Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) has been honored as a recipient of Housing First Minnesota’s 2022 Housing Leadership Award. This honor recognizes legislators who worked to promote housing affordability and homeownership during the 2022 legislative session.
“I am grateful and honored to receive the Housing Leadership Award from Housing First Minnesota,” Sen. Draheim said. “Creating a path to affordable homeownership for all Minnesotans is one of the most important things we can do to help more people find generational success. Owning your own home has been proven to lead to more wealth, kids doing better in school, better mental and physical health, and more community involvement. These are all things we strive for and home ownership is the bedrock of it all.”
“As more and more homebuyers face roadblocks to the dream of homeownership, these legislative leaders rose to the occasion to fight for housing affordability. We thank each of them for addressing the difficult issues driving up the cost of housing in Minnesota,” said James Vagle, executive director of Housing First Minnesota.
Throughout the legislative session, a broad coalition of groups supported numerous transformative housing policy provisions addressing the roadblocks to affordable, market-rate homes. These policies were discussed and advanced throughout the legislative process until the final hours, including zoning modernization and increased transparency in housing costs. Like many other legislative issues which advanced to the final stages of session, major housing legislation failed to get signed into law.
“Minnesota has one of the lowest inventories of available for-sale homes, the highest new construction costs in the Midwest, and shamefully, one of the worst homeownership gaps in the country,” said Vagle. “In order to address these issues, substantial reforms to address affordability must be addressed when the legislature reconvenes in January.”
A full list of 2022 Housing Leadership Award Recipients is available here: https://newsroom.housingfirstmn.org/housing-first-minnesota-awards-23-legislators-housing-leadership-award/