• WeMassachusetts Democrats believe the public sector
has a vital role to play in the provision of that
decent, safe, affordable, and fairaccessible
housing for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race,
religion, age, income, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation, is a
basic human right, and strengthens individuals, families, and communities.
We recognize a crisis in housing costs across the Commonwealth, and we advocate
a heightened priority for affordability initiatives, including the creation of
a responsible state agency with full Cabinet-level status.
• We believe thatsupport state and
federal tax incentives and other programs to
spurencourage private-sector construction of
participation in building and providing low-income affordable housing.
are important and appropriate parts of both state and federal tax codes.
• We believe home-ownership strengthens
individuals, families and communities, and we support state and
federal efforts subsidies, low-interest loans, and
mortgages, in order to assist qualifiedencourage
home-ownership, particularly for first-time homebuyers.
• We strongly endorsesupport fair housing
laws against discrimination in the sale or provision of housing, and those
providing for units accessible to persons with disabilities.
We restate our support for strong state and federal
involvement in, and aid for, the needs of cities.•
We back the establishment of community development banks and recognize the
vital roleadvocate for an array of
community-based development organizations in providing programs as well as state and federal programs to support affordable
housing in urban, suburban, exurban, and rural areas.
We endorse existing federal Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Zone initiatives
and advocate state “zones” that would supplement federal resources by providing
a mix of tax incentives, venture capital, job training resources, and access to
technology.
We understand that where redlining occurs in the
financial services and insurance industries, job growth, entrepreneurship, and
home ownership are profoundly undermined within low-income and urban
communities. • We strongly support Tthe Community Reinvestment Act,
that requiresing lendersfinancial institutions and insurance companies to offer
loans and bankingprovide the same level of
services to qualified residents in all communities within theirevery service areasregion
of the Commonwealth. We strongly support legislation and enforcement
actions against predatory lenders and lending practices.
We recognize the crisis across the Commonwealth in the
availability of affordable rental units and seek innovative and effective ways
to address it. We call for additional federal and state support for affordable
housing, including both the production of new housing, and the preservation of
so-called expiring use units. We advocate state assistance through programs
like the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. We support cooperative efforts
to increase the supply of appropriate student housing, decreasing the pressures
on private rental housing.
• We believe that some people need
assistance in paying for housing for some part or all of their lives, and we
are committed to providing that assistance through increases in state and
federal programs.
• We believe that safe, decent public
housing continues to play a critical roleis a
significant investment of public resources in the Commonwealth and is an asset worth protecting. We do not
believe that provision of vouchers to public housing tenants should result in
diminished support for federal or state supported public housing, and we do not
support public housing policies that result in a net loss of units. We endorse
initiatives in which tenants assume managerial or ownership responsibilities,
and encourage tenant-management partnerships to improve security and for other
purposes. We support adoption of policies that allow expulsion of tenants
involved with drug dealing or other disruptive criminal activity.
• We support a portable public housing subsidy that can be used throughout the
Commonwealth.
• We recognize that
residents of public and moderate income subsidized housing residents often requireshould
have access to socialsupport
services to help them achieve self-sufficiency. networks.
We firmly support the targeting of recreational, educational, vocational, and
health resources to residents of public and subsidized sector housing.
We believe that the availability of a permanent and
stable home in which to live is a basic right of all people, including
children, and persons with physical or mental disabilities, HIV/AIDS, and
victims of poverty, abuse, or violence. We recognize the need for adequate day
care, job training, and affordable rental housing in eradicating this
persistent problem.• Massachusetts Democrats are
committed to ending homelessness in our Commonwealth.
Developed by Brad Johnson (Boston Ward 4). Presented as a service for the 2005 Massachusetts Democratic Convention by Democracy for America: Boston.