My True Position on Affordable Housing Vouchers and Section 8

In August of 2018, Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration announced financing to help developers build hundreds of low-income apartments in Baltimore suburbs that have traditionally resisted housing the poor. This decision was due mainly to the federal government determining that there is a shortage of affordable housing in Baltimore County. The federal government sued Baltimore County because it has insufficient affordable housing to match its changing socio-economic status that has occurred over the past few decades. As of May 2018, twenty units had already been built, with many others in the approval process. By the end of the year, 150 need to be built with 100 more every year thereafter for the next eight years.

Communities in Baltimore City have experienced the negative impact that can often come from a high concentration of poverty in specific communities. In Eastern Baltimore County, impoverished communities in areas like Essex, Dundalk, and Middle River have a high concentration (up to 12%) of voucher holders. Whether or not you agree with the Section 8 program, I think we all agree that having a high concentration of voucher holders does not make for an ideal situation for our communities.

With hundreds of units of affordable housing set to be built over the next ten years, there is currently no way to make sure that communities like the ones I represent will not receive the bulk of these units and a high concentration of voucher holders. In fact, if one were to look at a map of my legislative district, one could assume that district 8 will indeed receive the lion’s share of these units. We are the next district over.

As a student at Perry Hall Elementary and Middle Schools, I had many classmates whose families used vouchers. Many of the students in our public schools are still in voucher programs to this day. I am not the kind of elected official who implies that all Section 8 or other voucher holders are criminals, or are bilking the system (as is implied in the negative mailers currently being sent by the Republican Party and other National Republican groups). Like Governor Hogan, I believe there is a place for programs like Section 8. In fact, one of my classmates at Perry Hall Middle whose family was able to afford a home in Rosedale because of Section 8 vouchers is a very successful civil engineer. She put herself through college and is now the City Planner for the wealthiest jurisdiction in Florida. Indeed, there are plenty of success stories with the program, but there are also many negative stories, many of which come from areas where the concentration is high.

When the HOME Act came before the Maryland legislature, I saw it as a possible first step in ensuring that the communities I represent are treated fairly. If my communities are going to get more affordable housing, then it is only fair that communities like Timonium, Sparks, Phoenix, and other areas of our County that have limited or no affordable housing, would also have to do their part in making the County more affordable for lower income families. I do not think communities I represent like, Rosedale, Hillendale, Parkville, Perry Hall, etc. should be next in line, simply because we are close in geography to existing high concentration communities.

When the bill was in the House of Delegates in 2017, we knew there was no chance it would advance through the Senate (it did not advance). Like most bills, I also did not feel it was a perfect piece of legislation. I still feel as though we can do a better job of reaching an agreement that everyone can agree upon. But as I stated earlier whether or not you agree with voucher programs, we all agree that oversaturation is a bad thing, and we wanted to start the discussion with our Senate counterparts. That is the only way to advance an issue in Annapolis, by working together.

These are serious problems we will be facing in Baltimore County and in Annapolis, and we need serious people to help solve them. The easy thing to do is ignore the issue. Other elected officials and candidates for office are quick to criticize me. Every day a new piece of mail comes stating that I am trying to bring more Section 8 housing to my district. But not one opponent has offered a single solution to the current shortage. And when they say they would seek to overturn the decision of the federal government, that is their way of saying they have no plan. When the federal government comes after you, they win 98% of the time. To challenge the suit would literally waste millions of taxpayer dollars.

Unfortunately, simply stating that they would seek to overturn the lawsuit also conveniently allows them to, “punt” the issue until after the election. But the fact of the matter is, Baltimore County is going to build more affordable housing whether we like it or not. As a Delegate representing the best interests of my district, I am trying to make sure that if more affordable housing comes to my County, we do so in an equitable manner, and every legislative district in the County gets an equal share.

For more information regarding affordable housing in Maryland, please visit the Hogan Administration’s Website:

https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Hous...