KPBS Midday Edition

San Diego Affordable Housing Advocates Eyeing 2020 Ballot

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Pat Finn / Producer

Published August 14, 2018 at 8:20 AM PDT

This story was published more than 6 years ago.

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San Diego Affordable Housing Advocates Eyeing 2020 Ballot

San Diego Affordable Housing Advocates Eyeing 2020 Ballot GUEST: Stephen Russell, executive director, San Diego Housing Federation

In recent months it seemed as if there might be two or even three different measures on the November ballot aimed at increasing affordable housing in San Diego.

Then a city measure to boost the hotel tax to fund an expansion of the convention center, street repairs and affordable housing died an ignominious death due to lack of valid signatures and city council support.

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Had the city measure made it to the ballot, it could have competed with a bond measure proposed by the San Diego Housing Federation to raise some $900 million.

But when that measure was withdrawn by the federation in late July, some observers assumed the change was a result of behind-the-scenes pressure from convention center advocates.

Not so, said Stephen Russell, the federation's executive director. It was a strategic decision to move the bond measure to 2020, a presidential election year, due to the large number of measures on the November 2018 ballot.

Russell joins Midday Edition Tuesday with more on how the move to 2020 will change the content and the scope of the affordable housing ballot measure.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Pat Finn

Pat Finn previously served as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and KPBS Evening Edition. Finn began her career in broadcasting at KTLA and KCET in Los Angeles. In 1979 she became KPBS’ Public Information Director, then Director of Advertising and Promotion, Program Director, and Director of Broadcasting. She oversaw the station’s local and national productions, including the one-hour documentary Los Romeros: The Royal Family of the Guitar, and Child Protective Services, a one-hour look inside the San Diego County agency responsible for the welfare of at risk children. Both programs also aired on public television stations nationwide. Finn has earned honors from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

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