LOS ANGELES — California voters delivered a major victory for affordable housing in the Nov. 3 election, approving an $11.25 billion housing bond while electing a series of pro-housing progressive candidates to prominent offices across the state.
The passage of Proposition 1, which received approximately 61% support, represents one of the largest voter-approved investments in affordable housing in California history and comes as the state continues to struggle with high housing costs, limited affordable housing production and a persistent shortage of homes.
The election also saw voters reject Proposition 43, which would have imposed a higher approval threshold on certain local tax measures, potentially making it more difficult for communities to finance affordable housing and related infrastructure.
Together with victories by candidates including Scott Wiener in San Francisco, Nithya Raman in Los Angeles and several pro-housing candidates in legislative and local races, the results prompted YIMBY Action to declare that housing production has become a central issue for a new generation of progressive leaders.
“Housing production used to be an issue progressives avoided – it’s now the platform they’re winning on all over the state,” said Leora Tanjuatco Ross, California director of YIMBY Action.
“Voters made it clear that building more homes is not only good policy, but is good politics, too. With Wiener in Congress and Raman in the Mayor’s office, as well as countless wins up and down the ballot, we’re thrilled to usher in a new era of pro-housing progressive leadership to bring down the cost of homes for everyone.”
Proposition 1 authorizes California to issue $11.25 billion in general obligation bonds, including $10 billion for affordable housing programs and related investments and $1.25 billion for home loans for military veterans.
The measure provides funding for the construction, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable rental housing, assistance for first-time homebuyers and infrastructure improvements needed to support residential development.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that the measure could help support as many as 40,000 multifamily housing units, although the actual number will depend on construction costs, financing arrangements and the types of projects funded.
The bond is nearly three times the size of Proposition 1 in 2018, which authorized $4 billion for veterans and affordable housing programs.
The scale of the new investment is particularly significant because California’s housing affordability problems have persisted despite years of state legislation intended to encourage additional residential construction.
While lawmakers have expanded opportunities for accessory dwelling units, streamlined approvals for certain developments and strengthened regional housing requirements, the cost of constructing affordable housing remains a major obstacle.
Projects serving extremely low-income and very low-income households generally require substantial public subsidies because the rents those residents can afford are insufficient to cover development and operating costs.
Proposition 1 provides an additional source of public financing that can be combined with federal tax credits, local housing funds and other subsidies to make projects financially feasible.
The measure also includes funding for the preservation and rehabilitation of existing affordable housing, an important component of efforts to prevent the loss of lower-cost units as older buildings deteriorate or affordability restrictions expire.
California’s affordable housing shortage is particularly severe among households with the lowest incomes, many of which spend more than half their earnings on rent.
Housing advocates have argued that increasing overall residential construction must be accompanied by targeted public investment to ensure that households unable to afford market-rate rents are not left behind.
The passage of Proposition 1 provides additional funding for that effort, although the measure does not guarantee that all eligible projects will receive financing or that the state’s affordable housing shortage will be resolved.
The bond’s approval also carries fiscal implications. General obligation bonds are repaid through the state budget over time, including interest, meaning the new investment will create future debt-service obligations.
The amount of housing ultimately produced will depend on how the state allocates the funds, the availability of matching financing and whether developers can move projects through local approval and construction processes.
Voters also rejected Proposition 43, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required two-thirds voter approval for certain local tax measures placed on the ballot through citizen initiatives.
The measure received approximately 43% support, with roughly 57% voting against it.
Under existing California law, local governments generally must obtain two-thirds voter approval for special taxes they place on the ballot, while qualifying citizen-initiated special taxes can pass with a simple majority.
Proposition 43 would have extended the higher threshold to those citizen initiatives, potentially affecting local measures intended to finance affordable housing, transportation, infrastructure and other public services.
Its defeat preserves the existing rules governing voter-initiated local tax measures.
The statewide results were accompanied by victories for several candidates who have made housing production a major part of their political platforms.
In San Francisco, state Sen. Scott Wiener held a substantial lead over Supervisor Connie Chan in the race for California’s 11th Congressional District.
Wiener, one of the Legislature’s leading housing advocates, has authored measures designed to increase residential density, streamline housing approvals and limit local restrictions on development.
His legislative work has included efforts to permit additional multifamily housing near transit and strengthen statewide requirements intended to increase residential construction.
The race featured competing approaches to housing and development within San Francisco’s Democratic politics, with Chan receiving support from progressive organizations concerned about displacement, tenant protections and the influence of real estate interests.
In Los Angeles, City Councilmember Nithya Raman defeated incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, placing a progressive housing advocate in charge of California’s largest city.
Raman, an urban planner who entered city politics in 2020, has supported increasing residential construction alongside tenant protections, rent stabilization and policies addressing homelessness.
Her housing agenda has emphasized both expanding the supply of homes and protecting existing residents from displacement.
Los Angeles faces substantial challenges involving housing affordability, homelessness, construction costs and restrictions on residential development.
Raman’s administration will oversee the city’s housing and land-use policies, including implementation of state housing requirements and decisions affecting future residential construction.
The election also produced victories for pro-housing candidates in the state Legislature and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
In Los Angeles County’s Senate District 26, housing attorney Sara Hernandez led fellow Democrat Sarah Rascón, according to returns updated Nov. 9.
Hernandez has worked on housing policy and received support from organizations advocating increased residential development.
In San Francisco, Gary McCoy won the District 8 supervisor race, while Theo Ellington prevailed in District 10.
McCoy ran as a labor-backed progressive supportive of increased housing production and received endorsements from both YIMBY Action and the San Francisco Tenants Union.
His campaign brought together support from housing production advocates, organized labor and tenant organizations that have sometimes disagreed over development policy.
The election results come after a decade in which California’s housing debate has increasingly shifted from whether additional homes are needed to questions about where they should be built, how quickly they can be approved and how affordable they will be.
State lawmakers have repeatedly expanded housing production requirements and limited some forms of local discretion over residential development.
At the same time, disputes continue over the relationship between market-rate construction, subsidized affordable housing, tenant protections and neighborhood development.
The passage of Proposition 1 addresses the financing side of that debate by authorizing substantial public investment in affordable housing, while the victories of pro-housing candidates could influence decisions about zoning, permitting and development approvals.
YIMBY Action, which endorsed several of the successful candidates, characterized the election as evidence that support for housing production is increasingly compatible with progressive electoral politics.
The organization has spent years advocating changes to zoning and permitting rules that restrict residential development, arguing that California must substantially increase housing construction to address affordability.
The election gives pro-housing candidates new opportunities to advance those policies at the federal, state and local levels.
Proposition 1, meanwhile, provides a substantial new source of financing for affordable housing construction and preservation, with implementation now moving to state agencies responsible for distributing the bond funds.
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