Bond fail

The Bay Area's housing crisis is not going away, but the bond measure crafted to alleviate the problem is DOA

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao addressing the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority on Wednesday morning.

ELECTION 2024

83 days to Election Day

REGIONAL MEASURE 4

—HOMEWRECKERS—There was a great deal of melancholy inside the room as the regional $20 billion affordable housing bond measure met its demise on Wednesday.

—The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) abruptly withdrew the bond measure from the November ballot, striking a blow to housing advocates who deemed it critical to alleviating the region’s housing crisis.

—But the bond measure’s poor polling numbers, along with uncertainty about a state constitutional amendment’s chances at the ballot box, left the board made up of Bay Area elected officials with no choice, they said.

—The BAHFA board approved placing, what was later labeled Regional Measure 4, on the November ballot back on June 26.

—“In June when we put this on the ballot, it was probably the best votes I’ve taken in my six years in elected office,” said Santa Rosa Councilmember Victoria Fleming, “and this will certainly be the saddest I take.”

—Many of the reasons for pulling the measure off the ballot were openly discussed at the time, including Proposition 5, a statewide initiative that aims to lower the threshold for passing tax measures to 55 percent.

—The percentage loomed large in BAHFA’s calculations. A two-thirds supermajority of support for the bond measure appeared unattainable. Polling showed the bond measure at around 55 percent.

—A group of housing advocates firmly behind the bond measure, however, acknowledged passing the bond measure would be extremely difficult.

—“To preserve our collective ability to really fight and win, we are recommending that you pull RM4 from the ballot,” said Heather Hood, the bond measure’s co-chair. Fighting back tears, she added, “I really deeply regret this recommendation.”

—Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, a member of the BAHFA board, voted to withdraw the bond measure. “It is very disappointing. I think we’re all disappointed up here. We also knew what the fight kind of looked like,” she said.

—Oakland would have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the proposed influx of bond revenue. The city’s share was estimated to be around $750 million.

—Affordable housing projects are in the pipeline that need funding, Thao lamented.
”I would ask that we all take that energy of disappointment and ensure that Prop. 5 passes.”

—Housing affordability is not going away anytime soon in the Bay Area. It’s unclear what happens next after the region’s big swing and a miss on Wednesday.

—Voters in the nine-county Bay Area will almost certainly be asked in 2026 to shore up massive transportation shortfalls.

—Where a regional affordable housing bond fits into the equation will likely pit to enormous needs against each other over the next election cycle.

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