Following the election, I’ve been reflecting on this quote from Harvey Milk: “The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods.” As a housing advocate, this resonates deeply—it’s a reminder that much of the progress we’ve made toward creating more abundant and affordable communities begins at the local level.

As we close out 2024, the Housing Action Coalition 501(c)(4) is proud of the work we did for endorsed candidates around the state. In total, 71 of the 90 HAC-endorsed candidates were successful in their races this November. 4 of the 6 ballot measures we endorsed were also successful, including an important defeat for Proposition 33 (a victory for pro-housing).

As the Executive Director of the Housing Action Coalition, I’ve been working for over a decade to make it easier to build housing in San Francisco. We are still deep in the midst of our housing crisis – it is simply too difficult and expensive, right now, to build the housing we need so working people can afford to live here – but the tides are starting to shift. Much of that progress is thanks to the work of Mayor London Breed.

This October is an exciting time for the Housing Action Coalition. There are three important things we’re working on that I want to make sure you’re following…

August was an intense month for the housing world. There was the good: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama embraced a pro-housing agenda, with Harris declaring the importance of ‘ending America’s housing shortage’. And there was the normal sausage-making at the end of the legislative session in Sacramento with multiple HAC-sponsored bills moving to the Governor’s desk.

Prepare to cast your votes in November and check out our list of endorsements for the state of California and county elections.

Learn how housing policy is climate policy and what you can do to bring about positive change.

Learn how the Housing Action Coalition is holding San Mateo County for their bogus housing plan.

To honor pride month, HAC is shedding light on the ways that San Francisco is economically exclusive while touting it's cultural inclusivity. This reality affects housing security for LGBTQIA+ folks disproportionately and needs to be addressed.

With HAC's coverage of this annual event, you can learn:

• How we can decrease rent costs in the Bay Area

• The policy amendments needed to jumpstart housing production

• Why homebuilders, elected officials, and labor leaders need to work together

• How we can make San Francisco a more inclusive city

• And more!

May is Affordable Housing Month! While this month provides an opportunity to celebrate the progress the pro-housing community has helped achieve, May is also a stark reminder of the challenges our region and state still have to overcome.

As we enter the 2024 legislative cycle, HAC will help achieve more progress by driving key state housing policy initiatives forward. This year we’re sponsoring six pieces of statewide legislation to make building new housing faster and easier.

While it’s still too early to know how all of HAC’s endorsed candidates and ballot measures did, the results so far are looking positive for the pro-housing community. Check the status of some of the major statewide and local races as of March 6, 2024.

On February 26th, Daly City City Council voted to approve Jefferson Union High School District’s (JUHSD) proposal to introduce 1,235 new homes and a Head Start child care facility at the Serramonte Del Rey site.

This past Wednesday morning, HAC hosted our Regulatory Committee across the Bay in Oakland featuring Mayor Sheng Thao and several members of her administration to give updates on major Oakland housing policies and processes.

The last few years have posed significant challenges to homebuilders. Inflation, soaring interest rates, and high construction costs have made it increasingly difficult to finance housing projects. 

While the state of the market is out of our control, we can reform state and local housing policies to help create more favorable conditions for housing production.

Mountain View’s Gatekeeper Process is a review mechanism created to review proposed development projects that may require a new zoning designation, and has been the city’s main mechanism to build large-scale projects. Proposals must first undergo a “pre-review” by the council before city staff evaluates them. The intent of the current Gatekeeper process is to make project expectations more clear, and simplify the path to council approval. 

In January, I got a notification from LinkedIn that I had just reached my eight-year workivesary at the Housing Action Coalition. Looking back on the near-decade I’ve spent advocating for housing, it’s moving to think about how much progress has been made.

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office sent memorandums on Assembly Bill 1114 (Haney) and Senate Bill 423 (Wiener) to San Francisco officials on November 8. HAC sponsored AB 1114, and was a leading champion of SB 423. Together, these two bills will significantly improve the housing construction process from start to finish, helping alleviate California’s housing shortage and affordability crisis.

As a housing advocacy group, HAC constantly monitors cities, elected officials, and neighbors to know who is and isn’t supporting more housing creation. This year, we made a list (and checked it twice) to chronicle some of the pro- and anti-housing actors from across the region. And with the holiday season upon us, there is no better time to unveil HAC’s running catalog of housing advocates and antagonists — informally referred to as our ‘Naughty or Nice’ list. 

You better watch out. You better not cry. Read on to learn who has been naughty and who has been nice in 2023.