They say that “elections have consequences”, but do they necessarily? It might be more accurate to say that “elections can have consequences.” Candidates make promises and sell plans. Ballot measures have broad and vague language that are later put into specific action by state and local regulations yet to be developed. Many vote and then wait to see what happens in the years between trips to the ballot box.
But in Sonoma County, our need to get shovels in the ground and get housing built is too dire and too urgent to watch and wait. We — pro-housing voters, community leaders, community organizations — must be consistently involved to influence the actions of our elected and appointed leaders to move the needle on development of more and more affordable housing. Our Generation Housing team is working tirelessly to advise and educate, partner with, support, and at times push and oppose our leaders in order to accelerate the pace of housing development.
And we cannot do it alone; we need your help. We need to hear your stories to be able to tell them. We need you to participate! You can make a difference just by adding your signature to a letter, showing up to comment at a meeting (easier than ever through Zoom!), or writing a short letter to the editor. At the very least, we need your membership. Your membership helps to sustain our advocacy efforts, our research, our free educational events, our policy development, and project support. And it increases our power before city councils or state committees, when we appear before them saying: “We Are Gen H — we represent many residents of Sonoma County. We love Sonoma County, we want to stay here, we want our kids and grandkids, teachers, nurses, firefighters, and even our baristas to stay here too. We want people to do more than just “make the rent,” we want them to thrive”.
We are Gen H. Please join us today.