Tiara Mack | R.I. senator, D-Providence
1. In the primary, you beat longtime Democratic Sen. Harold Metts to become the first Black LGBTQ state senator in Rhode Island. How have your identities shaped your priorities in the General Assembly? As a Black, queer, formerly low-income elected official, I hope to bring my story, and countless others, to policy and shape legislation that is inclusive of the working class here in our state. Black liberation and queer liberation are inherently working against the status quo to demand a system that works for every person, regardless of their identities, and require the system to work in just and liberating ways. Whether it is housing justice, criminal justice, or education justice, or economic justice, we must center the narratives of all marginalized people to transform our system.
2. How are you going to tackle the affordable-housing crisis in the next two years? Within the next five years, Rhode Island needs to build 25,000 affordable units to keep pace with the projected demand by 2025. The money to do this is in our state now in the form of a tax structure that requires the wealthiest Rhode Islanders to pay their fair share. We can also put an end to exclusionary zoning, which prevents certain neighborhoods from having multiple family units and [deters] growth of affordable homes in many communities.
3. Can you explain your rent cap proposal? Rent hikes are outpacing wage increases and more Rhode Islanders are struggling to keep up. By capping rent increases at 4% per year, we can decrease the burden that many working families [experience] each year.
4. How will you incentivize the private sector to provide affordable housing? Currently, there is no incentive for the private sector to build more housing on identical plots of land. By introducing a land-value tax, which taxes land four times that rate of buildings, we can lower property taxes and encourage landowners to build more housing based on the land that they currently own and increase private-sector growth.
5. How will you incentivize landlords to accept all lawful sources of income, including vouchers, as forms of rent? Housing vouchers are guaranteed sources of income for landlords. By fighting to make sure there is no source of income discrimination, we can ensure reliable income for landlords. To incentivize this, an imposed 1% vacancy tax would apply for any unoccupied units that owners may be keeping free for “market” changes.
