They come from different political parties, different parts of the state and different backgrounds.
But Arizona lawmakers Selina Bliss and Sarah Liguori share one very important goal: combating the state’s housing crisis by increasing supply and affordability.
Bliss, a Republican representative from Prescott in her second term, experienced Arizona’s housing shortage decades ago, firsthand.
As a child, her family left Oregon when her father got a teaching position at the newly minted Yavapai Community College.
“We had to live in a canvas tent,” she recalled. “There were no homes to be found in Prescott in 1971.”
Her parents, siblings and their dogs ended up being one of the first families to move into newly built college dorms.
Although Bliss thought sleeping outside was fun at the time, her family’s long-term stability depended on construction of new housing in a growing state.
The same challenges exist today.
Liguori, a Phoenix Democrat appointed twice to fill vacancies at the Legislature, has personal experience with housing issues as well.
Liguori got her first taste of land development during college in Tucson and went onto a career in commercial real estate in Phoenix.
She uses this know-how to bring together disparate policy makers to push solutions to the housing crisis. And she’s not afraid to be on the receiving end of the ire of local officials upset at state mandates.
“I’ll be the bad guy,” she said. “Behind closed doors so many policy makers say, ‘Thank you,’ while publicly they say, ‘Hey, the state tied our hands.’”
She and fellow legislators often receive angry correspondence from constituents about local zoning issues. But she’s dedicated to creating housing supply to meet Arizona’s demand.
This shared commitment has united lawmakers across the aisle to support creative ways to expand housing.
Housing issues are “where parties dissolve and policy leads,” Liguori said.
She hopes the Legislature finally renews the Arizona Low Income Housing Tax Credit, noting its success in spurring construction of affordable homes, especially in rural Arizona, in recent years.
Bliss is promoting House Bill 2926, which would streamline the building of workforce housing. Permitting through municipalities often delays projects by months or even years, increasing the cost that is passed on to renters.
“Time is money,” Bliss said. “We take too much time in the permitting process.”
