Montanans want a place to call home

Montana hit another low: the National Association of Realtors ranks Montana the most expensive state to live in based on household income relative to home prices. That ranking means our Montana communities are growing further away from being homes for families, and increasingly becoming playgrounds for the rich.

We can change this. Housing is not a partisan issue. Our county, local, state and federal elected representatives must work together to solve this acute problem. I commit to doing that work.

In Kalispell, the moment the Junegrass housing project broke ground, more than 400 people were on the interest list, most of whom are working families looking for a place to give their kids a bed at night. Many of these families are not eligible for new housing because their income is slightly above the qualifying area median income (AMI). In Missoula the AMI for a family of four is $80,200, in Bozeman it’s $104,700. These families are mechanics who fix our cars, nurses who care for us, construction workers maintaining and building the places we live and work in. These working families are the heart of our communities.

My housing plan includes an AMI local adjustment option in the AMI eligibility threshold, so a working family whose kids play on the school teams, and whose parents are making our towns run, can stay here.

In Corvallis, teacher’s jobs remain unfilled because there are no available houses that are affordable on a teacher’s salary. In Butte, a young man told me he pays $1,300 a month to rent a 600-square-foot apartment for his family, and has no hope of buying a place. In Gallatin County, newly graduated engineers earning six figure incomes can’t afford to stay in Bozeman. Businesses like Pyramid Lumber are closing due to the housing shortage.

My plan builds on local solutions already being worked on, like land trusts, that bring private and public resources to our local communities to increase housing supply. We can incentivize workforce and small business housing development by federally guaranteeing mortgage and construction programs designed for small businesses and developers doing small scaleconstruction projects to expand the supply of housing in our communities. Western Montana is uniquely suited to use existing lumber and local saw mills to address the housing supply issue.

I’ve listened to Montanans’ experiences, and developed a plan in response. In contrast, Ryan Zinke exploited the housing crisis for his personal gain, charging $16,000 a month for a short-term rental in Whitefish.

I carry these stories with me when I start work as your congressional representative. One of those stories is from this mother of four who has a steady job in the community, and whose kids are in the local school district. Raised rents forced her to move. After months of being on a waiting list,tremendous stress, constant moves, and finally getting a place she could afford, she had this to share:

“My children were so happy to finally have … a place to call home. … We were able to stay in the town we call home, my children got to stay in the school they loved, and I got to keep the job I’ve worked so hard in for the last few years.”

As your representative I commit to giving all our families what I most love about Montana: it is the place I call home.

Monica Tranel is the Democratic candidate for Montana’s western district U.S. House seat. She lives in Missoula.