In keeping with our Leadership Council’s commitment to oppose Question 2, which would repeal the affordable housing law, I will be offering weekly action steps via the Western Massachusetts campaign coordinator (and Leadership Council member!), Andrew Baker. If we each take these steps, we will get that much closer to preserving a vital tool in the creation of affordable housing in our region and across the state. For more information about the ballot question or campaign, go to: http://protectaffordable housing.org
This week’s action: Copy this dear friend letter below (or click here to get it as a Word document), adopt it as your own, and send it out to your email lists, both professional and personally. It will be an extremely well-spent 10 minutes. Let’s do it!
Dear Friend,
Question 2 on the November ballot calls for the repeal of the primary affordable housing law in Massachusetts. Repealing this law will result in fewer affordable homes in Massachusetts. The Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law is working hard to defeat this referendum, and we are asking for your support. Please Vote NO on 2!
If the affordable housing law is repealed, it would immediately halt the creation of housing that is affordable to modest income families and seniors in most areas of the Commonwealth at a time of high unemployment, record foreclosures, and growing homelessness. Simply put, we can’t provide affordable housing for our residents without this law.
Massachusetts is an expensive place to live. The affordable housing law is responsible for 80% of the affordable housing built in our state outside of the largest cities in the last decade. It is the single most important tool for creating affordable housing and has created more than 58,000 homes. Fifty-one communities have reached the 10% affordable housing goal the law creates, and another forty are very close.
The affordable housing law has helped build great communities and high quality homes across the Commonwealth. It has provided homeownership for teachers, nurses, police officers, social workers, retail employees, and administrative staff. For young working families, these homes provide opportunities to live in the town where they were raised. For seniors, these homes provide an opportunity to downsize to a more affordable home that is easier to maintain. The local preference allowed by regulation ensures that the homes are available to families and seniors from the town.
A recent UMass study found that the affordable housing law has created 50,000 jobs and $9.25 billion in economic activity. There are 12,000 homes in the pipeline that would not get built if this law is repealed in November. We can’t afford to repeal this law now.
The Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law is a group of over 1,000 civic, business, and municipal leaders, academics, senior and disability organizations, environmentalists, housing and civil rights organizations, and affordable housing residents. This list can be found on the campaign website: www.ProtectAffordableHousing.org.
Don’t forget to Vote NO on 2 on November 2nd!
Sincerely,
p.s. If you’d like to help the campaign in Western Mass. (take a lawn sign, write a letter etc.) contact Andrew Baker at (413) 625-8465 or Andrew@andrewbaker.org
