As the daughter of a country doctor who helped establish one of the first Planned Parenthoods in Vermont, and a mother who was a feminist and community leader, Edie was raised with the understanding that we have an obligation to serve those in need and to actively improve the quality of life in our communities. She has carried this understanding into her life’s work, in both the private and public sectors. A successful advocate for progressive candidates and causes, civic leader, and mother of two, she has focused her energy and experience on reproductive rights, climate action, affordable housing, access to quality education for all, and working to increase voter participation in the election process.
We live in a highly desirable city, in a state that is one of the fastest growing in the country, and this desirability is contributing to burdensome housing prices for many Coloradans. Sensible housing policy is vital to serving all the people of our state, including first-time homebuyers, renters, and low-income families. Two fundamentally opposing housing markets – the investment market and the living market – compete for the same land and buildings. We must make it possible for low and middle-income earners to own or rent, without fear that the investment market will price them out.
To this end, affordable housing and inclusionary housing policy plays an important role in opening doors that the market otherwise shuts. I’ve played a leading role in sponsoring bills to protect rights and living conditions for owners of manufactured homes, among the last types of unsubsidized affordable housing available in Colorado. I’ve also sponsored a bill charting a pathway for manufactured home residents to purchase their own park, potentially in advance of profit-motivated corporations purchasing parks and raising lot rents. I’ve voted for and supported a number of state bills that put significant money into affordable housing programs, and other bills to encourage opportunities to develop affordable housing supply. It’s not an exaggeration to call our situation a crisis right now, and I’m committed to strong policy actions in the interest of housing access and affordability.