Question: What is your role at PWR?
Answer: PWR is unique in that we have 2 Government Affairs Directors, or “GADs” in the language of the association. Our board of directors has placed government affairs as a top priority. Christine Schachter and I are the two GADs, and we have both worked for PWR for several years. At a high level, it is our job to advocate for government policies that make it easier for our members to be successful. We generally do that by advocating for free market principles in real estate. With direction from the board, we oppose rent control, inclusionary zoning, transfer taxes, point of sale mandates, and mandatory inspections. We support Prop 13, the mortgage interest deduction, and ask cities to allow our members to put up Open House signs.
Question: What did you and Christine do before working at PWR?
Answer: Christine and I both worked in government jobs. Christine had been a staffer for a Long Beach City Councilmember and is well known in Long Beach political circles as a result. I was also a staffer, working for the State Senator who represented much of northern Orange County for 7 years prior to joining PWR. I have had a part-time job teaching Political Science at Rio Hondo College for about 20 years, with a class here and there in the evening or weekend.
Question: What opportunities do you see in 2025?
Answer: The Trump tax reform of 2017 capped the deduction for State and Local Taxes (SALT) at $10,000 per year, where previously there was no cap. This cap disproportionately harmed states like California, where state and local taxes are higher. We have been advocating for a repeal of the cap, or at least a substantial raising of the cap, since this change happened. There is bipartisan support for the SALT issue in Congress, and President Trump indicated during the campaign a willingness to reform SALT, so this could be a big win for us in 2025.
Question: What challenges do you see in 2025?
Answer: We continue to have significant challenges with some of our local city councils. For example, Santa Ana adopted a disastrous rent control and just cause eviction ordinance and even codified it in their city charter. Hopefully these ideas don’t spread to other cities, but if they do, we will be there to fight them. City council members are seeing the legitimate problem of housing being unaffordable, but unfortunately some of them come up with bad policy prescriptions to address the problem. Basic economics teaches us about supply and demand, and our elected officials need to be reminded government price controls are not the solution.
Question: What trends do you anticipate for 2025?
Answer: At the national level, I am anxious to see if the Trump administration will make good on the promise to reduce government spending. The new Department of Government Efficiency is tasked with eliminating wasteful spending, with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy leading the effort. If the federal budget deficit is meaningfully reduced, we could see an easing of inflation and a corresponding reduction in interest rates, which will naturally help real estate. At the state level, I expect Governor Newsom and the legislature to continue what they have been doing for the last several years in pushing ways to bring more housing supply to market.
Question: How can REALTORS get more involved?
Answer: There’s an old saying in politics that says, “Think globally, act locally”. We always encourage our members to attend school board meetings, city council meetings, etc. When there’s a big vote about to happen, it would be nice to have REALTORS who are friends with the elected officials who can send a text, email, speak at the meeting, etc. in favor of our position. We always need our members to respond to any “Call for Action” from C.A.R. or NAR, where they are communicating with their representatives. And of course we have the REALTOR Action Fund (RAF), our PAC to support candidates and issues. Our members can contribute to RAF as a way of giving back to the industry.
