionally black neighborhoods are experiencing gentrification pressures. Need to foresee and mitigate secondary impacts.
2) Support mobility approaches - distributing affordable housing opportunities across the city vs. saturating a few neighborhoods.
3) Educate public on the history of discriminatory covenants in neighborhoods in Raleigh through inventory work by activists and researchers like Octavia Rainey and Lisa Boccetti. Work to update these covenants. Encourage bi-racial committees and inter-racial dialogue.
4) Build on the Obama Administration's 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
1) Include renters in public engagement as a under-represented voice.
2) The City should negotiate land transfers directly with the Housing Authority for City-owned properties that could then be developed with deep subsidies using tools only available to the Housing Authority. (Currently, the City uses an RFP process that is inefficient and does not produce as many units as the Housing Authority could.)
3) The City could use development agreements negotiated with developers, combined with city financial support, to create more thoughtful, integrated mixed use/mixed income developments. (Better than relying on conditional use rezoning process that generally only results in short-term affordable units for people making 80% AMI.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Preventing resident displacement
1) I'd like to understand the obstacles to scaling existing programs like weatherization, home repair, and property tax abatement for long-term residents to allow them to stay in their homes.
2) See my ideas above on providing financing tools to allow property owners to capture value of their property and remain in the neighborhood.
3) Property taxes in Raleigh have increased substantially in past years. We need to be disciplined in our budgeting decisions so as not to further drive people out of the City.
Increase affordable home ownership:
1) The City passed an $80 billion affordable housing bond in 2022. Need to ensure that city processes allow for rapid deployment of these dollars so that the passage of time doesn't erode the spending power of the bond.
2) Efficient execution of housing projects across the board and balanced approach to regulatory costs so as not to further drive up the cost of housing.
Eugene Myrick
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
To address the housing affordability crisis, it’s absolutely necessary to recognize the shortcomings of the current methods used to determine affordability, such as the Area Median Income (AMI) model, and consider alternative models like the Neighborhood Median Income (NMI) approach. In short, our city needs to redefine "AFFORDABILITY". AMI is the standard metric used to determine what is considered "affordable" in housing. I propose that the city convert to an NMI (Neighborhood Median Income) metric to determine affordability. NMI is an alternative approach that calculates median income based on a much smaller geographic area, like a neighborhood, rather than a broad region. This method aims to provide a more accurate reflection of the actual income levels and economic conditions of specific communities. For example, in lower-income neighborhoods, affordable housing developments would be priced according to what residents in that specific area can afford, rather than the broader and potentially inflated AMI. This means that affordable housing would truly be affordable for those who need it most.
Improved Resource Allocation: By focusing on NMI, we can better allocate public and private funding to create housing that serves residents at various income levels within each neighborhood. This model would also encourage developers to build housing that aligns with local incomes, which could attract more investment in diverse types of housing.
Preventing Displacement: By implementing affordability measures tied to neighborhood incomes, we can prevent displacement caused by new developments that are only affordable to those with higher incomes. This would help to stabilize communities, preserve cultural and historical identity, and maintain socio-economic diversity.
Encouraging Local Development Solutions: Using NMI allows for more granular data, which can guide policies to develop neighborhood-specific solutions. For instance, local governments could offer incentives or subsidies for developments that meet the actual affordability needs of residents based on their neighborhood's median income. It also supports initiatives like community land trusts or affordable housing cooperatives tailored to specific communities.
Specific policies or initiatives would include incentivizing affordable housing developments that would include tax abatements, density bonuses, reduced permitting fees, or expedited approval processes.
Establish or expand neighborhood-focused housing trust funds that prioritize affordable housing projects aligned with the NMI model. These funds could support new construction, rehabilitation of existing properties, and preservation of affordable units.
Promote the development of community land trusts that use NMI to determine affordability. These land trusts will help maintain affordability over the long term by keeping land ownership within the community and controlling housing costs according to local income levels.
Protect Existing Affordable Housing: Implement policies to preserve existing affordable housing units, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. This might include regulations that prevent landlords from drastically increasing rents or selling properties to developers who plan to build luxury units. (IE: Biltmore Hills) By ensuring existing units remain affordable based on NMI, we can maintain housing stability for current residents. More partnerships with nonprofit developers - Work closely with nonprofit developers who have a track record of building and maintaining affordable housing based on local incomes. Provide them with access to city-owned land, low-interest loans, or grants to create or preserve affordable units.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
Early in my journey to homeownership, I was introduced an organization that was meant to eliminate some of the loopholes that prevent Black people and other minorities deal with when attempting to become homeowners. I would suggest strengthening partnerships with organizations that address systemic barriers such as the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA): NACA is a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive homeownership assistance without the traditional barriers such as high down payments, closing costs, and credit score requirements. By partnering with NACA and similar organizations, we can help more low- and moderate-income Black residents access affordable homeownership. This would include aupporting NACA programs locally. I would work to bring more NACA homebuyer workshops and counseling services to our community, ensuring that Black residents have access to personalized guidance on the path to homeownership.
I would implement more public awareness campaigns to educate residents about the availability of programs like NACA, down payment assistance, and other initiatives that promote equitable access to housing.
Collaborative Policy Advocacy: Collaborate with NACA and other housing advocacy organizations to push for state and federal policies that close loopholes preventing Black residents from becoming homeowners, such as lobbying the state legislature to reform credit-scoring practices, reducing or eliminating predatory lending, and expanding access to fair financing.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
To support renters, I will implement a Neighborhood Median Income (NMI) model to ensure affordable rents are based on local income levels, not broader, often inflated, area standards. This model will more accurately reflect what renters can afford in their specific communities, preventing displacement and economic strain. I will strengthen strategic alliances with organizations like the Triangle Apartment Association, NACA, and local nonprofits to advocate for rental assistance programs, tenant protections, and emergency support for those facing rising rents. I will also push for expanding rent control policies, funding for affordable housing development, and incentives for landlords who offer long-term affordability and inclusive renting practices. Additionally, I'll work to increase funding for tenant legal services to help renters fight unjust evictions and predatory practices. By combining targeted policies, community partnerships, and a fair pricing model, we can create a stable rental market that ensures all residents have access to safe, affordable housing.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
To increase affordable homeownership and prevent displacement, we must focus on equitable development that prioritizes people over profit. I will advocate for a moratorium on excessive rezoning approvals to slow down overdevelopment that drives up home prices and displaces legacy residents, particularly seniors. I will also promote the use of the Neighborhood Median Income (NMI) model to ensure affordable housing is priced according to the incomes of local residents, not inflated by broader market rates.
Additionally, I will strengthen partnerships with organizations like NACA and Habitat for Humanity to expand access to low-cost financing, down payment assistance, and homeownership programs for low-income residents. I will support the creation of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) to keep land in community hands and maintain long-term affordability. These steps will help preserve historic neighborhoods, protect legacy residents, and make homeownership achievable for all.
Terrance "Truth" Ruth
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Affordability and Increased Density To address the growing affordability crisis, we must promote increased density, particularly in areas with access to public transit and other amenities. This can be achieved through the development of more Missing Middle housing options like duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings, which can provide affordable alternatives to traditional single-family homes. By encouraging the construction of these types of homes, we can create more opportunities for diverse and affordable housing options that meet the needs of Raleigh’s residents without drastically altering the character of existing neighborhoods.
Incremental Development and Preservation of Character Incremental development is crucial to preserving the character of Raleigh while accommodating growth. Rather than allowing large, monolithic developments to dominate, we should support smaller, community-driven projects that blend seamlessly with the existing urban fabric. This means promoting local developers who have a deep understanding of Raleigh’s history and values, ensuring that new developments respect the architectural styles and cultural significance of our historic neighborhoods.
We must also implement design guidelines that protect the scale and character of these neighborhoods, ensuring that new buildings complement, rather than overshadow, the existing environment. This approach will allow Raleigh to grow while maintaining the distinct charm and historical significance that makes our city special and create the conditions for increasing community support of new affordable housing developments.
Incentivizing Affordable Development: Density Bonuses: One way to ensure affordability in Missing Middle housing is by offering density bonuses to developers who include a percentage of affordable units in their projects. This incentive allows developers to build more units than zoning would typically allow, provided they dedicate a portion of the development to affordable housing.
Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Raleigh can expand its Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide grants or low-interest loans to developers who commit to creating affordable Missing Middle housing. This fund could prioritize developments in high-demand areas to ensure that affordable options are available where they are needed most.
Targeted Tax Policies:
Property Tax Abatement: For developers who build or preserve affordable Missing Middle housing, the city could offer property tax abatements. This reduction in tax liability would make it financially viable for developers to sell or rent units at below-market rates, directly addressing affordability.
CBA of Affordable Units in High-Value Areas: Given that Missing Middle housing is often developed in established neighborhoods, where land values are high, implementing a policy where developers receive tax incentives for including affordable units can help balance the scales. This approach ensures that new developments contribute to housing affordability, even in more affluent areas. Public-Private Partnerships:
Land Trusts and Co-Housing Models: Raleigh could partner with community land trusts (CLTs) and non-profits to develop Missing Middle housing. CLTs can help keep the land cost low, which is one of the most significant factors driving up housing prices. In this model, the trust owns the land, and residents own the buildings, ensuring long-term affordability. Partner with non-profits and private existing efforts.
Co-Housing Initiatives: Encouraging co-housing models, where residents share common spaces but have private living areas, can also reduce costs and foster a sense of community. Raleigh can expand support of these initiatives through planning support and funding.
Addressing Market Dynamics:
Regulating Short-Term Rentals: The rise of short-term rentals has exacerbated housing affordability issues by reducing the number of available long-term rental units.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
The legacy of discriminatory housing policies, such as redlining and restrictive covenants, has contributed significantly to the racial wealth gap, particularly for Black residents in Raleigh and across the country. These policies systematically excluded Black families from homeownership opportunities, which has long been a cornerstone of wealth building. The result is stark: Black homeownership rates in the U.S. remain at around 44%, compared to 74% for white households, a gap that directly contributes to the racial wealth disparity we see today.
If elected, I will advance racial equity in housing by prioritizing the following policies:
1. Expanding Affordable Housing and Access to Homeownership I will advocate for expanding affordable housing options, particularly in areas that have been historically segregated or excluded from economic development. Research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) shows that there is a shortage of over 7 million affordable homes for low-income renters nationwide. Raleigh can take action by increasing the stock of affordable housing through public-private partnerships, local housing trust funds, and federal support from programs like the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). Additionally, I will support down payment assistance programs that target first-time homebuyers from marginalized communities. Many Black families struggle with securing the funds needed for down payments, particularly because of generational wealth disparities. Programs that offer financial assistance, along with financial literacy education, can help more Black residents enter the housing market and build wealth through homeownership.
2. Community Land Trusts and Affordable Housing Preservation I will advocate for the expansion of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) in Raleigh. CLTs are an innovative tool that helps preserve long-term affordable housing by allowing a nonprofit organization to own the land, while the homeowner owns the structure. This ensures that as property values rise, the land remains affordable and protected from speculative buying that often drives gentrification and displacement. Cities like Durham have seen success with CLTs, and expanding this model will provide more opportunities for Raleigh residents to afford homes, especially in historically underserved neighborhoods.
3. Addressing Zoning Inequities Raleigh’s current zoning policies contribute to housing inequity by restricting the development of affordable, denser housing options like duplexes, triplexes, and small apartments in certain neighborhoods. I will work to reduce the resistance to zoning practices that disproportionately affect Black and low-income residents by advocating for zoning reforms that allow for Missing Middle housing in more areas of the city. Infill development will promote equity and affordability, while also creating more inclusive communities where residents of diverse income levels can live together. A report by the Urban Institute shows that allowing higher-density housing in areas with good schools, access to jobs, and transit can significantly narrow the racial wealth gap by making it easier for marginalized communities to access these opportunities.
4. Anti-Displacement Policies and Tenant Protections To prevent displacement and gentrification, especially in historically Black neighborhoods, I will support anti-displacement policies that protect renters and homeowners from sudden property value spikes. This could include measures such as property tax relief for long-time residents in rapidly gentrifying areas, rent stabilization programs, and eviction prevention services.
According to research by PolicyLink, communities that implement strong tenant protections see a reduction in forced displacement, helping families stay in their homes and communities while keeping housing costs manageable.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
The rising cost of rent across Raleigh and North Carolina is unsustainable for many residents, particularly for renters making less than $30,000 annually who are left with only about $310 after paying rent. This affordability crisis is driven by a significant mismatch between the increase in rents (21%) since 2001 and the slow growth of incomes (only 2%) during the same period . If elected, I will take several immediate steps to support renters in Raleigh and ensure housing affordability is prioritized.
1. Expand and Strengthen Rental Assistance Programs One of the most immediate steps we can take to support renters is to expand access to rental assistance programs. By increasing funding for local rental assistance, particularly for households earning below $30,000, we can prevent evictions and help families remain in stable housing. I will advocate for increasing Raleigh’s contributions to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s Rental Production Program, which offers subsidies to renters to reduce the burden of rising rents. Additionally, I will support creating a local housing voucher program for Raleigh, which could mirror the federal Section 8 program but provide more flexibility to assist renters in securing housing in higher-demand areas of the city. These vouchers would be targeted toward low-income households, allowing them to afford rental units in more desirable areas with access to good schools, jobs, and transit.
2. Rent Control and Rent Stabilization Policies Although North Carolina currently prohibits rent control, I will advocate for rent stabilization measures at the local level. Rent stabilization would prevent landlords from increasing rent beyond a certain percentage each year, helping to stabilize housing costs for current tenants. While this policy would require changes at the state level, building a coalition of landlords, donors, and local leaders across North Carolina cities could lead to legislative shifts that would benefit renters throughout the state. In the meantime, I would work on encouraging voluntary rent caps by partnering with landlords and developers who receive public subsidies, tax credits, or other incentives. In exchange for these benefits, property owners would agree to limit rent increases to an agreed-upon percentage. This can help slow rent increases while preserving affordability for residents.
3. Incentivizing the Construction of Affordable Rental Units To increase the supply of affordable rental units, I will advocate for zoning alternatives that provide developers with incentives to include affordable housing in their projects. This could include density bonuses, expedited permitting, or reduced fees for developers who set aside a portion of their units for low- and middle-income renters. While inclusionary zoning is not permitted in North Carolina, these incentives can create a pipeline of affordable units.
4. Strengthening Tenant Protections Another important measure is strengthening tenant protections to prevent unjust evictions and ensure renters have access to safe, stable housing. I will support policies that provide tenants with access to legal representation during eviction proceedings, modeled after successful programs in cities like New York and San Francisco, which have shown significant reductions in evictions. Ensuring that renters have the right to legal counsel can prevent many unjust evictions and keep families in their homes. I will also work to establish rental registries that require landlords to register their properties with the city, ensuring that tenants are protected.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Raleigh’s long-term strategy for housing must focus on creating pathways for economic mobility and growth for long-term tenants in affordable housing. As many affordable housing units are rentals, residents often remain tenants for extended periods. The city needs to support the economic development of these residents to help them transition toward market-rate housing or homeownership. This would not only make affordable housing units more sustainable but also open up units for new tenants. By empowering renters with opportunities for career development, financial literacy, and homebuyer assistance, Raleigh can create a more dynamic and supportive housing ecosystem.
To maximize the effectiveness of housing affordability efforts, Raleigh must position itself as a regional leader in a coalition with neighboring municipalities. By developing a regional housing affordability plan, the city can ensure consistency and long-term sustainability in its housing policies. This regional approach would allow for shared data forecasting, using eviction rates, housing cost burdens, and displacement indicators to guide decision-making. With Raleigh leading this coalition, the region can more effectively allocate resources and implement policies that mitigate the negative effects of displacement, particularly in communities facing significant economic pressures.
A key tool in Raleigh’s strategy will be the creation of a Housing Displacement Index (HDI). This index will help assess neighborhoods most vulnerable to eviction and displacement, using data such as eviction risk, displacement vulnerability, unemployment rates, and segregation patterns. With 52% of all renters in high-risk neighborhoods—and 74% of Black renters at high risk of eviction—targeted anti-displacement strategies are essential. Through early intervention, resident protection policies, and the preservation of affordable housing, Raleigh can not only maintain community stability but also promote long-term growth and inclusivity. Strategies such as rent stabilization, financial assistance for tenants and homeowners, and community land trusts will be pivotal in preserving affordability and preventing displacement in vulnerable neighborhoods.
James L Shaughnessy IV
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
If elected, I will focus on several key initiatives to increase affordable housing in our community:
Encourage Mixed-Use Developments: By promoting and rezoning areas for mixed-use developments, we can create communities that combine residential, commercial, and recreational spaces. These projects will help alleviate the housing shortage while fostering vibrant, sustainable neighborhoods.
Deregulation to Encourage Inexpensive Developments: By reducing unnecessary regulations, we can encourage more naturally occurring affordable housing. This will stimulate competition among developers and lead to the creation of lower-cost housing options without heavy government intervention, expanding access for middle- and low-income residents.
Incentivize Developers to Include Affordable Units: I will work with developers by offering zoning variances, tax credits, or abatements in exchange for including affordable housing units in their projects. This flexible, case-by-case approach will encourage developers to contribute to the affordable housing stock while maintaining growth.
Explore a City-Owned Option: I support the city building and owning some apartment buildings to offer lower-cost housing. These properties would not be driven by profit, allowing us to provide more affordable rents while ensuring quality housing for those in need.
This strategy will create diverse pathways for expanding affordable housing and improving access across the community.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
The best way to tackle disparities in housing is by offering more options and giving more mobility to all people. Expanding the housing market with more diverse, affordable options will help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to find housing that meets their needs. Using Community Land Management (CLMs) is one effective tool to reduce the negative impacts of gentrification, as it can protect long-term residents from rising property taxes and help preserve affordable housing in vulnerable neighborhoods. By focusing on growing and diversifying the housing market, my goal is to give everyone an equal chance to access quality housing, ensuring that housing opportunities are available and affordable for all.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
To support renters, I will take several key steps to create more opportunities for affordable housing and long-term financial growth. *
*First, I will prioritize increasing the overall housing supply**, including rental units, by encouraging the development of multi-family housing, mixed-use projects, and rezoning where necessary. This will alleviate pressure on the rental market, reducing competition and stabilizing rent prices for current and future tenants.
**Second, I will promote the development of condos and rent-to-own programs** to give renters the chance to move from renting to homeownership. By incentivizing developers to build more condominiums and making pathways for renters to purchase these units more accessible, we can help individuals build equity and establish a more secure financial future.
Additionally, **I will advocate for tenant protections** such as fair rent practices and ensuring landlords maintain safe, livable conditions, while balancing the need for a robust rental market that benefits both renters and property owners. These initiatives aim to provide more affordable housing options, financial stability, and a clearer path to homeownership for renters across the community.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
The best way to increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement is by building more housing. Expanding the housing supply creates more affordable options for residents, allowing them to purchase homes that fit their budgets. This increase in supply helps reduce competition and keeps prices from rising too quickly. Additionally, Community Land Management (CLMs) can be used to preserve homeownership and protect long-term residents from displacement by alleviating property tax burdens and offering assistance with repairs. By focusing on expanding housing and protecting existing residents, we can make homeownership more attainable and ensure that people are not forced out of their communities due to rising costs.
Raleigh At-Large
Jonathan Lambert-Melton
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
I have been working to address housing affordability since I was first elected in 2019. I have supported the City’s efforts to provide over 5,500 affordable housing units in Raleigh by 2026 including an $80 million affordable housing bond that was approved by voters in 2020. I also pushed the city to begin offering city-owned land for construction of affordable housing by partnering with nonprofit housing providers, like Habitat. I also supported efforts to increase and diversify our housing supply; I voted to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) by right citywide and to expand different types of housing options in more places, including duplexes, townhouses, and tiny homes. If we can increase our supply, costs will begin to stabilize and reduce, and our public subsidies can go much farther. Year to year rent is down in Raleigh despite increasing nationally; we are starting to see results.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I have worked to end exclusionary zoning policies in Raleigh, which were mostly enacted decades ago to divide our city by race, economic class, and land uses. I have also strived to educate myself on the history of discriminatory practices by reading books like "The Color of Law" which impacts the decisions I make at the City Council table.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
We must increase our housing supply so rents will begin to stabilize and reduce. We are beginning to see the results of these efforts in Raleigh, as year-to-year rents are down 7% despite raising nationally. If we can keep pushing market rate rents down, our public subsidies can go much farther. We should be directing the subsidies towards the folks who need the assistance most, 30% area median income.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
We need 3 things: supply, subsidy, and stabilization. We are working on all three in Raleigh. We know that homelessness is a housing problem, and cities with very restrictive land use policies have higher rates of unhoused folks. We must make it easier to build a diversity of housing option in more places, like duplexes, tiny homes, cottage courts, and townhouses. Most of these housing types were made illegal to build in many places through exclusionary zoning laws. If we make it easier to build an abundance of different types of housing, affordable to folks at different stages in life, costs will reduce and more folks will be able to purchase a home and build generational wealth. Likewise, there are some folks who need the assistance to access home ownership, and we are continuing to fund subsidies to assist, like the first time homebuyer assistance program, as well as offering city-owned land for construction of affordable homeownership through nonprofits like Habitat and Raleigh area land trust. Finally, these strategies I've mentioned will help reduce pressure on vulnerable communities, which will combat displacement, but we also need to assist folks in staying in their homes, and I support our efforts to provide funds for owner-occupied rehabilitation assistance as well as our fund to purchase and preserve naturally-occurring affordable housing.
Reeves Peeler
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
There are numerous ways we can do this in Raleigh in the short term. I will push to create zoning overlays that protect these affordable units from destruction. Zoning is one of the most powerful tools at the City’s disposal to either incentivize or disincentivize development. In much the same way that we incentivize development of underutilized areas, we should disincentivize the destruction and displacement of our badly needed working class and middle class homes and neighborhoods. We can do this with overlays and with new zoning classifications in our UDO that outline and identify the key characteristics of housing stock that we badly need to preserve.
I will push to expand the City’s investment into the Wake County Affordable Housing Preservation Fund in order to add our ability to maintain, upkeep, and preserve these NOAH units. In the same way that we incentivize the new development we want, we must also incentivize maintaining the development we want to keep.
I believe we need to amend our urban infill ordinances (also called Missing Middle) to limit the size of certain housing types as the City is redeveloped. Raleigh already uses this policy with our ADU rules, where we limit the total square footage and footprint of an ADU. By expanding this approach to things like Cottage Courts, Townhouses, and Duplexes, we can help encourage developers to build new market rate infill stock that is not super-sized and hyper-expensive (aka a “McMansion”). This can create housing that's affordable at the 80-100% median income levels that are not subsidized, as Missing Middle was originally intended to do.
Another step I will push for is to improve and expand how we use Density Bonuses. I believe the concept behind the Density Bonus for Raleigh’s Frequent Transit Areas (aka as Frequent Transit Development Option or FTDO) is an excellent start. We could expand this by offering further incentives for developers to build both smaller and more dense housing in appropriate areas near public transit and bike/ped amenities.
I believe Raleigh is in need of a bigger and bolder affordable housing bond that targets more subsidy at the <30% and <50% AMI levels than our previous 2020 bond did.
We can and should require more affordable units in new developments along our BRT lines. We should create incentives that make land acquisition and development more competitive and realistic for 100% affordable projects and LIHTC projects that are looking to build on the BRT lines and must compete with market rate developers.
Finally, we must set inclusionary zoning guidelines for market rate property developers to contribute directly to affordable units both on-site, for off-site funding and for the local infrastructure needs of areas they redevelop (whether that be income restricted housing, parks, sidewalks, bike lanes, stormwater, etc.).
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I believe racial equity in housing is still a big problem in Raleigh due to the intensively speculative practices of our real estate industry, growing population, low corporate income taxes, low minimum wage and anti-union sentiment, car-centric and sprawling development practices, poor tenant laws, and much more.
The first thing Raleigh must do is fully invest in its Fair Housing Board. This means giving the Board access to all parts of the city management, regular public reporting time to council and time with the City Manager, and a proper budget to do its job.
Raleigh needs to set racial equity standards in its UDO that are required for reference when we rezone. If a rezoning will remove residents of color from a neighborhood, that should be identified prior to rezoning, and we should set data-driven parameters as whether or not rezonings match our racial equity policy in each neighborhood. I also think mass rezonings (such as the Shaw case) in Black areas of Raleigh stand to further the problems that were brought about by redlining by furthering the pressures of gentrification and luxury-only housing that are inevitably brought on by rezonings with very poor (or even no) conditions for on-site low income affordable housing and other public amenities. We can use data to assess whether or not a mass rezoning like Shaw will have disparate racial impacts on the surrounding areas and the City as a whole.
Raleigh needs to re-invest in public housing, create the funding to open up its public housing waiting lists, and create more land trust opportunities.
Raleigh needs to continue to allow urban infill, but also strongly limit annexations and density on our outer borders. If we continue to sprawl outwards, we double down on car commuting and lengthen the time of our car commutes. We know this disparately affects working class residents and Black residents, as they are pushed outward from central Raleigh, as census data has show us to be the trend over the past 15 years. We must opt into building affordable density inside the City, rather than sprawling outwards.
Raleigh desperately needs to incentivize small commercial spaces in majority Black areas like Southeast Raleigh and also incentivize grocery stores to move into working class and Black neighborhoods. While this is not technically housing, it is still a result of redlining.
I believe it’s vital that Raleigh also not take apart its historic districts. If we destroy the fabric of our culturally significant neighborhoods, we lose track of the problems like redlining. In particular, I do not support the continued picking apart of the Prince Hall Historic District.
Raleigh must learn from our own stories, such as what happened to the Fourth Ward. We are destined to repeat our failures of the past if we don’t take bold steps to stop the growth of the racial inequities that already exist.
Finally, we need to grow community engagement opportunities in heavily Black and Brown areas of Raleigh so that residents of color are welcomed into the City's engagement avenues and so that these communities' voices are heard at Council.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
Raleigh City Council can do a number of things in the short term to support renters. I would advocate for and support:
1) creating a tenants' advisory board that has review over rezonings
2) directs the City's lobbyist to directly push the state to improve tenant/landlord laws to be more tenant friendly
3) create property tax relief programs for landlords that rent at affordable prices,
4.) lobby the state to end the pre-emption on rent control,
5.) direct the City to set aside funding to allow a free defense attorney to any tenant facing eviction proceedings,
6.) control rents in developments that are build on ground leases of city-owned property (for example, Moore Square and the upcoming DMW project).
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
The best way to prevent home-owning resident displacement is to reduce the impact property taxes make on their wallets. When the City sets guidance for real estate developers to help pay for infrastructure and affordable housing, the pressure for tax increases is less, therefore lessing the displacement burden on poor and working class homeowners. In the short term, we can create tax rebates to also help reduce the burden on these exist homeowners at risk of displacement. As for increasing homeownership, the City should re-invest in its first time homebuyer programs that target 80% AMI buyers and consider expanding it to the 60% AMI level. I am a big supporter of community land trusts and hope the City will push for more land trust models like the RALT cottages at Idlewild in order to allow low income residents to buy, while also preserving long term affordability.
I am a homeowner in Raleigh through the City's Martin Haywood first time homebuyer program. I am a big believer in extending more of these opportunities to Raleigh residents, however I think future opportunities should have mechanisms for longer term affordability beyond just 10 years.
Low or no interest down payment assistance programs should be expanded by the City, County and State as well.
Robert M Steele, Jr
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
1. A standard set of rules regarding how much of any new development proposal must be affordable housing, or City staff will recommend denial of the request, and City Council will vote accordingly. 2. A clear commitment from Council to begin closing the gap between new affordable housing builds, and losses. Quarter results published through CACs, the city website, social medias, and through the media, to hold the Council and staff accountable.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
By committing to developing more affordable homes in historically black neighborhoods, through partnerships with developers and others, that can be purchased for truly affordable costs.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I will support any legislative action taken to implement rent control, for one. I will also attempt to require any new rental builds to include a higher number of affordable units than they have historically, or deny their requests to build.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Generally speaking, one method is to prevent upzoning. Not allowing a company to come in and buy homes, then upzone, tear them down, and build more expensive homes is a start.
City Council District A
Whitney Hill
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Increase supply of housing. The first action is to stop thge slow walking of zoning changes, building permits and inspections. This would mean increasing the staffing of these departments. I would like to establish some type of task force made up of goverment, builders/developers and non profits to establish goals and action plans. Then track performance to goals. I would like also to get corporate partners to help fund aspects of this plan.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I would like to see zoning policies that allow for integrated development. What I mean is that a affortable development can next to a high end development. Raleigh has done this historically in the past. This means that we avoid having stigmitized areas in our community. Raleigh has done this to some degree historically and where we have done it, I think it has contributed to the general health of the community. I am not talking about Missing Middle. I am not for tearing down hgosing in an established neighborhood and replacing with high density housing lot by lot. I am ok with minihouses as long as there is the lot size to accomadate. I believe that minihouses can solve alot of problems like aged relatives, special needs folks, etc.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
Work with builders to meet the demands of the market. Because of our drastic housing shortage, prices are artifically high in Raleigh. You can have all the programs to assist folks but if there are not enough houses to live in, pricing does not matter.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
I would work with nonprofits and lenders to put together programs to help lower income home buyers to get over the hump of home purchase. I like the approach that Habitat for Humanity does. Nonprofit management to this process is critical because goverment management of this never seems to work well because of the lack of accountable.
Mitchell Silver
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
As a City Council member, I would advocate for expanding housing choices by adding additional density in growth areas identified by the comprehensive plan, alleviating demand pushing up prices in neighborhoods. The city also needs to do more to provide housing for low-income families. I would suggest advocating for future Affordable Housing Bonds to help increase the supply of affordable units and provide gap financing to create new units. This would include building new affordable housing units, creating new community land trusts, streamlining the approval process, and acquiring land for future affordable housing developments.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I have worked extensively on racial equity in planning and development throughout my career. As a planner, my priority is repairing past harms -- as well as preventing future ones. When I served as Raleigh's Planning Director, I warned that gentrification and displacement would accelerate in Southeast Raleigh if there wasn't a deliberate plan to mitigate it. I recently worked with a city to craft an anti-displacement strategy that responded to listening sessions and direct interviews with residents. Some of the solutions introduced included offering housing grants to rehabilitate homes falling into disrepair in vulnerable areas, using equity as a factor in evaluating the budget, and property tax relief. We need to pursue a similar strategy in Raleigh and engage with the members of our community most impacted.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
North Carolina state law bans municipalities from enacting or enforcing any type of rent control policies. However, there is still more we can do at the local level to support renters and help bring prices down. We can use density bonuses to encourage the inclusion of affordable units to new apartment and housing developments, expand emergency rental assistance along with Wake County, and support a tenant-based eviction prevention program. Expanding housing options and increasing the housing supply to meet demand will help alleviate price increases long-term and stabilize the market. I also believe the city should be more aggressive in advocating at the General Assembly for the ability to shape our own policies around housing and development.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Raleigh’s affordable housing bond was a good initial effort to make homeownership more attainable and keep current residents in their homes, but we have to do much more in the short and long-term to prevent displacement, bring down home prices, and make homeownership attainable for all in Raleigh. As mentioned previously, Raleigh needs a strong anti-displacement plan that centers the voices of those in our community most impacted to craft policies. Policies we can pursue include increasing housing grants to rehabilitate homes, increasing homebuyer assistance, and providing additional property tax relief. The city must also continue to invest directly in creating new affordable housing and encourage the addition of affordable units in new developments.
City Council District B
Jennifer McCollum
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Inflation is the primary issue, and while we understand economics, current policies have only worsened the situation. Supply and demand fundamentals are at play, and government intervention—though well-intentioned—often disrupts market balance. Instead, the government should focus on its strengths, like supporting efficient nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity, which achieves more in six months than the government does in two years. To genuinely increase affordable housing, we must reduce regulations that stifle economic development and unleash entrepreneurial potential. This creates a business environment where skills and education thrive, allowing citizens to become self-sufficient. Expanding the overall housing supply—currently underway—will lower prices as wages rise. We need to stop ineffective approaches, such as artificially raising wages or forcing market compliance. Instead, we should encourage private funding by reducing regulatory barriers and continuing to support organizations like Habitat.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I welcome the question’s focus on “historically,” as it reinforces that these discriminatory policies are firmly in the past. I advocate for homeowner opportunities for all. While "equity" has become politicized, true progress lies in treating individual circumstances with dignity and respect. To promote homeownership, we must reduce government dependence and foster self-sufficiency through education and meaningful work. Government policies have perpetuated cycles of poverty, but strengthening community organizations and churches can drive real change. Homeownership is not just the American dream; it’s essential for stability and self-reliance for all who seek it.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
Fortunately, the latest news from the News & Observer indicates that rents are not only stabilizing but beginning to drop with thousands of new units coming online. I maintain that the best way to support renters is for the government to minimize its economic interference and focus on its core roles—public safety, infrastructure, and enhancing quality of life through arts, parks, and greenways. Renting is inherently a transient situation, ideally a stepping stone toward ownership for most. For students, migrant workers, and young people just starting out, it should be temporary—much like minimum wage jobs on the path to greater things. In the meantime, the government should protect renters from unfair practices and ensure that rental property owners uphold their responsibilities.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Constant tax increases put long-time homeowners at risk of displacement. Why should long-term residents pay the same rates as newcomers? Locking in tax rates for those who have lived here for generations would be sound tax policy. Long-time residents shouldn’t shoulder the burden of growth and infrastructure needs created by previous policies. Again, government policies have contributed to our current housing situation. While Raleigh offers an excellent quality of life and a favorable cost of living, the imbalance of supply and demand presents real challenges. The expansion of our community hasn't generated enough revenue to cover its own costs, creating a financial strain. This is largely due to policy missteps and leadership distractions. We need to stop voting for the same thing and expecting different outcomes. Vote differently for different outcomes.
Megan Patton
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
In Raleigh, there’s a broad spectrum of needs — from folks who are unhoused to folks who just need a little support to access homeownership and generational wealth. To address the ongoing housing crisis, we have to use every legally available tool in the toolbox. I generally think about three prongs in this work: supply, subsidy and stabilization.
Throughout the past term, I’ve worked hard to have affordable units come through rezoning conditions and incentives in the city code. We’ve also funded several designated affordable projects from senior rental housing to ownership opportunities to housing for youth aging out of foster care.
I’m proud that we have roughly 1,000 regulated affordable units coming to the New Bern corridor in the next five years, and I’m eager to get our new Direct Voucher program into the hands of our most vulnerable neighbors. This program will get funds directly into the hands of people, rather than routing through landlords, and should speed up the process of getting folks into housing. Our next frontier is eviction prevention. We know that the cheapest and most humane way to end homelessness is to prevent it in the first place.
I remain committed to building a Raleigh where nobody is burdened by the cost of their housing and will continue to fund existing and new tools to help us get there.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I think It's important to underscore that investing in historically marginalized communities stands to benefit our entire community. That when we lift up those who’ve been left behind, we lift everyone up. As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all ships.”
With that said, we have an opportunity to advance equity in homeownership and reduce the barriers to entry by doubling down on home-buyer assistance programs. To begin, we can work to identify gaps in the qualification for property tax exemptions. I will also continue to work with my partners at the state level to pass meaningful legislation that limits the amount of due diligence money a home buyer can put down so that folks have a real chance to compete against giant corporate buyers, who can offer cash and significantly more than asking prices.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I’m proud that we have roughly 1,000 affordable units coming to the New Bern corridor over the next 5 years or so. Some of those will be ownership opportunities like the Cottages at Idlewild where folks can own the structure, in turn building equity and wealth. Some of these units will be subsidized rental and some of them will be produced without city subsidy through our density bonus tool. Our purchase of the DMV site also stands to bring a lot more affordable housing. Additionally, the most recent Raleigh City Council budget funded a pilot for a Direct Voucher program. Currently, there are many barriers for folks seeking to utilize a Housing Choice Voucher which causes many of them to go unused. This pilot puts the funds directly in the hands of residents, rather than landlords.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Increasing affordable homeownership and preventing resident displacement is one of the greatest challenges facing our city. One way we can work toward these goals is by working to stabilize some of their yearly costs.
Raleigh's residents deserve stability when it comes to taxes, especially for working families who are already stretching every dollar, and I think this is one way we can address the challenge people are facing when it comes to rising costs. We can't continue to burden folks with unpredictable, ad-hoc tax increases that make it hard to plan for the future. One of my top priorities for the next term on the Raleigh City Council is to push for a steady-state approach to budgeting. By providing more predictability in our tax system, we can work toward more predictable cost for homeowners and help prevent displacement.
Another avenue we must consider are home rehabilitation programs. We know that aging homeowners face unexpected costs, like those that improve accessibility and safety, which ultimately allow them to remain in their homes. If we can subsidize, or at least reduce the burden of these costs, we can empower people to stay in their homes and remain independent.
Making homeownership and preventing displacement aren’t easy tasks, but it’s what people deserve.
City Council District C
Corey Branch
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
During my time on the council, we passed the largest housing bond in the city’s history and set aside funds exclusively for housing. In District C alone, we’ve approved over 3,000 affordable housing units and partnered with Habitat for Humanity by selling land at reduced prices to support affordable homeownership. If re-elected, I will continue building on these initiatives and work to develop new policies aimed at increasing housing inventory and affordability for all residents.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I will continue collaborating with organizations like the Triangle Board of Realtist (TRIBOR), a local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), to tackle the racial equity gap in housing. Through these partnerships, we can address any lingering discriminatory policies and work toward expanding homeownership opportunities for historically marginalized communities.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I will continue supporting affordable housing initiatives through tax credit projects and work to ensure that renters are informed about development in their neighborhoods. Partnering with the Triangle Apartment Association and facilitating community engagement will remain key strategies in ensuring renters have a voice and access to affordable housing options.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
To increase affordable homeownership and prevent displacement, I will continue partnering with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and expanding funding for first-time homebuyer programs. Additionally, improving our public transit system can help lower transportation costs, reducing the overall financial burden on homeowners and helping them remain in their homes.
DaQuanta Copeland
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
The policy I would implement is a required land use acquisition of city owned land. I would like to see All city owned land be accessed for housing before anything else. The practice I would like to implement is providing space, education, and resources for a more equitable partnership between private and public partnerships of developers and affordable housing providers. I will also work to increase the housing budget annually to work towards more development of affordable housing.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
Understanding the "Redlining" was a governmental initiative to keep Black residents from becoming homeowners, I will acknowledge, address, and dismantle the systemic racial disparities by parting with both private and public stakeholders to create equitable housing options throughout the city as well as fully penalizing discretionary zoning and development.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
As we work to stabilize our economic opportunities by working with employers and businesses to pay a living wage, I will implement incentivizing landlords to keep housing affordable with tax breaks, lease assurance, and other bonuses to work with residents with less than prefect rental history to secure attainable, sustainable, and quality housing for All.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
I will work to increase thee down payment assistance funding providing bonuses to those that participate in life coaching classes that will increase their chances of sustainability and self-sufficiency. I will foster a closer relationship with Wake County's leadership to work in a parallel fashion to provide full wrap around resources and funding.
Daniel Lamar Grant-King
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
As a Democratic candidate seeking to address the affordable housing crisis in our community, I propose the following specific policies, practices, and initiatives:
1. Establish a Housing Trust Fund that will allocate public and private funding towards the development of affordable housing projects.
2. Implement Inclusionary Zoning ordinances to require a certain percentage of new residential developments to include affordable housing units.
3. Expand the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to provide rental assistance to low-income households.
4. Incentivize the construction of affordable housing through tax credits, grants, and low-interest loans for developers.
5. Partner with local nonprofits and community land trusts to acquire and preserve affordable housing units.
6. Streamline the permitting process for affordable housing developments to expedite their construction.
7. Increase funding for homeless services and supportive housing programs to address the needs of the most vulnerable populations.
8. Enact rent control and tenant protection policies to prevent displacement and ensure affordable rent prices. By implementing these comprehensive policies and initiatives, we can work towards increasing affordable housing options in our community and providing stability and security for all residents.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
If elected, advancing racial equity in housing will require a multifaceted approach that addresses both historical injustices and current inequalities. Key strategies would include:
1. Implementing targeted programs to address the racial wealth gap: This could involve initiatives such as down payment assistance for Black homebuyers, affordable housing programs in historically segregated neighborhoods, and financial literacy programs tailored to minority communities.
2. Enforcing fair housing laws and regulations: Strengthening enforcement mechanisms to prevent discriminatory practices in the housing market, such as redlining, steering, and discriminatory lending practices. This would require increased funding and resources for agencies tasked with monitoring fair housing compliance.
3. Investing in affordable housing in minority communities: Increasing funding for affordable housing construction and rehabilitation specifically in communities of color, while also ensuring that these developments are integrated into all neighborhoods to avoid perpetuating segregation.
4. Providing support for homeowners facing foreclosure or eviction: Implementing programs that provide counseling, mediation, and financial assistance to help homeowners in minority communities stay in their homes and avoid displacement due to economic hardships.
5. Promoting inclusive zoning policies: Encouraging local governments to adopt zoning policies that promote economic and racial diversity in all neighborhoods, including measures to combat exclusionary zoning practices that perpetuate segregation. By implementing these measures and others that prioritize racial equity in housing policy, a more just and inclusive housing landscape can be achieved, ultimately working towards closing the racial wealth gap and creating equal opportunities for all communities.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
To support renters in North Carolina facing rising rents and stagnant incomes, we must implement policies that prioritize affordable housing and tenant protections. This includes:
1. Implementing rent control measures to cap rent increases and prevent price gouging.
2. Expanding affordable housing programs and subsidies to provide more options for low-income renters.
3. Strengthening tenant rights and protections, such as preventing unjust evictions and ensuring habitable living conditions.
4. Investing in initiatives that increase access to homeownership for renters, such as down payment assistance programs.
5. Increasing funding for affordable housing development to address the shortage of affordable units in the state.
6. Enforcing fair housing laws to combat discrimination in housing and ensure equal access to housing opportunities for all residents.
7. Promoting economic development strategies that raise wages and create more job opportunities for renters. By taking these steps, we can work towards creating a more equitable housing market in North Carolina that supports all renters, particularly those with lower incomes.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
To increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement amidst soaring home sales prices, a comprehensive approach that combines policy interventions, community engagement, and financial incentives is necessary. Key strategies include:
1. Expand access to affordable housing programs:
- Increase funding for affordable housing programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
- Streamline the application process for low-income individuals to access these programs.
2. Implement inclusionary zoning policies:
- Enact and enforce inclusionary zoning policies that require developers to include affordable housing units in new residential developments.
- Offer density bonuses or other incentives to developers who comply with these policies.
3. Support community land trusts:
- Establish community land trusts that acquire land and develop affordable housing for low-income residents.
- Provide subsidies and technical assistance to ensure the sustainability of community land trusts.
4. Strengthen tenant protections:
- Enact stronger rent control measures to limit rent increases and prevent unjust evictions.
- Expand tenant rights and provide legal assistance to tenants facing displacement.
5. Create affordable homeownership opportunities:
- Develop shared equity homeownership programs that allow low-income individuals to gradually build equity in their homes.
- Offer down payment assistance programs and low-interest financing options to help low-income individuals become homeowners.
6. Invest in affordable housing preservation:
- Provide financial support for the preservation of existing affordable housing units.
- Establish mechanisms to monitor and prevent the loss of affordable housing stock due to market forces.
7. Foster community engagement and advocacy:
- Engage residents, community organizations, and advocacy groups in the decision-making process to address affordable housing challenges.
- Promote public awareness campaigns to highlight the importance of preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement. By implementing these strategies in a coordinated and collaborative manner, policymakers can work towards increasing affordable homeownership opportunities and protecting low-income residents from displacement in the face of rising home prices. The Democratic response advocates for a proactive and inclusive approach to address the housing crisis and ensure that all residents have access to safe and affordable housing.
Portia W Rochelle
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
I love growth but not at the expense of pushing people out of living areas towards a life of poverty. Growth should not be at the expense of residents not having their needs met. Poverty is real. If a person doesn’t have a decent place to live, healthcare becomes a crisis, food security becomes a hardship.
1)I would work to ensure needs of citizens put first when implementing expansions. 58% of voters polled recently said growth comes at the expense of their quality of life, up from 44% in 2022. I would implement policies to limit purchases from people outside our State. Houses are being purchased by outsiders who outprice individuals living here.
2) I would work to collaborate with county, state to require developers to allow for an increase in the number of low-incoming housing when building.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
1) Sustain and increase community ownership and permanently housing;
2) Address homelessness and advance housing as a human right
3) Establish steps we can take to design public process that further racial equality and build community capacity.
4) Establish strong accountability measures and regulate funds to ensure that economic and political power is not further concentrated in the hands of the wealthy few.
5) Implement race-conscious policies and investments to ensure that ALL citizens are economically secure and able to meet basic needs such as housing and health care, while reducing inequality and the racial wealth gap.
6) Put people first!!
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I will push to increase the minimum wage. If salaries do not keep up with cost of living, then citizens will still struggle to make ends meet as well as providing shelter for their families. Raising the minimum wage helps workers find low income housing I would help develop incentives for builders so they would limit annual increase in rent.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Raleigh's highly ranked growth rate has increased the cost of living in Raleigh, with low and fixed income households hit hard. Raleigh is failing its low-income and minority communities . Many residents express that growth is destroying neighborhoods and forcing residents out of town.
I would keep data on how these citizens fair so they are not forgotten. Create a sounding board with a strategy that centers the voice and lived experience of those most impacted by displacement. Collaborate with other agencies and developers to provide funding to assist people and also develop incentives to keep people in their neighborhoods.
We must invest in physical and social infrastructure to ensure that strategies can be sustained for the long haul. Raleigh needs to get in front of the wave of foreclosures and preserve generational wealth in communities of color by identifying assets in the community and prioritizing at-risk properties for intervention.
City Council District D
Jane Harrison
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Affordable housing is a top priority and I am a strong advocate for every strategy to ensure housing affordability. One major step City Council has taken in my term is a new program to provide direct rental assistance for individuals experiencing homelessness. Federal programs from HUD offer housing vouchers but they take on average 5 years to access. The City’s program will have much less red tape and allow us to assist folks in need immediately. The idea is to get people into apartments and bypass shelter beds completely. Raleigh City Council approved $5 million in pilot funding and I expect we will need to increase funding to meet demand and achieve housing stability for our most vulnerable residents.
At every Raleigh City Council meeting, we approve funds and policy to increase the availability of affordable housing and preserve affordable housing for low and moderate-income residents. The City of Raleigh is purchasing property like the DMV site on New Bern Avenue to convert into income restricted housing. We also provide funds to subsidize affordable housing projects and reduce rents in partnership with non-profit housing developers. For example City Council approved funds to maintain naturally occurring affordable housing with the Grosvenor Gardens apartment complex in my district. Without our emergency funds, they would have had to raise rents for low-income tenants.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
In my term, Raleigh City Council formed the African-American Affairs Board. We also have a Fair Housing Board. Both of those bodies provide recommendations to Council, and I expect them to advance racial equity in housing.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I negotiate with developers to contribute funds to help the city provide gap funding for low income tax credit projects and build income restricted units onsite. We need to use City land and coordinate with private developers to build as much income restricted rental units as we can.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
The City of Raleigh has down payment assistance and repair assistance for folks seeing to purchase or stay in their home. I also evaluate rezoning cases for their potential to displace current residents and eliminate naturally occurring affordable housing. I ensure that income restricted units are built in private developments if NOAH is to be lost. For example, I negotiated for 5% of units (max of 21 units) to be affordable at 60% AMI for 20 years in a recent rezoning case Z-83-22. Those are the kind of numbers that can have real impact.
City Council District E
John Cerqueira
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
1. Continue efforts toward inclusionary zoning for market rate housing.to facilitate increased supply to meet increased demand.
2. Support efforts for the city to purchase land and provide preferred financing for affordable housing developers who build income restricted units.
3. Support funding for repair and tax assistance for property owners on fixed incomes.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
1.Partner with organizations like Habitat for Humanity to facilitate low income black homeownership at preferred terms eg. down payment assistance and mortgage relief with contributions from city funds including past bonds and putting future bonds on the ballot for voters to weigh in.
2. I would also like to see economic development initiative's put in place where tax revenue created by businesses located in and serving historically black communities support homeownership of black community members.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
1. Facilitate inclusionary zoning that increases supply to bring rents down.
2. Partner with affordable housing developers to develop income restricted housing on city purchased land.
3. Support funding for rental assistance.
4. Support tax incentives for landlords who keep rents low.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
1. For existing homeowners: Support assistance for low income homeowners to offset increased tax burdens and repair costs that may lead to displacement.
2. For new homeownership: Support down payment assistance and mortgage relief with contributions from city funds including past bonds and putting future bonds on the ballot for voters to weigh in.
Wake County
Susan P Evans
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Continue County subsidies for the development of low income rental housing units with gap funding; providing first-time home buyer down-payment assistance and mortgage application assistance; providing housing rehabilitation funding assistance for seniors with lower incomes; providing funding for the housing preservation fund making low-interest loans to owners. Plan for ways to partner with developers/builders to construct entry-level housing through subsidizing costs and reviewing any county owned land that could be used for housing. Encourage municipal government partners to engage in strategic ways to address housing affordability, including partnering on development projects and considering zoning elements that would allow for more housing stock.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I am well aware of red-lining and discriminatory mortgage lending practices in our recent past that have put minorities at a disadvantage for owning their homes and creating wealth through that investment. I am proud that discrimination is not used by the county in any planning, zoning or housing programs. We are working to assist first time, lower-income home buyers with down payment assistance and mortgage application assistance. These programs benefit minorities and others equitably.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I support Wake County housing programs that encourage landlords to accept vouchers assisted residents, those offering rental assistance and prevention services to those facing potential homelessness.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Increasing overall housing stock in the county to alleviate the supply and demand imbalance that currently exists is very key to moderating our increasing housing prices. Addressing this need to include subsidized lower income housing and zoning policies that provide for an abundance of housing of various types. Having housing rehab programs with low interest loans that will enable current lower income home owners to make necessary improvements to their homes will be important to helping them stay in their homes. Previously mentioned first-time home-buyer assistance programs are also important towards helping with the cost of purchasing a home.
Shinica Thomas
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Wake County is facing enormous pressures on our housing market due to its rapid growth in population. Currently, Wake has a 65,000-unit shortage of affordable housing. That means, that over 65,000 hard-working, Wake County residents cannot afford their homes, and are spending over 30% of their income on their housing related costs. Spending that much just to keep over your head means that you have to make very difficult decisions with whatever little money you have left. This does not create a good quality of life and is why Wake County commissioned a housing department to be created six years ago. The department that handles affordable housing received the support and funding that it needed to create over 4,000 units of legally binding affordable housing in just under five years' time. These units will remain affordable for 30 or more years. Also, Creating the preservation warning system, a proprietary database that uses predictive analytics to help housing staff get ahead of gentrification and displacement.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
Launched the bridge to home program, which utilized $10.5 million in COVID relief funds to our local homeless service providers to help bridge their funding gaps, and ensure that they are providing robust, wraparound services to stabilize our counties, most vulnerable residents. Not only has this program been widely regarded by our local homeless service providers as the most effective tool to helping us and homelessness, but it has won Wake County a national award as well.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
Launched the Landlord engagement unit, a team dedicated to working with our current landlords and providing real financial incentives to them for working with our low income residents, and residents that are working to exit homelessness. Again, using COVID relief dollars, Wake has been able to share the burden with our landlords to help ensure that their businesses can continue to be financially sound, while also ensuring that our low income residence have a safe and affordable place to live. This program didn’t just win Wake a national award, it won a NaCO best in class national award.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
We have helped to take Wake’s small, struggling Veteran services program, pair it with the Housing Department and turn it into a full division, with world-class leadership. This team has now more than doubled the number of veterans that they serve and connect to benefits annually. Not only is this the right thing to do for the men and women who have served us all, but connecting our veterans to the benefits that they have earned has also been a smart financial decision for Wake County as these veterans are now or more financially stable, needing fewer social services, and spending more money within our local economy.
NC House of Representatives
Sarah Crawford
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
We must address housing affordability, increase inventory, and address homelessness. We need to increase the appropriation to the Housing Trust Fund, create a state housing agency to focus on housing affordability, and reinstate state funded rent assistance.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
We must increase opportunities for Black homeownership by investing in down payment assistance programs, and increasing access to affordable credit. We can also provide tax credits for low-income homeowners to repair distressed homes. And finally, we can look at our zoning laws to see how we might reform codes to allow for mixed-income housing.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
We must insure access to affordable rental properties by increasing investments. Additionally, it’s far less expensive for the state to invest in rental assistance than it is to support those that are homeless, and we can help people stay in their home with assistance. Finally, we must increase minimum wage to ensure North Carolinians can do more than just make ends meet.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
We must build more affordable housing, look at our zoning laws, and invest in programs like rental assistance that prevent individuals from being displaced. We also need to look at property tax relief for low-income home owners that’s holds harmless municipalities.
Jerry Doliner
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
There is not mush the NC Legislature can do to fix a community based problem. Stagnant wages are a result of National industrial and immigration policies. The Legislature could incentivise more housing investment through tax credits, similar to what the state does to lure big factories.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
The laws were changed to prevent "redlining" of neighborhoods. Blacks, Whites, whomever cannot buy houses if they do not financially quilify for a mortgage. The 2008 financial crisi was caused by lowering income /wealth standards for marginal borrowers, so that is not the answer. Raise people's wages through broad economic groth policies would seem to make sense to me.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
Lower property taxes. Wake Co. just reevauated property, lowered the rate, but taxes still went up. Create rent-to-own communities for current renters
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Allow second dwellings on more properties. Gentrification is a hard to fix problem. Raise people's incomes through better education of our students. Develop apprentship programs for the building and housepatality trades; not everyons needs to go to college.
Travis Groo
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
With Wake County being so popular, rising property values are inevitable. We should avoid the path Raleigh took—using zoning regulations to restrict vast areas to single-family houses only—thus pricing their teachers, police, firemen, and other service professionals out of being able to afford to live where they work. As the county continues to grow it’s vital to accommodate various housing options, including townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and tiny homes. If our zoning regulations enable builders and owners to be creative with their property, supply and demand will be in better balance.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I would eliminate or reduce state occupational licensing requirements that simply represent financial protection and do not perform a critical role in vital public safety, opening economic doors in North Carolina. This would help minorities make more money without bureaucratic intervention, allowing folks to better take care of their families and make a living.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
It comes down to a supply and demand issues. We need to build more housing, and allow for densor, more walkeable communities. By incresaing the supply, the affordabiltiy issue could be addressed and prices will come down.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Zoning laws, which are largely in the hands of local jurisdictions, restrict housing density in various ways but in particular via limits on minimum lot sizes, and zoning for single-family housing only. These caps have often been implemented at the request of local residents. If we can lighten up on housing restrictions, allowing for more creativity and more housing options, this would address the issue.
Matthew Kordon
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
It is good that you identified two origins of the problem of affordable housing because both have a known cause: Stagnant wages are due to a law Nixon's Administration signed in late 1971 that converted our currency into fiat (which means it floats untethered to reality) and sure enough, this all began in 1972. Federal-level Libertarians can fix that. The lack of housing is only getting worse as the local governments continue to fail the people by focusing on social spending and increased property taxes instead of law changes meant to increase housing. Allison Dahle has tepidly and slightly tried to increase housing from the State-level but her efforts are too shy and inadequate! The time has come for the NCGA to take radical actions to reduce zoning laws and construction regulations in key cities across the state by overriding town laws. We also need to easy occupational licensing.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
I like housing equality legislation that prevents discriminatory housing market interactions. Some amount of safety regulations are needed to prevent large buildings from collapsing on poor residents and the same is true for piping, to use an example, which might poison residents if unregulated enough. Nevertheless, lax regulations and cheap, small housing options will allow people of humble circumstances to afford upward mobility and suffer the embarrassment and lesser conditions in the short-term (instead of for life) and then move up the economic ladder and get better housing. There is a lack of housing variety in our state and that might likewise be discouraging black would-be-owners from feeling a sense of connection to the available options and delay their leaving of their parents' property. Cheap, humble housing is also quite great for people in bad neighborhoods (by which I mean people of a minority who have neighbors they dislike and don't feel safe around) because it makes clear and easy that leaving such situations just requires hard work and good character (sadly, it might require adapting to white culture which I understand is unfair but have no control over). Effective (but trained to be non-racist) law enforcement with body cameras available to the public makes cheap housing seem less bad and indirectly helps with the housing issue.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
The best solution by far is to put a stop to this run-away inflation, and while that might sound like a Republican candidate talking point, the solution would be to end the Federal Reserve who cannot be trusted to prioritize inflation prevention in enough scenarios as history shows. We need to get back onto the Gold Standard and stop with fiat money. We need to prioritize economic opportunity but not at the expense of paying off the national debt. The truth is that the state government cannot do much to solve this problem but the Federal government can do much. What little I can do, I will pursue; the left-wing method of subsidizing things will not improve the rent situation in the long term, please trust me.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
As much as I like decentralization and feel the Federal government is too powerful, the Local Government is too much controlled by the angry whims of land-owning residents who make the value of their property their top concern above the good of all people in the state. Although this goes against my slogan "Reclaim Your State," I feel that the State Government in North Carolina needs to force cities to allow more forms of housing to be built by legalizing it and economic incentives that are nevertheless "small government" in nature. This could mean something as radical as realtors bulldozing historic unoccupied housing to make room for condominiums that people want to live in. We are out of time. We cannot afford to stop building or consider side effects like people getting displaced. The only thing I can offer those people is my voice in opposition to local government raising our property taxes, because otherwise, a free market will displace people on a massive scale in a way that will shock, but only be temporary. Displaced people will not stay mad for long if that displacement is coupled with upward mobility that gives them a fair and easy path to owning expensive homes in nice places.
Mathew Laszacs
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
We absolutely have to build our way out of the housing crisis. As correctly stated in the question, for decades local governments in North Carolina have artificially restricted the supply of housing through a proliferation of exclusionary zoning laws and excessive land use ordinances. Most of these laws have no relevant public health and safety implications, and all of them prevent the types and quantities of housing needed by our citizens from being built. In a healthy housing market, developers are able to be responsive to the needs of the marketplace, providing both density and suburban and rural housing where prudent, and to meeting the demand that arises through the natural progression of people's lives. These communities have a healthy mix of apartments, high rises, single family homes, and businesses. Individuals and families can progress through each of these types of housing as they progress through their natural economic stages of growth while also working in the community. These mixed neighborhoods and communities are not a fantasy. Look to any of the Wake County neighborhoods that were built prior to the era of exclusionary Euclidean zoning and one will see this healthy mix of housing evident. Oakwood, for example, contains large estates, many of which were divided into rental units, accessory dwelling units, and in-law suites. There are businesses and restaurants in the neighborhood allowing a higher degree of walkability. There are also apartment buildings and higher density housing and schools. Oakwood is now one of the most sought after communities in Wake County - because it was allowed to grow naturally. It is currently illegal to build this type of community in Wake county - a bitter irony. If elected, I would propose that the NCGA enacts a "shall issue" permitting process to replace our current "may issue" process. Clear rules for a minimum of health and safety laws will be set, preventing local governments from proliferating excessive zoning laws. The application process will be streamlined to ticking off boxes; if a developer can meet the predetermined requirements for health and safety, they are issued a permit. This would create consistency in our housing regulations and remove the variability that currently prevents developers from effectively responding to the clear demand for new housing. I am not against targeted, direct payments to low income families to help them purchase housing, but I believe this approach will not be effective until we solve the supply issue, and that is where we should focus our time and energy first.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
It is frustrating to see signs promoting diversity proudly planted in the front yards of neighborhoods that have little actual diversity. It seems that many people like the idea of diversity, but in someone else's neighborhood. Racial segregation helped drive the growth of zoning laws, and many of these laws are still on the books today. They may not be racial zoning laws on their face, but they are effectively racial zoning laws by result. Height restrictions, minimum parking requirements, lot size requirements, and other regulations such as these unnecessarily drive up the cost of housing and block minorities out of many communities. Eliminating zoning laws is the first and most crucial step to restoring racial diversity in our neighborhoods.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
We cannot truly help people afford housing until we solve the supply shortage. However, I am not against providing targeted, direct, and means-tested rent subsidies to low income families to be spent on housing of their choice. Rent control programs have proven to cause more problems than they solve, and should be avoided.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
According to studies by organizations such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), compliance with zoning and land use regulations can account for between 20% and 30% of the total cost of building a new home. We must repeal these laws, speed the time to permit, and create certainty for developers so that they can help get us out of the supply crisis and lower the overall cost of housing. I also propose a cap on property tax increases for residents who have lived in their homes for more than 15 years. The rate of property tax increases for existing housing could also be indexed to inflation to help prevent huge cost increases for some homeowners. Finally, we need to explore ways that the state can help our banking and lending sector recover from the disastrous unintended consequences of the Dodd-Frank bill, which drove many small, community and minority owned banks out of business through excessive regulatory burdens. Small and minority-owned banks often specialized in "relationship banking," where decisions were made based on personal knowledge of customers rather than relying solely on standardized credit criteria. Dodd-Frank’s regulations, particularly those requiring more standardized risk assessments, made it harder for these banks to continue this model, which had been especially important in serving minority and underserved communities. We need to find ways to make it possible for community banks to be profitable making smaller mortgage loans to low income families again.
Julie von Haefen
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head. This year, I sponsored HB 208 which provides low-income housing tax credits. I also co-sponsored the NC Housing Choice Incentive (HB 294). This legislation would appropriate $30 million dollars to the North Carolina Housing Choice Grant program which awards grant funds annually to certain counties and municipalities within a specified criteria.
I’m proud to be the lead sponsor of HB 581, the Investing in North Carolina Act. HB 581 prioritizes funding for programs that make everyday lives easier – competitive raises that keep teachers in the classroom, investments in our childcare workforce, and financial assistance for small businesses. I am also a sponsor of HB 569, the Working Families Act, which invests in high-quality, affordable child care, creates paid family leave, expands access to affordable housing & raises the minimum wage so that everyone has enough income to take care of their families and contribute to their local economy. North Carolina should be a place where all families can afford to live, work, and thrive.
I will continue working with my colleagues to pursue legislation that would tackle our affordable housing crisis with targeted, single-aspect bills and much broader legislation designed to address the crisis head-on.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
We need to pass renter protections to prevent no-cause evictions, provide more down-payment assistance to first-time home buyers, and pass a non-discrimination ordinance to offer specific protections for renters and homebuyers who are Section 8 recipients or who are people of color, low-income, or LGBTQ. No one should struggle to purchase a home because of the color of their skin. This is an issue that has been at the forefront of the housing crisis for decades, and we must work to break down any and all barriers to advance racial equity in housing. From redlining, to loan denial, to gentrification, society has found different ways to prevent Black residents from becoming homeowners. When we invest in racially segregated communities, we should be doing so for the community that currently lives there, not pushing people out of their communities to build homes outside of their price range. We must also make sure that we are creating a diverse supply of affordable housing in every community, not only in already segregated areas, in order to create more racial and socioeconomically diverse communities.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
Renter protections need to be established and enforced, including rent control in North Carolina. Rent control serves to keep landlords from extorting their tenants and maintains housing options for all economic classes. There also needs to be an increase in income-based housing. During my first term, I supported HB 31, which would allow the Durham School Boards of Education to enter into contracts to construct, provide, or maintain affordable rental housing for Durham Public School teachers and employees on Durham Public Schools property. Along with investing in renter protections, we have to continue to invest in our communities by lowering everyday costs for working families, increasing minimum wage, and guaranteeing paid family leave.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
As stated above, this year I sponsored HB 208 which provides low-income housing tax credits. I also co-sponsored the NC Housing Choice Incentive (HB 294). This legislation would appropriate $30 million dollars to the North Carolina Housing Choice Grant program which awards grant funds annually to certain counties and municipalities within a specified criteria. In order to increase affordable home ownership while preventing resident displacement, we need to increase resources and tax credits for low-income homeowners, and lower other costs related to owning a home such as rising energy costs.
James A. Roberson
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
I will both seek and support legislation to address affordable and workforce housing. I will work in concert with key stakeholders to ensure that this includes bipartisanship support.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
Educate the community on the importance to address this huge disparity. Work across the spectrum with experts, champions and the various entities in seeking good legislation as well as forming a bipartisan commission to study and report its findings to the NC General Assembly.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
I have developed legislation that currently addresses this issue with both retirees and disabled veterans to place a cap on rent increases. I am currently having community meetings with seniors and key stakeholders in an effort to explore additional ways and resources to support these efforts.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
Working closely with developers and municipalities to ensure that we focus on becoming more mixed use and urbanized where communities become more diverse and inclusive in price point as well as stock inventory.
NC Senate
Mrs. Sydney Batch
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
As a legislator, I have championed policies aimed at increasing access to affordable housing. Including:
Expanding the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund through my bill, the Expand Workforce Housing Act, which provides ongoing funding to build and preserve affordable housing for working families.
Supporting the creation of a Department of Housing and Community Development, which will centralize housing initiatives and better coordinate efforts to address housing shortages and affordability.
Limiting speculative purchases by large corporate entities through the Home Ownership Protection Act, ensuring more homes remain available for individual buyers rather than corporate rental portfolios.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
To address the racial wealth gap caused by historic housing discrimination, I will:
Expand homeownership opportunities through the Homes for Heroes Act, which provides down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers, including many from underserved communities, who serve as public servants.
Support the Homebuyer Fairness and Protection Act, which limits predatory due diligence fees that disproportionately affect minority buyers and low-income families.
Continue working on policies that prevent displacement and ensure that families in historically marginalized communities can remain in their homes, preserving wealth and stability across generations.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
To support renters struggling with rising costs, I will: Recapitalize the Housing Trust Fund to ensure we are building more affordable rental units and maintaining existing affordable housing options through the Expand Workforce Housing Act. Advocate for stronger renter protections and programs to assist those facing rental hardship by working to ensure that rental policies are fair and equitable. Push for the creation of housing-focused financial assistance programs through the Department of Housing and Community Development, which would centralize efforts to provide rental support and affordable housing.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
To help families achieve homeownership and protect current homeowners from displacement, I have introduced and supported legislation that:
Provides down payment and mortgage insurance assistance for first-time homebuyers through the Homes for Heroes Act, allowing more people to enter the housing market despite rising prices.
Protects homeowners from predatory investors by limiting the number of properties that large entities can buy, keeping homeownership opportunities open for individuals through the Home Ownership Protection Act.
Gale Adcock
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
The legislature could
1. reinstate the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to give low-income families more available capital for down payments, mortgage and/or rent costs;
2. raise the minimum wage (for the same effect);
3. expand the resources of the NC Housing Finance Agency to support down payment assistance and low-interest mortgages to increase homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers, in addition to home rehab programs that enable homeowners to remain in their homes;
4. create incentives for public-private partnerships that focus on affordable housing development, including using public land for housing projects or streamlining regulations for developers working on affordable housing projects;
5. increase the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) to encourage developers to include more affordable units in new developments;
6. incentivize affordable housing development through tax incentives, grants, and low-interest loans to developers to encourage the construction of housing accessible to low- and middle-income families;
7. abandon the practice of rescinding/restricting counties' and municipalities' authority to establish land use and zoning ordinances that meet the needs of their unique communities;
8. provide funding and/or other resources to community land trusts (CLTs) to acquire and designate land for low- and moderate-income homeowners, keeping land prices stable; and
9. offer tax breaks for individuals and developers who donate land and/or funds to CLTs.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
The legislature could make all discriminatory lending practices illegal with stiff penalties for violations and encourage municipalities to adopt inclusive zoning laws that allow for the development of affordable multi-family housing in areas traditionally zoned for single-family homes.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
At a minimum, the legislature could reinstate the EITC and raise the minimum wage to give workers more monthly income after housing costs.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
The legislature could: 1. strengthen protections for existing homeowners by raising the property tax cap for low-income, elderly, or disabled individuals; 2. expand programs for mortgage assistance and/or refinancing options to homeowners at risk of foreclosure due to financial hardship; and 3. strengthen laws to protect homeowners from predatory lending practices to prevent displacement through foreclosure.
Johnston County
Ted G. Godwin
Q: One in four households are unable to afford housing in our community. Six decades of stagnant wages, a 30-year undersupply of housing, and too little public and private funding are driving this housing crisis. If elected, what specific policies, practices, or initiatives will you implement to increase affordable housing in our community?
I believe the best thing we can do is foster increases in real wages to facilitate housing options. I don;t believe the government should be in the housing business for the most part. But creating an environment where businesses are attracted and offering attractive wages can provide people with the ability to acquire housing.
Q: Historically, intentionally discriminatory housing policy created racially segregated housing infrastructure. Government and the private sector prevented Black residents from becoming homeowners – resulting in today’s racial wealth gap. If elected, how will you advance racial equity in housing?
Those policies have been outlawed for 50 years. I believe in providing fair opportunities. Each person has a personal responsibility to use opportunities to reach the end he/she desires. I don;t believe in guarantying outcomes (equity). That should be up to the individual.
Q: Rents are rising across our community. For North Carolina renters, rents have increased 21% since 2001 while incomes have only increased 2%. Renters making less than $30,000 annually are left with only an average of $310 after paying rent. What steps will you take to support renters?
The previous administration was able to keep inflation in the 2% or less range. Current administration has instituted policy after policy (energy, runaway gov't. spending, open borders). Perhaps the best thing we all can do is to open our eyes and vote responsibly! Lower energy and food bills can provide greater spending for housing.
Q: Home sales prices have soared since 2020, making homeownership increasingly out of reach for residents with low incomes. Current low-income homeowners are also at risk of displacement from rising housing costs. How do you increase affordable homeownership and prevent resident displacement?
The current federal administration has opened our borders and allowed millions of illegal immigrants to enter our country. Those people are living somewhere, which increases demand, limits availability and caused this tremendous spike. You're asking for magic gov't. solutions but the problem won't be solved by government subsidies.