The Best Non-Paying Job I’ve Ever Had

Having just finished my first year on the Housing Commission, I can tell you that this is the best non-paying job I’ve ever had. I love the work that I get to do. I adore the commission’s staff and my colleagues. I enjoy the feeling that comes from working to solve one of the most important problems in our community.

I like to share with people that shortly after I was appointed to the Housing Commission, I read an article in a local newspaper about a problem with a local affordable housing project. It was one of those good pieces of journalism that gets your blood boiling. As it turned out, the matter was discussed at a commission meeting only a week or so later. After a staff report, some dialogue, and a vote of the commissioners, we were on our way to resolving the problem. What an amazing feeling of satisfaction! I love this job.

In the time that I’ve served on the commission, we’ve improved the city’s condo conversion ordinance to provide greater protections to tenants, we’ve expanded our programs to help more San Diegans become first-time homeowners, and approved new developments totaling over 1,200 new units of housing that is affordable to working families, seniors, veterans, and mentally ill individuals. I feel like we’ve done a lot but know that so much more needs to be done. Look no further than the hundreds of San Diegans who’ll sleep at one of the city’s cold weather shelters tonight and the thousands more who aren’t lucky enough to get a shelter bed. We’ve got a lot of work to do.