Opinion
Phoenician appreciates why LD8 candidate opposed ‘build more’ legislation
Posted
Thursday,
June 25, 2026
12:00 pm
Neal Haddad
Submitted photo/Cindy Haddad
By Neal Haddad | Phoenix
OPINION — I live in Legislative District 8 and, like most of my neighbors, I want Arizona to solve its housing crisis. But when the Legislature considered bills marketed as “starter home” legislation, I had basic questions: Would these homes actually be affordable? Would they go to working families, or to investors?
State Sen. Lauren Kuby asked the same questions. And she voted no. That took courage. The “just build more” argument sounds reasonable until you read the fine print.
These bills don’t support working families — they embolden developers to bulldoze, build and profit.
Neither bill required homes to be sold at affordable price points, neither prioritized first-time buyers, neither restricted institutional investors from outbidding families with cash, nor prevented newly built homes from becoming short-term rentals.
Building more units doesn’t improve affordability if those homes are priced out of reach or removed from the owner-occupied market altogether.
Kuby’s opponent in the Democratic primary supported those bills. What made Kuby’s opposition credible wasn’t just her no vote — it was why she voted no.
Her experience as Tempe’s vice mayor and leading ASU’s Stardust Center for Affordable Housing gave her direct fluency in housing policy and equity. She knows the difference between legislation that produces affordability and legislation that merely produces units. And she knows that developers sell at whatever price the market will bear — nothing in either bill required savings to reach homebuyers.
Arizona deserves housing policy that creates homes families can actually afford to buy and live in. Lauren Kuby understands that distinction. I’m proud she’s my senator.
Neal Haddad is president of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix. LD8 includes parts of Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, and the entire Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Keywords
Arizona,
Legislative District 8,
Lauren Kuby,
Legislature,
Democratic primary,
questions,
courage,
housing,
housing policy,
families,
homebuyers,
first-time buyers,
developers,
market,
affordability,
savings,
Neal Haddad,
Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix,
Phoenix,
Mesa,
Scottsdale,
Tempe,
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
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