Letter to Governor Newsom

 

Nix the Nine Campaign

775 E. Blithedale Avenue, #233, Mill Valley, CA 94941

Nix-the-Nine.blogspot.com      

 

Governor Gavin Newsom
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

September 8, 2020

Dear Governor Newsom:

The Nix-the-Nine Campaign emerged because the housing package presented by legislators missed the mark on fair housing policy, as documented by The Embarcadero Institute.

The bills created cumulative negative impacts for communities, without meeting the need for affordable housing. Legislators nixed seven of the bills: four failed (AB1279, AB3040, SB902, and SB1385). Three did not reach concurrence (SB995, SB1085, and SB1120).  Two bills remain.

PLEASE VETO AB725 and AB2345.  Your veto would send a message to legislators and the public about better ways to set policy and meet housing goals.

 

1.   Legislators should set policy and secure funding for affordable housing.  Implementation should remain the constitutional right and responsibility of local

      jurisdictions.

 

2.  Local jurisdictions should not be blamed or punished for the state’s lack of funding for housing but welcomed as partners in finding solutions. Local control should be strengthened, not handed over to developers and unelected bureaucracies.

 

3.  Legislators should tackle economic conditions that worsen the welfare of Californians, such as the globalization of housing, pension debt, vacant investment properties, and the growing divide between people of wealth and people of wages.

 

4.  Legislators should set policy that supports CEQA and accounts for COVID-induced changes in work, commuting patterns, employment, office vacancies, and homelessness.

 

5.  Legislators should stop the adversarial practice of burdening cities with unfunded mandates. The League of CA Cities estimates a $7 billion revenue shortfall over the next two years.

 

6.  Housing policy should be based on facts, not on inflated or aspirational numbers like the 3.5M housing unit shortage perpetrated by AB2345’s author in her report of August 31.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

Governor Newsom, you can count on us to work with you on a flexible plan that spells out a vision for housing policy based on reliable data, social equity, and transparent processes that fully engage a broad range of women and men on the front lines of good government.

Best wishes,

Susan Kirsch, Chair, Nix-the-Nine Campaign