I know firsthand that housing affordability is a crisis in Colorado. As an educator and first-time homeowner, I have to pay over half of my monthly income toward my housing. While this inconveniences me, it makes me far more concerned to know that thousands of hard-working, single mothers and seniors living off of social security are expected to do the same every month in Adams County and often on even lower incomes. We owe it to our seniors, our essential workers, and our young families to find new and better housing solutions. And I believe we can do this while protecting homeowners’ hard-earned wealth if we prioritize the following goals:

• Diversify our housing stock so that our essential workers and young families can purchase starter homes and our retiring seniors can downsize affordably.

• Protect existing homeowners' equity with cost-effective investments in transportation, infrastructure, small business development, and environmental restoration.

• Push for more cross-regional planning and cooperation in housing development.

• Ensure that local real estate investors can fairly compete with multinational corporations.

• Provide assistance so that both our retiring seniors and young workers can make energy-efficient upgrades, replace costly (but necessary) appliances, and maintain healthy yards and lawns.

• Protect and expand renters' rights.

• Explore funding models for development that keep costs low for developers without forcing taxpayers to shoulder the burden.