Our son says he wants to be a furniture maker when he grows up.

Recently, our son told me he wanted to build something. I suggested working together on a birdhouse, or maybe a simple tool box, but he insisted he wanted to do his own thing all by himself. So I gave him the screwdriver (impact driver specifically), a box of screws, and a pile of boards. He spent hours outside, and when it started getting dark, I set him up in the attic.

Our son is 6 now, and furniture maker is just the latest career aspiration. Before that, it was a builder. He’s clearly good with his hands, and we’d love to foster his and his sister’s budding career aspirations.

But what’s the path to independence and starting a family out here now for a young adult who wants to start a career here as a furniture maker, builder - or any career? The cost of housing has gotten staggeringly unaffordable.

I believe that young adults should be able to afford places of their own, working-class families should be able to buy homes in which to raise their children, and seniors should be able to downsize into more affordable and manageable places in the communities where they’ve spent decades.

Unfortunately, the current reality is much different.

Instead of starting families, young adults are living with parents or roommates well into their 20s and 30s. Working- and middle-class families are being crushed by the burden of housing costs. Seniors are stuck in homes they can’t afford to live in - but also can’t afford to move out of.

This is about a lot more than just housing.

Our businesses can barely find the workers they need to keep their doors open, never mind expand. Our public schools, facing declining enrollments, are forced to make difficult choices. Our community has had to fight to keep healthcare facilities open because not enough babies are being born in the area. And our volunteer emergency services have had such a difficult time recruiting and retaining personnel that many towns, already have, or are considering, hiring emergency responders.

Change is Possible, and Critical.

There are many big problems our district and state are facing that Connecticut can’t solve on its own, such as climate change and our broken healthcare system. Our housing crisis, however, is something that Connecticut can - and must - solve on its own. Connecticut has risen to daunting challenges before, and I’m confident that it can rise to this one. I’m eager to help make 2025 the year that Connecticut aggressively and meaningfully tackles its housing crisis.

The Path Forward

As the leader of an affordable housing non-profit, I deal with housing issues, and housing policy, on a daily basis. I’ve been watching the legislative proposals that have been made in recent years, and the politics surrounding them. I believe that there are a number of practical ways that we can meaningfully address our housing crisis, which are politically feasible.  I don’t think we have to threaten local control to create the housing we need. In fact, additional pathways to 8-30g relief will be part of what I’ll be proposing.

A Proposal

In an op-ed published in the Danbury News-Times, the Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, the New Haven Register, the Stamford Advocate, the Middletown Press and the Norwalk Hour, I make the case for providing funding to homeowners who want to build an affordable accessory dwelling unit (ADU), and small landlords who want to rehabilitate existing units. This approach would allow Connecticut to create more housing - without touching open space, and working with existing local zoning. Units built under the program I propose would count towards 8-30g exemption, incentivizing towns to support the building of new ADUs, and the rehabilitation of existing units.

I’m a Practical Democrat

What does it mean to be a practical Democrat? It means not letting ideological or partisan lines get in the way of solutions. It means carefully considering the costs and tradeoffs associated with pursuing important goals. It means being willing to say no to vocal interest groups if that’s what’s necessary for the greater good.

I’ll bring a practical approach to our housing crisis and the collateral damage it is inflicting on our communities, as well as the many other topics and issues our district is facing.