Connie Baker and George Tremblay need to get on the same page

George Tremblay, saving Charlestown
from elderly scam artists.

Are they for letting millionaires game the affordable housing system or against it?

By Linda Felaco

If you’ve been following the news, Planning Commissioner and Charlestown Citizens Alliance Town Council candidate[1] George Tremblay has just completed his analysis of Low- and Moderate-Income Housing in the Chariho towns and Exeter, and he’s concluded that we’re in danger of building affordable housing for the elderly only to have millionaires purchase the units as investment vehicles. This could happen, he claims, because only income is used in determining who qualifies for affordable housing and not assets.

Now, George[2] would have readers of Progressive Charlestown believe that that wasn’t actually in his report; he claimed in a comment that he’d only suggested that as “an example for potential abuse” in an aside to the Westerly Sun reporter after giving his presentation on his “analysis.” But the fact is it’s there in writing in his report. (Click here to read it; the bit about elderly embezzlers appears on page 7.) Well, not writing, typing. As in it’s in the typewritten part of the report and not the handwritten part. (While you’re in there, take a gander at Appendix X if you don’t believe me about the handwritten part.)

Then again, Tremblay also thinks Progressive Charlestown’s “benighted readers … will neither read nor understand” the links we provide, so it appears he was counting on people not actually reading his report.

But I digress.

Meanwhile, the campaign bio of Affordable Housing Commission member Connie Baker, who the Charlestown Citizens Alliance is endorsing for a seat on the Planning Commission, says:

“As a volunteer on the Affordable Housing Commission she has been an advocate for conversion of existing housing that falls within the State price guidelines to affordable units without deed restrictions.” [emphasis mine]

Deed restrictions are of course the most important tool we have to ensure that affordable housing stays in the hands of those who need it and doesn’t fall into the hands of speculators.

So which is it? Is it:

1. We shouldn’t build affordable housing because it might fall into the wrong hands.
2. We shouldn’t build affordable housing because we can just convert existing housing, knowingly let it fall into the wrong hands, and pretend like it’s actually serving the purpose for which it’s intended.
   
   Or is it:
   
   
3. The CCA will say or do anything to prevent any new housing from being built.

Tell you what. Connie? George? The two of you confab and get back to us on that.

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[1] After serving only two years of a six-year term on the Planning Commission, Tremblay has declared “Mission Accomplished” and is now running for Town Council. Apparently, he likes running for office so much that he’d rather have to do it every two years than wait till 2016 to run again.
[2] I know we’ve never met, but I feel like I should be on a first-name basis with anyone who thinks they know me well enough to call me names.