Community Alliance of Tenants Response to Former Minority Leader and Gubernatorial Candidate Christine Drazan’s Statement on the Houselessness Crisis

Community Alliance of Tenants Executive Director Kim McCarty released the following statement today in response to Drazan’s proposals to declare a State of Emergency for houselessness:

“The Community Alliance of Tenants is pleased that housing policy and houselessness are priorities for the three major Gubernatorial candidates.  CAT members and tenants across the state declared a Housing State of Emergency in 2020, and as we continue to see skyrocketing housing prices with the rising inflation, we agree this issue should be addressed swiftly by our leaders. 

“While we applaud Former Minority Leader Drazan for sharing CAT’s long-held urgency on this issue, we do not see the proposals being offered as real solutions. Evictions and increasing housing prices are the primary cause of houselessness. We do not see repealing Measure 110 and recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drug possession to then house more people in jails as a viable alternative to stable and safe homes. We strongly urge currently elected officials to take swift action to address housing affordability instead of increasing criminal penalties. 

“The former Minority Leader’s announcement that housing policy will be her top priority as Governor did come as a surprise to our organization, since she voted against No Cause Evictions in 2019 (SB 608), against emergency rental assistance in 2020 (HB 4401), and against foreclosure and mortgage assistance in 2021 (HB 2009). She also voted against amending laws that would allow houseless individuals to seek shelter on public property in 2021 (HB 3115), as well as a provision that would allow more time before local governments removed the belongings of houseless individuals camping (HB 3124). 

“We see these votes as at odds with an agenda to solve the housing crisis and with the values and views of CAT members. We encourage the candidate to review the rising trends of housing costs and the pending impact of inflation before repealing a publicly approved measure that has little to nothing to do with housing. 

“CAT will continue to advocate for smart housing policies that keep people in safe, stable housing situations and protect tenants from harassment.” 

The Community Alliance of Tenants Action Fund has endorsed Tina Kotek for Governor. Visit www.cataction.org to learn more.