Minnesota Votes for Housing 2020
Candidate responses in italics.
Name: Justin Stofferahn
City/Town: White Bear Township
Legislative District: 38
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?
The lack of affordable housing is an issue that poor policy has created, and it will require policy reform to help fix. We need to make smart policy and fiscal decisions to ensure people can access stable housing, which is key to our economic future as a state.
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?
We must invest resources in expanding the availability of emergency shelter beds in Minnesota. While budget decisions are going to be difficult given the projected deficit, bonding has the ability to provide resources to communities and will minimally impact the state budget, but this is a short-term solution to the issue. As we think longer-term a key piece is making sure that work is actually creating economic security for families. Nearly 30% of Minnesota's homeless population in 2018 were working. Expanding access to mental health services and treating drug addiction as a disease instead of simply a crime can also help prevent the conditions that lead to homelessness in the first place.
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?
I support the executive order by Governor Walz and the CDC moratorium on evictions.
I will seek out their input in crafting policy, whether that is working to connect with renters directly who are often left out of important conversations, or utilizing the expertise and experience of organizations like the Minnesota Housing Partnership.