Street roots
TRANSFER TAX, from page 3
now in our ability to make decisions that
affect our constituents. And any time that the
legislature, or anybody wants to take away our
ability to serve our contituents, we definitely
are opposed.”
Kafoury says preemptions like the one on
transfer fees actually restrict voters rights by
not allowing them the choice. The RETT
ballot measure is a one-size-fits-all application
that local governments are, in general,
opposed to, Kafoury said. Different
communities have different needs, she says.
“Especially right now, when the state is
making such huge cuts to really important
human services, they’re cutting services for
seniors, for the mentally ill, for public safety
dollars,” Kafoury says. At the same time, she
says, the state and local constituents expect
the same level of service, and the demand
continues to rise.
n it’s campaign, thé Realtor’s have
contracted with a new company, Signature
Gathering Company of Oregon, a mutual
benefit nonprofit created in June by a team of
investors, including heavyweight lobbyist
Mark Nelson. Nelson is a member of the
nonprofit’s board of directors. Nelson’s
lobbying firm, Public Affairs Counsel, has
been hired by Signature Gathering Company
of Oregon, and has received $2,500 for
services to date.
Nelson is also retained as the lobbiest for
the Housing Alliance, which has supported
and campaigned for a real estate transfer tax
in the past, specifically for affordable
housing.
“The Housing Alliance retains Public
Affairs Counsel to help us educate législateurs
about housing needs and to move our
legislative agenda, says Byrd on the matter,
“We are confident in their ability to help us >
achieve our goals.”
Nelson was out of town and not availably
-tiicom m ent for this story, but his business^
partner/David Reinhardt, said there is ho '
conflict of interest with this situation.
||
“He has not been contracted to lobby on
the real estate transfer tax,” Reinhardt said.
“That would be a conflict of interest. We do
not have a client that wants us to lobby for a
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7
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Oct. 28, 2011
ban on the real estate transfer tax.”
Reinhardt said that his company will not
lobby two sides of an issues. “That would be
totally unethical.”
Kafoury, however, says the history of
issues Nelson has lobbied for are directly
opposed to the needs of Multnomah County,
specifically his recent opposition to
Measures 66 and 67 — initiatives that
preserved many crucial programs for people
in need, Kafoury says.
While the ballot initiative has caught the
attention of affordable housing advocates,
there is no campaign organized in opposition
at this time.
“We’ve been working on this with the
Housing Alliance,” sayd John Miller,
executive director of Oregon Opportunity
Network comprising affordable housing
organizations and agencies across the state.
“We’re looking at all the implications of the
ballot measure and deciding a strategy.”
Art Kegler, the chief petitioner on the
amendment initiative, says that if affordable
housing were the goal, “that would be fine.”
But Kegler says that has not been the goal of
most transfer tax bills in the Oregon
Legislature, which has considered rescinding
the preemption for general fund resources,
and could change its course on where the
money goes in any legislative session, he
says.
“If they did it for affordable housing, I
wouldn’t have a problem with if. And only if
that was documented in the constitution, not
just in a legislative action,” Kegler says.
n recent years, under the National
Association of Realtors campaign, more
than 30 states have passed restrictions or
prohibitions on transfer fees, most of which
were funneling money back to developers.
Others have been specifically preserved for
charitable uses.
Shaun Jilkons, with the Oregon
Association of Realtors, said the
organization’s .decision tQ pursue this ^yas
based' oh surveys 6f Realtors SCross the^state
that showed overwhelming support in
eliminating real estate transfer taxes and
putting resources to that end.
But not everyone in the business agrees
that this should be a priority for an industry
I
suffering under the housing collapse and
challenging economic forces.
“I am perplexed as to why our association
is focusing on this issue when there are so
many other pressing issues critical to
Realtors and citizens of Oregon,” says Chris
Bonner, a Realtor based in Portland.
Bonner says that states that have a
transfer fee applied to affordable housing,
such as Florida, have not seen a slowdown in
real estate activity because of the fee.
Banning such an option prevents jurisdictions
from doing what they need to do to keep
people in housing, Bonner says.
* “We still have, n o t—as a state or a nation
— figured out how we are going to assist
people who are on a fixed income or are
working minimum-wage jobs, get affordable
decent housing. And I hate to see any tool
taken off the table that can help our
communities remain stable and a place
where our children will be able to afford a
decent place to live.”
It’s not good for business, either, says
Bonner.
“It’s not going to hurt our business as
much as it hurts our community to have
people struggling to afford decent housing,”
she said, referring to the option of. applying
such taxes toward affordable housing. “We all
can see that when people are on the edge
and struggling, it does not make a good
environment for either business or livability.”
Judy Carnahan has been a Realtor with the
Oregon association for more than 25 years,
but in January she switched her membership
to the Washington Realtors. Carnahan, who
is based in Portland, switched because she
refused to pay the $75 assessment the
Oregon Association required of members to
get the RETT initiative on the ballot.
Carnahan didn’t support the fee or the
initiative, which she said is a lousy way to
establish tax law.
“The type of local input and opportunity
for members of a community to participate in
the building and construction of such a
measure or law does not happen,” Carnahan
says. “Thiscom es from just a group of
people with a special interest is mind and
that’s it. This is not the way we construct
good, sound fiscal policy in this state.”
The benefits of Realtor membership
include access to the multiple listings service
that is a key competitive tool for real estate
brokers. Carnahan filed an inquiry with the
Secretary of State’s office, arguing that the
Realtors were withholding membership, and
the multiple listings service, as a condition of
paying the $75 for the campaign. (In January,
the Attorney General’s office sent a cease
and desist letter to the Oregon Association of
Realtors saying the assessment violates state
law in that the revenues contribute to
campaigns. Attorney General’s office later
rescinded the order and the fee. The
Realtors had proposed the fee as a three-year
assessment, but it was put in place for 2011
only.)
Carnahan, an independent broker, said
brokers associated with a brokerage firm had
no choice but to pay the fee. She said she
had conversations with many brokers who
don’t support the campaign.
“It was sad to talk with so many Realtors
who rgally did not want to financially support
the petition drive, but they felt as though
they were forced to do it,” Carnahan said.
It’s a non-issue for Realtors, and it’s not
what the real estate industry needs,” she
says.
“I don’t see that housing has been
deterred in any way in Washington County,
and business certainly hasn’t been damaged
in Washington County, and in fact,
Washington County has one of the lowest
unemployment rates in the state,” Carnahan
says.
Carnahan would not specify if she would
support a transfer tax applied to affordable
housing - and in fact opposed ones in the
past for their lack of clarify - she did say that
more could be done by the industry to help
the housing crisis than a constitutional ban.
“Even more than before, we have really
severe housing problems,” Carnahan says.
“Families have problems, and I don’t see
there being any resources available for
families who are displaced. Of any time in
r e c e n t h is to r y th a t I ’v e k n o w n a b o u t, th e r e is
a greater need now for alternative types of
housing for families than ever before, and I
see no other group that is better prepared,
other than governments, to be able to get a
handle on this right now.”
Eyes on the Street:
Three years of Street Roots photography
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Photographers showcased
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