Opinion<\/p>\n
\t\tPhoenician appreciates why LD8 candidate opposed \u2018build more\u2019 legislation\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\tPosted<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThursday,
\n\t\t\tJune 25, 2026
\n\t\t\t12:00 pm<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeal Haddad\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubmitted photo\/Cindy Haddad\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
By Neal Haddad | Phoenix<\/p>\n
OPINION \u2014 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 \u201cstarter home\u201d legislation, I had basic questions: Would these homes actually be affordable? Would they go to working families, or to investors?<\/p>\n
State Sen. Lauren Kuby asked the same questions. And she voted no. That took courage. The \u201cjust build more\u201d argument sounds reasonable until you read the fine print.<\/p>\n
These bills don\u2019t support working families \u2014 they embolden developers to bulldoze, build and profit.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Building more units doesn\u2019t improve affordability if those homes are priced out of reach or removed from the owner-occupied market altogether.<\/p>\n
Kuby\u2019s opponent in the Democratic primary supported those bills. What made Kuby\u2019s opposition credible wasn\u2019t just her no vote \u2014 it was why she voted no.<\/p>\n
Her experience as Tempe\u2019s vice mayor and leading ASU\u2019s 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 \u2014 nothing in either bill required savings to reach homebuyers.<\/p>\n
Arizona deserves housing policy that creates homes families can actually afford to buy and live in. Lauren Kuby understands that distinction. I\u2019m proud she\u2019s my senator.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org.\u00a0We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our\u00a0Civility Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n \n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tArizona,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Legislative District 8,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Lauren Kuby,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Legislature,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Democratic primary,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t questions,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t courage,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t housing,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t housing policy,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t families,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t homebuyers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t first-time buyers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t developers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t market,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t affordability,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t savings,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Neal Haddad,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Phoenix,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mesa,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Scottsdale,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Tempe,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n