The fifth congressional district DFL passed our resident-centered resolution that states public housing should be kept public! Our fight is now more widely supported than ever, and we will wait until Ilhan Omar recognizes and supports our 5-year struggle.

FIFTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DFL (CD5 DFL)·THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019

Whereas housing is a human right;

Whereas the 5th Congressional District is facing a housing crisis which has in turn caused a homelessness crisis;

Whereas ensuring all CD5 residents have decent and stable housing that is affordable (30% of their income) must be a top priority and concern;

Whereas the first public housing in Minneapolis, Glendale Townhomes, was developed by Mayor Hubert Humphrey to house WWII vets and their families during one of the most severe housing crises we’ve ever faced;

Whereas Hubert Humphrey created MPHA’s predecessor MHRA under the ideal that a publicly owned housing authority was the most permanent solution to housing;

Whereas housing that is often described as “affordable” is not truly affordable for low and very-low-income households, and building more publicly-owned public housing best ensures enough of the appropriate housing is created to begin with;

Whereas 25,000 Minneapolis residents currently live in public housing, with tens of thousands more on the waiting list; all are poor and over 80% are people of color, immigrants, refugees, seniors, and people with disabilities;

Whereas the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority [MPHA] was created by the authority of the Minneapolis City Council, and in significant part relates and has obligations to the City Council and Mayor pursuant to the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, Chapter 420;

Whereas the MPHA Strategic Vision and Capital Plan for 2018-2020 includes transferring ownership of its publicly-owned properties to a private non-profit corporation pursuant to the HUD-administered Rental Assistance Demonstration program [RAD] and replacing current public housing leases with Section 8 vouchers, a process which was rejected by residents at the Glendale Townhomes in 2015;

Whereas using Section 8 vouchers to relocate seniors on fixed incomes out of public housing and their communities could worsen the chronic homelessness crisis among seniors;

Whereas the residents at the first two properties scheduled through RAD (Elliot Twin Towers and Glendale Townhomes) include a high percentage of East African Somali and Oromo seniors and elders, which could result in disparate impact as defined by the Fair Housing Act;

Whereas the MPHA has responsibility as a public agency to maintain public housing properties as a public good, and is unable to make any promises as to the future of residents at any properties whose ownership and control has been transferred to private entities;

Whereas relocation is displacement, and research from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs has found that as few as 1 in 5 relocated residents return to their homes;

Whereas a February 2018 GAO report requested by Rep. Maxine Waters documents a lack of accountability by HUD for the RAD process, and has been unwilling or unable to take responsible steps to ensure the safety of residents in the nationwide program;

Whereas these potential dangers underlie the importance of the U.S. Representative’s, City Council’s and Mayor’s vigilant involvement as this process plays out in Minneapolis; and

Whereas over 18,000 people have signed a petition to keep public housing in Minneapolis and CD5 public;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL rejects the notion that preserving or expanding public housing requires privatization by any method;

RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL distinguishes that “deeply subsidized” or “deeply affordable” housing is not the same thing as public housing or income-based housing at 30% of income for rent;

RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL believes Section 8 vouchers are not a replacement for public housing, and that Section 18 and RAD are privatization programs that do not “preserve” public housing but, in fact, dismantle it and are thus unacceptable.

RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL believes any plan for public housing that is not supported and approved by residents is not legitimate, and that any plan requiring residents to be relocated for redevelopment is displacement;

RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL asks the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor to exercise due diligence in monitoring the citizen involvement and reporting requirements of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority under the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 420;

RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL urges the 5th Congressional District United States Representative, Minneapolis City Council and Mayor to exercise their authority, good offices, and public voice to oppose all forms of privatization of public housing in Minneapolis, including the sale or transfer to private ownership of public housing buildings; and

RESOLVED, That the 5th Congressional District of the DFL encourages the City of Minneapolis to take a national and international leadership position in guaranteeing housing as a human right, including working with public partners to protect, keep, and expand public housing as a public good.