Last night, I participated in the Montgomery County Renters Alliance Gubernatorial Forum where I laid out my plan to address housing insecurity in Maryland. As a teacher and a principal, I saw firsthand how homelessness and housing insecurity affected my students and their families. No parent should ever have to worry their child won’t have a place to sleep that night — housing is a human right, and it’s time Maryland had a leader who governed with that principle in mind.

I am running as a strong progressive, and as governor I will take bold progressive action to strengthen tenants’ rights. Knowing that housing is a human right, we have to take bold action to change our systems in Maryland. That means reinstating the eviction moratorium statewide as we continue to grapple with COVID, passing a “just cause eviction” law, providing state funding to ensure tenants’ right to counsel, passing equitable zoning laws, and building a stable supply of affordable housing.

It also means not being afraid to acknowledge and address the racial discrimination that has long been engrained in Maryland’s housing system and zoning laws which reflect a dark history of redlining. As governor, I’ll fight to pass inclusionary zoning at the state level, dramatically increase investment in the state’s housing trust fund, and start a state bank that will enable community banks to provide capital for mixed income housing development and loans to home buyers that will help close our racial gaps in home ownership.

Supporting and strengthening tenants’ rights is essential to ensuring every Marylander succeeds, which is why I’m campaigning just as I’d govern — guided by a mission to build a more equitable Maryland, where everyone has a fair shot at success.

I’m counting on your support in our campaign for governor, so can you please contribute $5 today in support of our progressive movement?

Thank you for being part of this, friend. It means so much to me.

John King