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Dave Pinto (DFL)

Minnesota Votes for Housing 2020

Candidate responses in italics.

Name: Dave Pinto

City/Town: St. Paul

Legislative District: 64B

Party: DFL

1: A national poll in May 2020 found that 78% of the public believes our elected leaders are not putting enough attention on people’s need for help to pay for their housing during the coronavirus outbreak. What do you believe is the role of government in ensuring everyone has access to housing?

Housing is fundamental to human dignity and to allowing each person in our state to contribute and thrive. Government must play a central role is ensuring that everyone is able to have that fundamental need met.

2: In Minnesota, 80 of 87 counties do not have the capacity to provide sufficient shelter or temporary housing to those who are homeless. Nationally, a study of US cities found that 25 percent of all requests for emergency shelter went unmet. What will you do to end homelessness? 

A key component in ending homelessness is having enough affordable homes. We need to build more homes and preserve the affordable housing stock that we have. And we need to provide rental assistance, as well as particular supports for those experiencing long-term homelessness.

3: According to the Census Bureau's July 22 Household Pulse Survey for Minnesota, and Stout’s analysis of this data, there are 132,000 potential eviction filings over the next 4 months in Minnesota. Over 90% of evictions in Minnesota are for non-payment of rent. What will you do to prevent evictions?

More housing and rental assistance will mean that more people can afford their rent and avoid eviction. We should also ensure that renters know their rights and that eviction is a last resort, such as through advance notice of evictions.

4: Being denied where to live because of race, family status, or disability is discrimination. In Minnesota, 53% more whites are homeowners than Black residents, a statistic that dwarfs the national racial homeownership gap of 30%. What meaningful steps will you take to address the root problems of racial disparities in housing?

Our racial disparities in housing are connected with disparities – some of the worst in the country – in so many other areas of our society. My own work is especially focused on closing racial disparities in the earliest years – which impact all of the rest of life – and in the criminal legal system. With respect to housing in particular, one concrete step is financial support for first-time homebuyers of color.

5: Our housing crisis includes a lack of safe, stable homes in Minnesota. The 2018 Minnesota Task Force on Housing identified a need for 300,000 new ownership and rental homes over the next decade. While there are 180,000 Minnesota renters with incomes at 30% area median income, only 100 units affordable to these families are produced each year. What steps will you take to support Minnesotans’ access to homes, especially for under resourced households?
 
Again, we need to build many more homes and to preserve the affordable housing stock that we have. That is going to take a significant investment, quite possibly through a new, dedicated source of revenue.

6: More than ever, the public understands the connection between housing and health, as well as education, transportation, and more. What housing-based strategy would you use to improve health outcomes for Minnesotans?

Again, my own focus has been on early childhood – getting every child off to a great start. But programs like high-quality child care face big headwinds for a family sleeping in a different location every night. And families can do so much on their own if they simply have a safe, stable, affordable place to live. More and more, I’m integrating housing into my work.

7: Over 188,000 Minnesota renter households between the ages of 25 and 44 are income-qualified to purchase a home but continue to rent, including 64,000 households of color. What steps will you take to increase opportunities for renters to purchase homes, condos, or cooperative ownership models, if they choose?

One model may be the legislation that would help the residents of manufactured parks cooperatively purchase their parks.

8: Including community recommendations when developing policies and programs is a best practice for effective and lasting solutions. How will you include those impacted by housing needs in developing and implementing housing solutions?

The centering of community voices is so critical. I’ll continue to look for these voices on my own, and even more I’ll continue to look to Homes for All and other advocates to help me find and hear from them – and ensure that other policymakers hear from them too.