THE COST OF LIVING
QUESTION: The cost of living in South Florida continues to skyrocket, while wages remain largely stagnant and residents are really feeling the squeeze. Residents also complain that many of the affordable housing developments being built are not actually affordable for local workers and they have been pushed out of their long-term neighborhoods and communities. What have you done in the past to address this in your work and how do you feel this experience will translate on a federal level? Please be specific.
Te Mayonna Brown: “As real estate developer, l’ve seen firsthand how rising construction costs, insurance premiums, regulations, and interest rates have driven up the cost of housing. I’ve also seen too many projects labeled “affordable” that are still out of reach for the teachers, nurses, police officers, service workers, and seniors who actually live and work in our communities. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on finding practical solutions that help create housing opportunities while encouraging responsible development. I believe affordability starts with the developer or seller because we (have) purchasing power. This is where we put people before politics by increasing supply, reducing unnecessary regulations that drive up costs, and creating an economy where wages can grow because businesses can’t afford to hire and expand. At the federal level, I will fight to reduce the cost of living by supporting policies that lower inflation. I also believe we need to expand the path to homeownership for hardworking families. Today, too many people can afford a monthly mortgage payment, but can’t qualify because of rigid lending standards or because traditional credit scores don’t tell the whole story. I support modernizing the mortgage qualification process by allowing responsible lenders to consider alternative proof of financial responsibility such as a history of on-time rent, utilities, phone, and insurance payments, alongside traditional credit. We should also reduce unnecessary paperwork for qualified borrowers while maintaining safeguards that protect taxpayers and keep families from taking out loans they can’t afford. l also believe federal housing programs should prioritize the people who already live and work in our communities so they aren’t priced out of the neighborhoods they’ve helped build.”
Marshall Davis Sr.: “I would address the cost of living on a federal level by introducing legislation to offer zero-to-low interest loans as the “3-3 Homeownership Accessibility” and “3-3 Homeownership Sustainability Program.” The first would assist first-time home buyers and the latter would provide relief to the economic hurdles residents face. The 3-3 Homeownership Accessibility program would assist first-time home buyers in purchasing a home with a maximum down payment of three percent and a capped interest rate of three percent. A qualified first-time homebuyer participating in the 3-3 Program would not be required to pay more than three percent of the home’s purchase price as a down payment. Current rents in South Florida show that this is achievable considering first, last and security could equate to between $12,000 and $15,000. To meet this three percent maximum, the program would utilize and integrate with existing federal, state and local down payment assistance grants and zero-interest second mortgage programs. The effective interest rate for the primary mortgage of a qualified homebuyer under this program shall not exceed three percent for the life of the loan. The sustainability program would also help homeowners manage massive assessments for building safety recertifications, which is a crucial step given the high number of multi-unit buildings in the district. By utilizing federal loans and local grants, homeowners would know that the maximum down payment for assessments would not exceed three percent and the interest rate would be at three percent for the life of the loan. To fund this program, an interest rate buy-down fund would be established to compensate lenders through direct federal subsidies or tax credits.”
Oliver Gilbert: “Let’s start with the truth in the question. If a teacher, a nurse, or an airport worker can’t afford the ‘affordable” housing we’re building, it isn’t affordable. Here’s what I’ve done about it. On the County Commission, I’ve led the work of building housing where opportunity already runs: density along our transit corridors, and partnerships that fund rapid transit expansion and affordable housing together, in the neighborhoods that need it the most. Not affordable housing on the edge of everything, housing near the jobs, near the trains, near the life of the community, priced to what people here actually earn. In Congress, that experience translates directly. I’ll fight to expand federal investment in affordable-housing construction and preservation, increase transit-oriented development, and to tie ‘affordable’ to what local workers actually earn. I’ll fight to cap rent increases by corporate landlords and require real notice before a rent hike, so families aren’t priced out of neighborhoods they built. But supply matters. The more housing we build, the lower the price of the housing. Housing is only half the squeeze. The other half is wages and taxes. That’s why I’ll fight to eliminate federal income taxes on the first $75,000 a family earns and to raise and index the minimum wage. It’s time to put people first.”
Shevrin Jones: “South Floridians are paying more and getting less, and housing is where working families feel it most. In Tallahassee, I have treated affordability as the defining issue it is. I wrote the People’s Relief Program that would have put direct relief into the hands of families struggling with rent, childcare, utilities, health care, and property insurance, and the Working Floridians Tax Rebate that would return roughly five hundred dollars to about 2.1 million low-and moderate-income Floridians. I have filed renter protections session after session: barring landlords from denying an apartment solely because a family was evicted during the pandemic, extending the rent grace period, and blocking unfair fees. When Miami Gardens families were charged far more for water than their neighbors, I carried the fix year after year, through a committee strip and a veto, until parity became law. And I have delivered more than fifty-seven million dollars in appropriations for this community’s projects and priorities. Residents are right that too much of what is labeled ‘affordable housing’ is not affordable to the people who actually live and work here. In Congress, I will fight for real federal investment in affordable and workforce housing tied to what local workers actually earn, federal action to bring down property insurance costs, and protections so seniors and longtime homeowners are not taxed or priced out of the neighborhoods they built. My Prosperity for Working Families Agenda which includes the Cost-of-Living Tax Protection Act and an adjustment to federal nutrition assistance that reflects South Florida’s true cost of living, carries this same fight to Washington.”
Kendrick Meek Jr.: “The affordability crisis in South Florida is the single most urgent issue facing our community, and my campaign is built entirely on tackling it head-on. For too long, the phrase ‘affordable housing’ has been used to describe developments that are completely out of reach for our local workers, teachers, and municipal staff, forcing long-term residents out of the neighborhoods they built. In my work as an attorney and civic advocate, I have partnered closely with local groups to challenge predatory displacement and push for equitable development initiatives. Through my legal advocacy and legislative roles, I have analyzed federal housing grants to understand why federal dollars often fail to result in true local affordability. I understand the complex mechanisms of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and how local administration can create loops that benefit out-of-state developers over residents. This experience translates directly to the federal level in three key ways: 1. Overhauling AMI Formulations: I plan to introduce legislation to change how Area Median Income (AMI) is calculated for federal housing subsidies. Currently, South Florida’s AMI is skewed upward by extreme wealth, creating ‘affordable’ rent brackets that local service workers cannot afford. 2. Tying Federal Funds to Anti-Displacement: I will fight to ensure that any local municipality receiving federal transportation or infrastructure dollars must implement strict local worker hiring provisions and anti-displacement protections. 3. Aggressive Expansion of Housing Vouchers: I will advocate for fully funding and expanding the Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) while passing federal protections to ban income and voucher-based discrimination by landlords.”
Jean Monestime: “As Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Commission, my office established the Chairman’s Council for Prosperity Initiatives. This body was specifically tasked with crafting legislation to address income inequality, expand affordable housing, and improve economic mobility for low-to-moderate-income residents. Some of our landmark legislations address the following issues: Increasing the Living Wage Ordinance, Ban the Box, Residents First, first-time homeownership assistance, the Tenants Bill of Rights, Cities for Citizenship and much more.”
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