Advocacy in Action with the GADs: an August 2025 update

SPAAR's Government Affairs Directors, Becky Wegscheid and Simon Opatz, met with a number of city and county elected officials, staff and other local housing stakeholders to discuss various housing related topics. For SPAAR's Transforming Neighborhoods project --- which brought housing and real estate experts from the Councilors of Real Estate (CRE) to study the White Bear Avenue corridor on the east side of Saint Paul ---  Becky and the CRE team spoke with Saint Paul City Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson, Ramsey County Commissioner Mai Chong Xiong and a number of local community stakeholders, seeking their input on the needs and desires of the east side community.

Becky also worked closely with the City of Columbia Heights to develop homeownership classes in multiple languages and coordinate a Homeownership Resource Night for residents looking to buy their first home.

Simon met with county commissioners throughout SPAAR's jurisdiction in August, including Dakota County Commissioner Liz Workman and Washington County Commissioners Bethany Cox, Stan Karwoski, Karla Bigham, Fran Miron and Michelle Clasen. These discussions were centered on housing affordability and availability in these communities with a focus on senior housing needs, housing development, transportation and homelessness. Simon informed these leaders about the accessible housing market data resources on SPAAR's website and invited them to SPAAR's upcoming Housing Resource Fair on Thursday, September 25, from 2-4 pm at SPAAR's office.

SPAAR's GADs also began SPAAR's annual Candidate Endorsement process by sending out candidate questionnaires to each of the candidates running for Mayor, City Council and County Commissioner within SPAAR's 12-county service area. Candidate interviews will begin the week of Monday, September 15. If you're interested in participating in these candidate endorsement interviews, contact Becky or Simon directly.

SPAAR's GADs will continue connecting with elected officials, government staff and local housing stakeholders on your behalf as a SPAAR member. If there’s something going on in your city or county that should be on SPAAR’s radar, please let us know!

Reach out to Becky (bwegscheid@spaar.com) or Simon (sopatz@spaar.com) to discuss any of the information above or for any questions.