NOTE: This story was written in September 2019 for my beat reporting class. The forum in question took place on Sept 12, 2019.
A forum for at-large candidates of the city council election on Sept. 12 broke into disarray when an audience member stood from his seat and demanded justice for communities of color in Boston.
After a question regarding land value tax was brought up for discussion, 54-year-old Clifton Braithwaite began yelling in frustration at the 12 at-large candidates on the forum.
“Excuse me for a second, I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. I’m not against nobody up there[on the stage]. But one thing that is not being stated or spoken about is the people who look like me.” Braithwaite said. “So I would like that question to be answered—What are you going to do about housing for black men like me?”
The forum in Roxbury drew a large turnout, the organizers of the event stating that over 200 local residents registered to attend the forum online. On the Facebook event page, it stated the goal of the forum was for candidates to discuss “their vision for prosperity and economic mobility for communities of color.” All of the at-large candidates with the exception of Martin Keogh, Erin Murphy, and incumbent Althea Garrison attended the forum.
The issue of whether or not the city should impose rent control on landlords to keep housing affordable for low income tenants came up repeatedly throughout the forum. The moderator cited during the forum that four of the five Boston neighborhoods that have the highest percentage of households at risk for displacement are majority people of color.
Candidate David Halpert said he supports rent control because of the success it had when implemented in Boston in past decades.
“We have to remember why we lost rent control in the first place—that it wasn’t something we gave up, but it was taken from us,” Halpert said at the forum. “In order to turn the tables, we are going to have to build a coalition, and that means having leaders in places like Boston working with our partners in other communities to build up that political mass at the state house so we can move the legislation that we need.”
Candidate Alejandra St. Guillen said when talking with Boston residents, the issue of affordable housing is the most common complaints she hears.
“As I knock doors across the city, the number one issue that comes up is being priced out of the city,” St. Gullien said. “When I meet people who are living on their parents’ couches because they can’t afford an apartment of their own, I see first-hand how difficult that issue is.”
When asked if they supported rent control, only two of the 12 candidates answered no, being incumbents Annissa Essaibi-George and Michael Flaherty.
Essaibi-George said in an interview that she wants to support low income Bostonians in ways that don’t harm the “small landlord”.
“We need to shift to a BMI, Boston Median Income, to account for affordable housing and we need to keep building affordable units. We need to look at federal subsidies that we can take advantage of because building in the city of Boston is very expensive,” Essaibi-George said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen rent control in too many places hurt that small landlord.”
Flaherty said he is open to keeping rent control in his “tool box” for the future, but doesn’t think it’s the right solution to high rent costs at the moment.
Rent control is likely to be a deciding issue for voters in the primary election on Sept. 24th, considering the impact it has on communities like Roxbury.
“When I first got my apartment, rent control was in place,” said Slyvia Brewer, a 65 year old Boston native. “Now, I have to save from one month to one month….That system worked for me.”
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