Orange County

Dave Min understands that the jobs-rich cities in OC must provide sufficient workforce housing to create balanced communities. His commitment to creative housing solutions to end homelessness and support for SB 50 and SB 330 earned him YIMBY Action’s endorsement.

Christine understands the need for housing as part of a complete community, one that includes homes for the people who work there. Brea is a large employment center; she sees opportunity for infill development, including affordable housing, in the heart of the community.

Tyler sees the need for more housing opportunities everyday in the lives of his students. “As a teacher, I have students who are homeless and often times finding them a place to stay for the night can be difficult. It is our job as a society to work to end it through various means, including building more affordable housing.” Tyler also represents one of many professions where young professionals are priced out of Orange County. He brings a new perspective to leadership in Brea, and we are proud to support him.

Katrina has been a leader in addressing homelessness in Costa Mesa. She knows there is a need for more housing and is actively engaged in identifying sites that can be rezoned for mixed use and multifamily housing.

Loren is a committed union leader. He sees opportunity for “strategic rezoning” of underperforming commercial areas to make room for mixed use development including housing. “I am prepared to support housing from the Council Dias, and push for the inclusion of project labor agreements where possible.” We are backing him for his commitment to making Costa Mesa a more welcoming and equitable community.

Jeff brings a wealth of professional knowledge about the causes of the housing shortage. “In Costa Mesa we certainly have a paucity of the ‘missing middle’ (townhomes, duplexes, courtyard developments, etc.), which is partly the result of restrictive development standards (e.g., parking requirements) in these zones.” He sees opportunity for the development of missing middle and attainable housing that can revitalize and reenergize areas that are ripe for new investment.

As a millennial and the only renter on the city council, Kim’s understanding of the housing shortage is personal. Moreover, her understanding of what it will take to fix it goes deep. “Another item the drives up the cost of housing is the need for consultants to handle the cumbersome permit process. We need to make it less bureaucratic and get the housing built. If a developer has followed all the rules and done the process correctly, we should not punish them with more obstacles to jump through.”

Dan brings years of experience from his role as a planning commissioner to his run for council. He wants to make the city code reflect what is possible– what the Community wants but also what is actually buildable– so that responsible developers that follow the city’s policies are not delayed by NIMBYism. “As a Councilmember, I look forward to using my experience as a Planning Commissioner to facilitate the building of attainable homes as housing projects come forward and ensuring we are providing robust wraparound services to residents experiencing homelessness.”

We are backing Natalie because she has a proven track record of advocating for the unhoused and supporting permanent supportive housing. Now as a candidate, she has committed herself to undertaking the local reforms necessary to expedite housing development. “By changing the planning process from conventional zoning to form based code, creating a detailed community vision, writing prescriptive regulations for what we want instead of what we don’t want built, and only then enabling a by-right process can we safely remove the discretionary review process and still retain local control and an increased housing supply.” Natalie is committed to building diverse communities. “Our working families and young people need a way to live and work in our city and are currently priced out of the market. Diversity of people, incomes, and backgrounds will make for a more vibrant city. … Diverse communities require a diversity of building types.”

Lauren is a committed community leader with years of experience as a commissioner. She knows what it takes to create more housing opportunity: “Education and advocacy, partnerships with other elected officials, and fortitude of will to do what is right.” We’re backing Lauren for her commitment to creating new housing opportunities for families like her own. She represents the next generation of leadership we want to see in Irvine.

From his work with the Realtors and his growing family, Tim understands the need for new homeownership opportunities for the next generation. He is committed to producing an updated and compliant housing element to meet the city’s housing need. He supports streamlined permitting because “increasing costs on the development of housing will inevitably lead to higher housing prices, making housing unaffordable.”

We are excited about first-time-candidate Stephanie Oddo for her can-do attitude! “I’m an optimist, so I believe with skilled leadership anything is possible. Laguna Niguel will be required to update our Housing Element very soon. To meet our new RHNA numbers, we will need to add approximately 1,000 units of affordable housing in this next cycle. That is doable in Laguna Niguel and I won’t fight it. Meeting our RHNA numbers on affordable housing will be an important step to preventing future homelessness.”

As a first generation American who grew up in a largely minority/immigrant community, Sandy believes everyone should be afforded opportunities for homeownership; therefore, she supports communities that offer diverse types of housing. “The proudest day in our family was when we became homeowners.” As a sitting councilmember, Sandy takes pride that her city was one of only a few to meet past RHNA goals. She is part of the coalition that can ensure new families have a chance to call Laguna Niguel home.

Pauline understands development well having spent 20+ years working in commercial real estate. Her commitment to creating new housing opportunities and fighting NIMBYism is what won her our support! “I will work towards a better understanding of affordable housing in my city. I feel that the term is misused and misunderstood (affordable/workforce vs. supportive) due to fear mongering to convince residents that affordable housing will lead to reduced property values, “slums” and increased traffic. Evidence shows the opposite is true, and that traffic is reduced when people can afford to live where they work.”

We want to elect candidates who start from Yes! David’s track record as a pro-housing Planning Commissioner is what won him our support. He worked to eliminate the design review process for every project and refocused this body on the city’s historic district. He has a solid record of supporting the full spectrum of housing types and voting yes! David is committed to maintaining Orange’s commitment to new housing development. “Projects that meet code and appropriate environmental considerations should be approved without delay.”

Rhonda Shader has found ways to reimagine land use in a small city and make room for new development. She is a strong supporter of TOD development and created a TOD zone appropriate for higher density. She oversaw the updating of the general plan to find locations for higher density development, and she is now working on an affordable housing development (in an election year!). We are backing Rhonda for her commitment to building a variety of housing opportunities. “I definitely have a view that we need a variety of housing in the City to meet the different needs.”

Beth is the person we talk about when we talk missing middle housing. She’s a public health nurse and and mom to two kids in high school, and her family, like many is priced out of Orange County. “As a working class family who contributes to our community, we are not able to afford home ownership here. I understand this and want to create ways we all can find affordable housing options.” We’re backing Beth because she has a fighting spirit and wants to use it to provide stable housing opportunities for all!

Thai’s story is the American story. Born to Vietnamese parents in a refugee camp in Thailand, she moved with her parents to the U.S. as a toddler. Fast forward 20+ years and now she’s a lawyer (municipal) and homeowner with the help of a VA loan through her husband’s military service. Thai knows first hand how hard it is to achieve the American Dream, and she shares her story freely. As a Millennial and an immigrant, and she is committed to creating more housing opportunities for the next generation of Americans. Her experience as a planning commissioner will help her achieve this goal. She is firmly committed to creating diverse, mixed income neighborhoods and integrating affordable housing throughout the city. We could not be more thrilled to support her run!

In addition to being pro-housing, we are supporting Ryan for his deep commitment to community outreach and overcoming NIMBYism in Tustin. Ryan is committed to engaging in proactive efforts, such as deep canvassing constituents, to generate support for housing options and working with developers to integrate affordable housing developments with market-rate housing. He knows local policy is what enables quick approval of new housing. “A good zoning plan is critical to the effective functioning of a city. And to effectively function, the zoning plan should set out clear rules for residents, land owners, and developers. When a project meets the requirements of the city’s zoning rules, it should be quickly approved.”

Proposition 15 will get rid of property tax breaks for big businesses, and put billions of dollars towards schools and local services.

Currently, thanks to 1978’s Prop 13, owners pay property taxes based on the price they originally paid for that real estate—typically a lot less than what it’s worth today. Prop 15 will roll this back for many large businesses, raising property taxes to be assessed based on the property’s current (probably much higher) market value. Prop 15 will raise approximately $6.5 to $11.5 billion — 60% for cities, counties and special districts, and 40% for schools and community colleges. Homeowners and businesses with under $3 million in California property will be exempted, along with farm land.

Proposition 19 adjusts the rules of 1978’s Proposition 13. While many YIMBYs would like to see major reform to Prop 13, this is a small adjustment to California’s property tax rules. Prop 19 reduces tax subsidies for people who inherit multiple homes, and shifts them to people downsizing homes or who are moving due to natural disasters. Any excess tax revenue from reducing the multiple-homes subsidy goes to wildfire protection.

Currently, for homeowners who want to downsize to a smaller home, if it costs more than the original price of their big home, they can end up paying more taxes (depending on their county’s rules). Prop 19 makes sure that people who are down-sizing homes are protected from tax increases. Ideally, this allows long-time homeowners to downsize and allow others who need more space to move into their larger homes. Prop 19 also extends to people who are moving due to natural disasters, so they don’t face a tax hike on top of the trauma of losing their homes.