OMAHA — A shortage of safe and affordable housing pushed Kimara Snipes to make what she said was one of her toughest decisions.

At the time, she was on the Omaha Public Schools Board and needed to get out of the South Omaha rental home that was “falling apart” on her and her son. The only home Snipes said she could find that fit her needs and budget meant moving out of the district she was elected to represent and stepping off the board.

“Even now when I talk about it I want to cry,” Snipes said of that predicament three years ago. “Our kids spend the majority of their time in school systems, and it felt so good to advocate and give voice to those families.”

Snipes, a community organizer, was joined Thursday by State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha and Don Curry, a housing developer, at a news conference highlighting Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee  Kamala Harris’ recently announced plan to lower housing costs and make homeownership more accessible.

Down Payment Support

The three, along with representatives of the Harris campaign, City Councilwoman Juanita Johnson and a few community members, met in front of the three-story apartment building Curry is constructing at 16th and Emmet Streets. All three discussed their own stakes in affordable housing and why they support the Harris plan.

Snipes said she was especially encouraged by an element that would provide up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are seeking to buy their first home.

Homeownership builds generational wealth. A safe, stable home would allow more Nebraskans to participate more fully in their community and to reach their potential, said Snipes, executive director of nonprofit One Omaha.

Snipes, who is running again for a school board seat, said she knows first-hand the personal setbacks that can stem from lack of access to quality and affordable housing. “I am not alone,” she said.

As a lawmaker, McKinney said, he recognizes the complications of creating affordable housing opportunities. He highlighted a part of the Harris plan aimed at stopping outside investors from scooping up single-family housing in ways that hinder family homeownership.

He lauded Harris’ call for Congress to pass a “Stop Predatory Investing Act,” to remove key tax benefits for major investors who acquire large numbers of homes to rent. They are able to buy in large quantities, outbidding families, and rent often at high prices.

An attempt at something similar on a local level stalled in the Nebraska Legislature.

McKinney said housing is a major issue in his district, and often consumes the bulk of a family’s budget.

He criticized Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, saying Trump “has no idea” of the struggle to pay rent.

Trump Response

A Nebraska spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, in response, said: “Kamala Harris and her allies would be better off acknowledging the role that Harris played in America’s affordability crisis by casting the tie-breaking vote on a bill” that ratcheted up inflation.

“It’d certainly go a lot further than touting Kamala’s proposal of government handouts to homebuyers — handouts that would only worsen already sky-high real estate prices,” said Liz Huston.

Curry said he is troubled by the decline in affordable housing in the Omaha area.

Standing in front of his first affordable housing development project, which is just  doors away from his second, he said he supported Harris’ proposals, including a tax incentive for home builders who construct starter homes and the proposed expansion of existing tax incentives for affordable housing.

Curry’s recently launched real estate development company benefited from construction grants and low-interest loans from an area nonprofit.

He said he recognizes he is in an era where red and blue political lines divide communities, yet he views himself as an independent thinker. He said his goal is to create safe and quality housing in the area where he grew up.

“One area that is not defined by color is affordable housing,” said Curry. “Homelessness does not discriminate or take sides.”

Elements Of Harris Plan:

• Build 3 million new homes in the next four years.
• Provide $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homeowners.
• Tax incentives for homebuilders to construct starter homes, which would complement the Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit.
• Expand existing tax Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
• New $40 billion federal fund to empower local governments to fund solutions and spur “innovative housing construction.”
• Press for a “Stop Predatory Investing Act” that removes key tax benefits for major investors who acquire large numbers of homes to rent.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/kamala-harris-supporters-tout-housin...