I understand that housing affordability and the high cost of living are defining issues for our district. San José regularly tops the list of the most expensive cities in the country, and recently made national headlines when the median sale price of a single-family home crossed $2 million^[1]. It’s no surprise that in a recent poll 96% of residents described the cost of housing as a serious issue^[2], and 41% of renters are currently rent-burdened with 1 in 5 renters spending over half their income on housing^[3]. Our residents deserve better.

The high cost of housing is a direct consequence of our housing shortage. In recent years the Bay Area has added about 5 jobs for every 1 new home, and researchers estimate the total shortfall at about 700,000 homes^[4]. To keep up with demand, San José needs to build over 62,000 units in the next 8 years. But despite the clear evidence of a housing shortage, residential construction in San José has slowed, and the gap between supply and demand is growing. The status quo is not working, and we need leaders with new ideas and the expertise to see them through in order to build our way out of this crisis. On the Planning Commission, I have led efforts to add tens of thousands of units of residential capacity in urban villages and growth areas throughout the City, and have championed policies to make it faster and cheaper to build new housing. I’m ready to lead the fight against our affordability crisis by:

• Supporting new housing construction at all affordability levels, particularly in downtown and urban villages, to get run away price increases under control and eliminate our housing shortage.

• Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy to make housing construction faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

• Working with county, regional, and state partners to secure new funding sources for constructing permanently affordable housing.

• Partnering with public agencies and nonprofits to acquire, rehabilitate, and preserve our existing supply of affordable housing.

• Enabling more cost-effective construction methods via building code reform and simplification of design and development standards.

• Reforming our neighborhood outreach and public comment procedures so that our neighbors are informed about new developments and have pathways to voice concerns.