Throughout my 45 year career in real estate I worked with builders, nonprofits, and local and state governments to provide housing that Missoula families can afford.

We have had some successes, but unfortunately high demand, stagnant wages and huge increases in the cost of building new housing have created the worst housing crisis Missoula has ever seen.

A pet peeve of mine is when people running for office say that the only solution is raising wages. It is true that higher wages are a part of the solution, but truly solving our housing crisis will require much more.

Making Missoula Home, a report commissioned by the city, county and the private sector, contains 20 pages of potential solutions. We need state legislators who understand this crisis and will fight to make changes to enable our local nonprofit and for-profit housing providers to build the housing our hardworking families need.

One candidate who truly understands the housing crisis, and has some great ideas to solve it, is Adam Hertz running for reelection in House District 96. I strongly endorse Adam. Please contact your friends and neighbors in House District 96 and encourage them to vote for Adam Hertz.