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PLATFORM
Housing
Jobs
I have spent the past year thinking about housing almost non-stop. As a co-founder of the North Adams Community Housing Organization (NACHO), a grassroots group focused on housing issues in North Adams, I’ve been learning about housing policy, housing data, and the ways that we can actually make an impact on housing in North Adams. More than half of renters in North Adams are considered “cost-burdened,” spending more than they can afford on rents. Rents and housing costs are only going up, meanwhile we have not built housing in decades and vacant houses fall into disrepair.
We need to invest money to ensuring people can continue to live in this city, while also ensuring we don't lose our existing housing to AirBnbs (short-term rentals) or disinvestment.
Since Sprague closed, North Adams has really suffered. We need to have good, middle-class jobs that people can work in order to live healthy, dignified lives. My plan is to work with the current employers, as well as organizations like 1Berkshire focused on economic development, to learn more about what the city council can do to increase jobs in North Adams. I intend to use my position to be a voice for economic development.
Communication with the public is key! Anyone that would like to meet with me is invited over my house for tea and a chat. If I am elected, I will make it a priority to communicate through social media, email lists, in-person events about what we are talking about at city council and about what is going on in the city.
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