1. Do you believe there is an affordable housing crisis in our community? If not, what is your position regarding the need for affordable housing in
Madison?
Yes, many people simply cannot afford housing in Madison, particularly with Madison’s high property taxes.
2. How much, and what type of affordable housing is in your district?
Do you think there should be more or less than the available supply in your district?
[Mayoral candidates, please answer in regard to the entire city.]
There is no doubt that housing is expensive in Madison as compared to many of its surrounding communities. Most of the affordable housing is
available to folks who have access to finances and can, for example, purchase inexpensive converted rental units to condos. But most poor people can
not buy these inexpensive units because they are caught up in a poverty cycle where all their money is spent in rent and basic necessities without
anything left to be able to build equity. We definitely should have more availability of affordable housing opportunities in Madison. But we also
must encourage economic development and job creation to help lift poor people and their communities out of poverty.
3. List any housing issues you have worked actively on in the last year, either as an
elected official or as a member of the community.
As Centro’s Executive Director I work on a project to purchase 64 rental units to establish a rent-to-own program. The units cost $42,000 and
with improvements would have been able to sell for about $60,000. Regretably Centro’s Board did not approve the project out of fear the program
would be beyond the scope of the agency. In addition to this proposal, I worked regularly with Centro’s rent
assistance program for tenants who are at risk of being evicted. I have re-designed the program structure to ensure the rent assistance leads
to affordable sustainabilty rather than simply delay an eviction. To this end we help client obtain employment or improve their incomes or/and reduce
their expenditures.
4. What is your definition of affordable housing? Where do you see the highest need, or
what would be your priorities in targeting various income levels?
Affordable is relative, i.e., for whom? I would use HUD’s definition, but my highest priority is for low income people because their affordable
housing choices are very limited. The very poor have no disposable income and simply can not find lower price housing in the market which they
could afford. People within the area median income range or higher can always choose a lower priced alternative. Therefore the priority should be to
help those who need it the most. However, we should not miss the opportunity to increase the stock of affordable housing for most people.
5. Aside from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Inclusionary Zoning, what are your
additional new ideas for addressing the affordable housing crisis?
I would be interested in promoting work force housing programs, where employers participate in supporting housing for their employees.
I would also encourage more nonprofits to build affordable housing stock, perhaps as part of their workforce development programs. Further, I
would explore using the City’s surplus land for affordable housing development.
This could significantly reduce land and construction holding costs. As mayor I work to have the City place a priority on affordable housing,
particularly above excessive historic preservation. Preservation is critically important to maintain the character of our city. But it
should not be so excessive that it would prevent an effective level of density to yield affordability. Density should not be sacrificed to the benefit of preserving too many old houses that are homes to few people.
The City should also provide attractive incentives, such as density bonuses, to encourage mix income projects.
6. What initiatives in other policy areas could support more affordable housing (for example, transportation, economic development, childcare...)?
In addition to encouraging the growth of affordable housing stock, the City should promote economic development for the purpose of creating jobs
that pay a living wage. This way, more people are able to afford the available housing stock the market normally provides through its much lauded
“invisible hand”.
7. What is the position of your campaign on contributions from landlords, realtors and
developers? Have you pledged not to accept some or all of these contributions?
No.
Affordable Housing Trust Fund
8. How much money should be put in the trust fund each year and where should these funds come from?
This fund should be large enough to make a difference, say ten million dollars, and should be invested as a revolving stock so that it is a
City reserve asset. To raise funds I would reach out to developers, builders, and others to come up with ideas for contributions to the trust.
Perhaps effective permitting incentives can be implemented that could contribute substantially to the fund.
9. What percentage of the fund should be used to create affordable housing each year? Why?
To ensure perpetuity and growth, the fund should distribute about 5% of its yield.
10. What is your perception of the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance? What changes, if any, would you make to the ordinance?
The ordinance has been of great value in focusing the need for affordable housing in Madison. Unfortunately it has not been effective in adding
any significant amount of affordable housing stock. We may try some changes to encourage an adequate stock production before its schedule sunset.
However, my preference would be to find creative solutions such as collaborations with the housing industry and advocates, as well as incentives to add
more affordable housing stock.
Fair Housing and Tenants’ Rights
11. What resources are you willing to dedicate to increasing and improving enforcement of Chapter 32 (the landlord tenant ordinance)?
Madison has a committee that examines these issues and has effectively championed several housing initiatives in the recent years, such as the
lock ordinance, protections for tenants regarding check-in and check-out, and the tenant repair ordinance. Through collaboration the Committee has gained
much respect from both consumer advocates and the housing industry. We need to continue to encourage collaboration and compromise because this has
lead to good reslts.
12. Are there any housing ordinances currently in existence that you would amend or change? Which ones – how and why?
I would ask the Housing Committee to thoroughly examine the current ordinances to suggest appropriate changes to encourage fairness and
effective enforcement in protecting the rights of tenants as well as the landlords.
13. How can the City improve enforcement of accessibility requirements under the Federal Fair Housing Act in new housing?
City staff should be fully up to date on applicable accessibility regulations to ensure compliance on new housing permitting process and
inspection.
Homelessness
14. What is the role of the City in the homeless shelter system?
The City should be doing much more in providing leadership and support for agencies that work on helping the homeless. Many folks who are
homeless are afflicted with extreme poverty or/and mental illness. Nonprofits should collaborate more to bolster their case management in promoting treatment for
the mentally ill, as well as linking folks who are able to work to pathways to jobs that pay living wages.
15. What is the responsibility of the City to provide support services such as case management?
The City should encourage agencies to adopt holistic social service models that take the opportunity to help clients beyond the presenting
problem. Insofar as affordable housing is concern, these agencies should seek to help clients find opportunities to improve their income potential through
education and better job placement.
16. What can the City do to prevent homelessness?
To alleviate homelessness the City should encourage a vibrant economic environment that has many job opportunities and pathways to good paying
jobs. The healthcare system needs to be improved such that the chronically disabled are effectively treated to help enable them as much as
possible to function normally in society. For those who are permanently disabled we need to provide sufficiently to allow them to live a dignified life.
This will be a very difficult problem for the City to address without national or state policies that provide sufficient resources at the local level.
17. What do you think are primary obstacles to getting out of shelter for those people who do have an income, and how can we eliminate those
obstacles?
A significant obstacle may be very low incomes, or lack of resources to provide down payments or rent advances. Additionally, folks in
shelters may have reference or credit history issues that make landlords fear them
as tenants. The best programs to deal with these obstacles are those that aim to prepare folks for jobs that provide living wages. These include
many opportunities to participate in apprenticeship programs with labor unions because of the numerous anticipated vacancies in the healthcare and
construction industries.
Allied Drive
18. During “revitalization” efforts, what can the city do to prevent displacement of good
tenants who currently live in the Allied Drive neighborhood?
The City should promote the availability of lease-to-own programs in the Allied area. For example, the Troy Hauk property that the City
purchased could be remodeled and turned into condominiums that could be sold or leased to qualified tenants.
19. Do you believe that the way to “fix” the Allied Drive neighborhood is to have 50%
homeownership? (If yes, please explain. If no, what should it be?)
I think that home ownership will be an effective strategy for Allied Drive. Because of the significant community challenges there, the percentage
should probably be closer to 75%. As mentioned above, rent-to-own would be a good tool to help accomplish this goal without displacing current residents.
Sweat equity in remodeling the units would also provide resources for tenants who may not have financial reserves for a down payment. The
sweat equity program could be part of the apprenticeship program for the skilled trades that the City is targeting for Allied Drive. The program is a partnership between Centro Hispano and the skilled trades unions. The
partnership aims to use the anticipated vacancies in the state of 100,000 thousand jobs in the building industry during the next ten years. The
vacancies are a great opportunity to lift individuals and the community out of poverty. Put simply, there is no better social program than a good
job.
