Issues
What is the housing situation like for people in Columbus right now?
Columbus is facing an affordable housing crisis that grows worse every year. While poor and working-class people are most impacted by this crisis, Columbus residents at almost every income level are struggling to make rent, pay their property taxes, or afford their monthly mortgage payment. Meanwhile, eviction filings continue to rise, and the City’s unhoused population increases in number.
City officials tell us they are doing their best to address the problem, but the solutions they have implemented so far are not equal to the task. Right now, the City’s housing strategy is dominated by the needs of developers, landlords, business executives, and real estate attorneys. Partly as a result, the City transfers millions of dollars of public money every year to private developers to construct housing that is unaffordable to many Columbus residents.
People in Columbus are being displaced within our City, and are even being pushed outside of City limits. I have seen this up close through my work as a housing attorney.
What am I going to do about this?
I’m running for City Council because I know we can do better. I am committed to making housing for all a top priority during my time in office. I plan to address this crisis by centering the people and their needs rather than developers and theirs. These are some of the approaches I will consider taking in office:
Create a fund to build and acquire permanently affordable housing for public and community ownership
Redistributing public dollars to private developers to build mostly unaffordable housing is bad policy. At least $100 million remains from the affordable housing bond Columbus voters authorized in 2022. I would use this money to finance the development of high-quality housing for people at all income levels.
Support the creation of tenants unions
Expand right to counsel in eviction court
Tenants with legal representation are much more likely to win the right to stay in their homes. Right now, our limited right to counsel only applies to tenants with children who have an income of up to 100% of the federal poverty level ($26,650 per year for a family of 4).
Pass legislation giving tenants the right to make the first offer on their building if the landlord decides to sell
Many Columbus tenants have been displaced from their homes when the landlord sold the property and the new landlord hiked up the rent. This legislation would help tenants remain in their homes by connecting them to public money and financing so that they can convert their building into permanently affordable housing.
Provide property tax relief to residents who cannot afford the recent property tax increase
Involve Columbus residents in decision making about housing policy
I believe that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution. As a Council Member, I will establish an advisory group of people and organizations whose lived experience, community engagement, and/or professional expertise gives them deep insight into Columbus’s housing problems. This group will help guide my efforts to address our city’s housing crisis.
Create an official Department of Housing and Tenant Protections within City Government that exclusively focuses on creating housing and protecting housing affordability
What is the transit situation like for people in Columbus right now?
Columbus needs fast, reliable, safe, accessible, and affordable public transit and it needs better infrastructure for bikers and pedestrians. 1 in 10 Columbus households don’t have access to a car. Those that do have to spend hundreds a month or more on car payments, insurance, maintenance, and parking - making life here less affordable. 60% of our neighbors don’t have a sidewalk in front of their home, and we lack protected bike lanes that allow people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable biking around town to where they need to go.
We don’t have the kind of transit service that we need to reliably get to and from school, work, and fun. Part of the reason for this is that alternative mobility has long been thought of as an afterthought in this city that has been shaped by highways that cut through historic Black communities. Lack of transit options also impacts our health and safety. Our reliance on cars causes pollution that results in things like childhood asthma, and results in traffic fatalities.
Meanwhile, our city is growing, and business as usual will result in more cars on the road, more traffic, more pollution and traffic deaths. We need better options to get around.
What am I going to do about this?
I’m running for City Council because I know we can do better. I am committed to making fast and reliable transit and better bike and pedestrian infrastructure a top priority during my time in office. These are some of the approaches I will consider taking in office:
Advocate for LinkUS dollars to be spent on faster and more reliable bus service now, and shovel-ready projects to improve how residents move through Columbus
Though we passed an historic investment in more and faster bus service, bus rapid transit, and bike and sidewalk infrastructure with LinkUS last year, raising revenue is just the start. I will advocate that those funds be directed towards expanding bus service now and getting shovels in the ground to address sidewalk and bike infrastructure in neighborhoods that need it, rather than just better sidewalks for developers downtown.
Support fare-free bus service
For many in our community, even a 2 dollar fare is too much. Families shouldn’t have to forgo getting to critical appointments or the grocery store because they can’t afford bus fare. By expanding fare-free services, we can expand ridership, address need, and keep bus drivers safer by reducing a point of conflict with riders who can’t afford the fare.
Expand funding for bike infrastructure and adopt policies that protect bikers and pedestrians
Our city has a plan for bike infrastructure called Bike Plus that would make it easier for everyone to move around town, but we need to prioritize and fund it. Doing so along with adopting plans to reduce pedestrian deaths is needed.
Some of my other priorities are:
Good union jobs
The City has chosen not to act on opportunities to use union labor, such as with the anticipated construction of the new airport. We need to double down on our commitment to bringing union jobs to Columbus. Unions mean better wages, more benefits, and safer working conditions for Columbus residents. These jobs are critical for families to make it into the middle class. As a former member of AFSCME Local 797 myself, I know that this should be a top priority, which is why I’m proud to show up on picket lines across the City to help advocate for workers, and to champion union labor as a key issue I’m fighting for on the campaign trail.
Supporting kids
The City can step up in ways it is not currently doing so to deliver on its promise to our kids and families. To keep families in Columbus, and to support growth and small business, we need to support the kids by taking care of what CCS can't take care of before and after school: pass universal pre-K, expand after-school childcare, implement restorative practices to help kids unlearn trauma, and more.