Agenda: Housing:
The Democratic Party believes that the
availability of a permanent and stable home in which to live
is a basic right of all people.
- We believe the public
sector has a vital role to play in the provision of safe,
affordable and fair housing. We recognize a crisis
in housing costs across the state, and we advocate a heightened
priority for affordability initiatives, including the creation
of a responsible state agency with full Cabinet-level status.
- We strongly endorse
laws against discrimination in the sale or provision of
housing and those providing for units accessible
to persons with disabilities.
- We endorse existing
federal Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Zone initiatives,
and advocate state "zones" that would supplement
federal resources by providing a mix of tax incentives,
venture capital, job training resources and access to technology.
- We strongly support
the Community Reinvestment Act that requires lenders
to offer loans and banking services to qualified residents
in all communities within their service areas.
- We call for additional
federal and state support for affordable housing,
including both the production of new housing and the preservation
of so-called expiring use units. We advocate state assistance
through programs like the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.
- We believe that public
housing continues to play a critical role in this state and we endorse initiatives in which tenants assume managerial
or ownership responsibilities. We firmly support the targeting
of recreational, educational, vocational and health resources
to residents of public and subsidized sector housing.
- We recognize the need for adequate
day care, job training and affordable rental housing in eradicating homelessness in Massachusetts.