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As the end of my eight year run as county executive gets closer, I find myself becoming more vocal about the big solutions to the problems that we’ve not been able to solve - things like the transfer of money from low income and working households to the folks at the top of the economy who don’t need it, and the influence that privileged political donors have on their recipients’ policy decisions.
I am more convinced than ever that the solutions to our problems are known, that they’ve been proven to work in our country and democracies across the world, and that we lack the political courage to implement them.
One of the projects that I’m proud to have facilitated is our transit oriented development (TOD) in Odenton. Urban Land Institute brought a group of local planners and architects to the site this week to look at what we’re doing there.
After a briefing and a site walk, I joined a panel that included the developer of the planned market-rate housing, the non-profit developer of the affordable housing, and the MDOT Chief of Real Estate and TOD.
We discussed the county investment in the parking garage that will free up surface parking area to make space for the housing and commercial development. And then I did what I always do in these housing and development conversations, which is to be adamant that in our county’s economy, a supply-side-only housing strategy creates gentrification rather than affordability. I celebrated the fact that a local nonprofit, Housing For America, was selected to produce affordable units, even though that affordability would require public subsidy.
The moderator’s last question was about challenges that could derail the project. I expressed confidence that future county and state administrations would deliver the parking garage and the market-rate housing, but noted that the affordable units will only be delivered if elected leaders push back on the narrative that supply alone delivers affordability, and fight bravely for the subsidies that allow our essential workers access. But then I said I was optimistic, without explaining why.
I’m optimistic because Americans are fed up and will rise up. They are learning quickly that removing the guardrails that were designed to make our economy fair has cruel consequences, and they want leaders who have the political will to do things on the scale of the New Deal, things like building the housing that teachers, health care, and service industry workers can afford.
Until that happens, we must strive to protect our people from both the economics and the politics of the times we are in.
A brilliant example of that work took place last Friday and Saturday at our Office of Equity and Human Rights Standing Together Against Hate Conference. Day one was Victims, Healing, and Justice, and day two was Advocacy, Action, and Prevention.
Hearing from people who had attended the event made me realize that I had underestimated the power and the necessity of this work. I highly recommend that you review this detailed agenda, and if you’re inspired, watch the video here.
We can’t stop powerful corporate interests and the politicians who work for them from using their media platforms to divide us. We can’t even stop all of the violence that the division inspires. But when we come together and share our experience as victims - Black victims, immigrant victims, Jewish victims, Muslim victims, LGBTQ victims, and yes, sometimes even white victims - and share the stories with the public, we are inspiring resistance and we are saving lives.
Until next week…