A
highly
anticipated
piece
of
political
news
arrived
Tuesday
morning
as
Vice
President

Kamala
Harris
chose

Minnesota
Gov.
Tim
Walz

to
be
her
running
mate
in
November’s

presidential
election,
with
Harris
having

clinched
the
Democratic
nomination
to
challenge
Republican
nominee
and
former
President
Donald
Trump.

Walz
hails
from
a
state
that
Republicans
have
not
taken
in
a
presidential
election
since
1972,
when
Richard
Nixon
won
in
a
popular
and
electoral
landslide
against
Sen.
George
McGovern.
But
Walz
also
represents
a
plain-spoken
approach
to
Democratic
Party
policy
priorities,
which
has
helped
carry
him
to
victory
in
every
election
he’s
participated
in
since
2006.

$1
billion
for
housing

While
there
are
individual
flourishes
in
the
records
of
both
members
of
the
Democratic
ticket,
Harris
also

represents
a
degree
of
continuity
with
the
housing
policies
of
the
current
Biden-Harris
administration.
Walz
could
represent
a
departure,
but
his
record
as
governor
also
illustrates
some
significant
housing-related
policies
designed
to
address
issues
present
in
both
his
state
and
the
country
at
large.

While
Walz
has
no
shortage
of
critics
among
Republicans,
most
of
the
consistent
critiques
that
have
been
levied
against
him
concern
the
use
of
the
government
at
scale,
tax
increases
to
fund
state
projects
and
the
way
that
Walz
is
using
his

state’s
budget
surplus.
Some
of
these
criticisms
have
been
levied
at
housing
programs,
but
the
most
consistent
criticisms
have
been
levied
at
other
statewide
spending
initiatives.

The
largest
housing
policy
event
during
his
administration
came
in
2023,
when
Walz

signed
a
$1
billion
housing
omnibus
bill
into
law.
It
marked
the
largest
single
investment
in
housing
in
the
state’s
history
and
included
$200
million
for
downpayment
assistance
programs;
another
$200
million
for
housing
infrastructure
investments;
$95
million
for
a
program
to
support
workforce
housing;
and
a
permanent
fund
for
other
housing
needs
across
the
state.

More
than
half
the
total
amount
was
geared
toward
investments
in
the
state’s
affordable
housing
infrastructure.

“Housing
is
central
to
growing
our
workforce
and
ensuring
Minnesotans’
health,
safety,
and
financial
security,”
Walz
said
upon
signing
the
measure.
“Whether
it’s
building
new
housing
infrastructure,
providing
rental
assistance,
or
ensuring
homeownership
is
an
option
for
all
Minnesotans,
this
bill
will
have
a
historic
impact
on
the
quality
of
life
in
Minnesota
and
move
us
towards
becoming
the
best
state
to
raise
a
family.”

The
move
was

lauded
by
the


National
Low
Income
Housing
Coalition
(NLIHC),
and
it
included
several
other
provisions.
The
package
allocated
$45
million
to
the
state’s
Family
Homeless
Prevention
and
Assistance
Program,
which
is
designed
to
provide
“emergency
rental
and
utility
assistance
to
families
experiencing
or
at
risk
of
homelessness,”
NLIHC
explained.

Landlord-tenant
laws

Around
the
same
time,
Walz
signed
a
measure
into
law
that
marked
a
comprehensive
update
to
Minnesota’s
landlord
and
tenant
laws,
which
the
NLIHC
also
said
was
the
first
of
its
kind
in
state
history.

“Landlords
will
be
required
to
provide
14
days’
written
notice
before
filing
an
eviction
for
nonpayment
of
rent,
and
cities
will
be
permitted
to
enact
and
enforce
stronger
pre-filing
notice
requirements,”
NLIHC
said
of
the
measure.
“The
bill
also
makes
eviction
expungements
more
accessible
in
certain
cases:
when
the
tenant
prevails,
when
the
case
is
dismissed,
when
the
parties
agree
to
expungement,
when
the
tenant
requests
expungement
upon
settlement
of
the
case,
or
when
the
eviction
was
ordered
at
least
three
years
ago.”

These
expungement-reform
provisions
prohibit
evictions
from
being
reported
in
public
court
records
“until
the
court
decides
in
favor
of
the
landlord,”
while
also
establishing
the
right
to
representation
for
public
housing
tenants
facing
breach-of-lease
eviction
cases.

Affordable
housing

Walz
and
his
lieutenant
governor,
Peggy
Flanagan,
also
pursued
other
affordable
housing
investments.
In
December
2023,
the
administration
announced
an

investment
of
$350
million
to
preserve
and
build
an
estimated
4,700
affordable
housing
units
across
the
state
—including
single-family,
multifamily
and
manufactured
units.

“Minnesota
Housing
selected
28
rental
properties
this
year,
with
13
located
in
the
Twin
Cities
metro
and
15
in
Greater
Minnesota,”
the
governor’s
office
announced
in
December.
“The
multifamily
rental
selections
support
a
total
of
1,486
units.
Most
of
the
units
will
be
new
construction
(875
units)
and
the
rest
are
preservation
of
existing
affordable
properties
(611
units).”

These
investments
came
with
the
recognition
of
a
need
to
build
more
units.

“The
state
needs
to
build
more
housing
and
invest
in
existing
properties
to
both
improve
the
properties
for
the
current
residents
and
to
maintain
the
affordability
of
the
rental
units
for
decades
to
come,”
Walz’s
office
said.

In
his

State
of
the
State
address
earlier
this
year,
Walz
detailed
some
of
the
investments
that
Minnesota
has
sought
to
make
to
address
housing
issues.

“Our
plan
also
invests
in
making
sure
every
Minnesotan
has
a
safe
and
affordable
place
to
call
home,”
Walz
said.
“We’re
backing
the
development
of
multifamily
housing
so
that
seniors,
families,
and
anyone
facing
homelessness
can
find
a
place
to
be.
And
we
want
to
update
the
Minneapolis
Veterans
Home
to
better
serve
those
who
have
served
us.”

As
he
wound
the
speech
down,
Walz
opined
that
housing
is
an
issue
that
everybody
should
be
able
to
agree
on
regardless
of
political
differences.

“[T]here’s
no
reason
both
parties
can’t
be
part
of
getting
it
done
this
session,”
Walz
said.
“I
know
we
won’t
agree
on
everything.
But
safe
streets?
Clean
water?
Affordable
housing?
Surely
we
can
agree
on
that.
So
join
me
—
and
not
just
at
the
ribbon-cutting,
but
in
the
work
to
get
it
done.”

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