What changes or decisions will you make in office to increase access to affordable housing?
Cary’s workforce, including service providers, police, firefighters, teachers and EMTs, vital to the well-being of our community, cannot afford to live in the Town of Cary. First, I believe that if Cary selects and hires the best talent to serve our community, they should be paid a living wage to live in the community they serve. The COVID-19 pandemic has also added to the financial stress of families in the region.
I would look to incorporate affordable housing where a household income is a) typically higher than the rest of Cary, and b) where housing affordability is the poorest. By integrating affordable housing into these ‘exclusive’ areas, we create diversity, which keeps the city balanced. The lower income households are in legacy Cary neighborhoods. There doesn’t need to be more affordable housing where lower income residents already exist. We must protect these areas from having their residents displaced. The more expensive housing is in western Cary, thus affordable housing is needed there, and less so in downtown Cary. Integrating affordable housing into communities that are unaffordable would help drive the balance, not centralize affordable housing/lower income areas separate from exclusive higher income neighborhoods. This is an opportunity to drive diversity.
I believe that Affordable Housing should be increased on an equitable basis and not be a cause of economic segregation by placing them in certain zip codes.
I believe that affordable housing units should be build using the highest standards of sustainable construction, including efforts to reduce energy consumption through proper insulation, solar installations, and EV stations.
New construction should also promote environmental equity. Avoidance of widespread clear-cutting of forest must be avoided, as trees help clean the air, avoid heat islands, flooding, and provide a more pleasant environment in which to live. Trees help to cool homes in the summer, and block cold winds in the winter. Permeable surfaces should be minimized, access to public transportation is necessary, and greenways and green spaces should be provided.
I support One-Wake’s efforts, and the many groups, including Habitat for Humanity, that contribute to making housing affordable in Cary.
A fundamental issue in Cary is that population is increasing at a much higher rate than was planned for in the Cary Community Plan. We will surpass the population on which that development plan was based by over 100,000 people, and we currently add 10.8 people per day, all needing housing and services. We are finding ourselves in a housing crisis of our own making. The Town of Cary Mayor, in his State of Cary 2022 address, said, “We can expect the population to double in this area in the next 20-30 years, if you think you’ve seen growth now, you haven’t seen what’s coming. It’s going to change a lot.” The Cary Mayor recently said “when you drive up demand for housing, you drive up the costs, so to create affordable housing is a really daunting task.” As a Town Council Member, I will push for a rewrite of this community plan based on the real population growth of Cary, the growing housing crisis and environmental crisis we are facing.
What will you do in office to support first-time homebuyers?
Investors are draining an increasing large share of American homes from the market, leaving traditional homebuyers with fewer options, at higher prices. Homeownership is the single most important way Americans build wealth. Large institutional investors have been pumping cash into the market that used to be highly localized and dominated by owner-occupiers and small-time landlords. Over the last two years, the pandemic triggered a home-buying boom amid record-low mortgage rates and house-bound families’ desire for home offices and more space. Affordability has fallen sharply; supply has decreased, and prices have surged.
One way to encourage homeowners is to rehabilitate existing homes in Cary through expanding the Housing Rehabilitation Program, as an alternative to high priced infill homes. This program assists lower-income homeowners with funding for home improvements which helps residents age in place, preserve safe and sanitary housing.
Rents are rapidly rising in Wake County and Cary. How will you increase affordable rental options?
Community Block Grants to organizations like CASA, Community Alternative Systems Agency, (not currently in Cary) that buy and repair existing homes in the community for low-income rental helps provide housing, while avoiding loss of existing homes and avoiding expensive infill development which can change the nature of a community. Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 should be used to help fund utility costs, childcare, and other costs which burden lower-mid-income homeowners and renters. The Oasis program, a partnership between Cary and Dorcas Ministries, should be furthered to help with utility payments in times of need. The Dorcas Ministries Rental Assistance helps renters through the troubled Covid-19 pandemic, as does the Help Wake!
The proposed affordable housing project on 921 SE Maynard Road is a rental unit, that does not help residents build equity. Some of the existing capacity of recently built apartments could have been and should designated as affordable, ie., the Fenton.
What else should Habitat Wake’s network know about you?
I am a 72 year-old Army veteran who served as a helicopter gunship pilot in Korea. My Korean friends lamented the loss of valuable trees of their sacred mountain. I requested permission from my division commander to fly trees and planting equipment up the mountainsides so they could replant their forest and improve their home. As a criminal lawyer in Baltimore, I stimulated a community group to plant 300 trees in marginal neighborhoods, which provided an improved environment. In Cary, I was asked by an HOA president, who knew that I was a tree guy, to plant a few trees. I said how about a few hundred and the idea for the Cary Tree Archive was born. In two years, this idea has inspired over 400 volunteers and 50 civic groups to plant 300 trees, a pollinator garden, a fruit & nut orchard, and the re-creation of a Longleaf pine savanna. This ecosystem restoration program has beautified a mowed field of grass and weeds and increased home values along the White Oak Creek Greenway. I have a history of getting things done. My campaign is completely funded by private citizens. I have no desire for higher office and hope to join the Cary Town Council to help improve this wonderful city.
