Affordable Housing Takes Center Stage in Oregon’s Local Elections
As election day approaches, candidates are wrangling to stake out their positions on issues to earn the votes of an electorate hungry for progress on Oregon’s most important issues. Affordable housing has taken center stage in many local races, acting as somewhat of a proxy for a generalized feeling that Oregon is becoming too expensive.
Here is a breakdown of a few local candidates and what they have said about how they would approach affordable housing:
House District 19 (South Salem)
David Brown, a political newcomer, says that since his opponent, Tom Andersen, has been in office, housing prices have risen by over 80 percent. Brown also states that Tom supports higher property taxes and green energy mandates that make utility bills more expensive. Brown is eager to define Andersen as part of the problem, rather than an antidote to it. For his part, Brown says that he would cut red take that cost developers time and money from building more affordable housing.
Tom Andersen, an elected official in Salem for nearly a decade, touts his 7-year term on the Salem Housing Authority, working on increasing the amount of affordable housing as a major accomplishment. Andersen says they were able to increase the number of new units, including Yaquina Hall. He also says that as State Representative, he helped secure funding for more affordable housing projects and passed state cap rent increases.
House District 21 (Salem and Keizer)
Kevin Mannix points to voting for HB 2001 (2023) as his major accomplishment on increasing affordable housing supply. Mannix has also been highly critical of his opponent, Salem City Councilor Virginia Stapleton, for voting against an affordable housing project earlier this year. She explained why she voted no by saying she didn’t want the housing crisis to hinder the city’s climate goals. Despite Stapleton’s no vote the project passed and will create over 200 affordable housing units off Joseph St and Aumsville Highway.
Virginia Stapleton rebuttles Mannix’s critiques by citing a vote early in her city council term to approve a tax credit for a developer to build an apartment complex off of E street and Broadway NE as a reason for voters to trust her to increase affordable housing supply as a state representative. She also talks about public transportation options as an important factor when considering where to put affordable housing projects.
House District 22 (NE Salem and Woodburn)
Lesly Muñoz is challenging incumbent Tracy Cramer in District 22. Muñoz says that housing is a top priority for her. She says she will work to build more affordable housing and reduce homelessness, increase rent assistance for working families, and protect tenants from evictions.
Tracy Cramer often cites her support of multiple bills over her first term that she calls a “historic and bipartisan housing package.” The bills will open up buildable land so that more homes can be built. She also points out that those packages had provisions to provide funding for housing for agricultural workers, – which she says play an essential part of the local community’s economy –victims of sexual violence, and more shelter beds for the homeless.
House District 20 (West and South Salem, Monmouth and Independence)
In a press release after the 2021 Legislative session, incumbent representative, Paul Evans, highlighted a $413.5 million investment into the Housing and Community Services Department for Local Innovation and Fast Track Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing Statewide. Evans says that money will result in expediting 653 affordable housing units in Salem. Evans also helped pass $6 million to the Salem Y Veterans Housing for Veterans’ Affordable Housing Project. Evans states on his website that he will continue to fight to provide housing assistance to renters and landlords.
Kevin Chambers, running to unseat Evans, does not have affordable housing listed as a priority on his website and has yet to mention it this election on his social media channels.