To the editor:
In the midst of a housing crisis on the Oregon coast, short-term vacation rentals have made it even harder for families here to afford housing. Ironically, a former Airbnb executive, Andrew Kalloch, is running to replace Peter DeFazio in Congress.
Despite multiple studies showing that Airbnb reduces the supply of long-term housing and harms communities like ours, Kalloch has traveled the country lobbying local governments not to regulate short-term rentals.
Here in Lincoln County, we’ve done exactly that, cracking down on companies like Airbnb that inflate our housing prices. Andrew Kalloch has spent the last several years fighting hard against laws just Ballot Measure 21-203 to phase-out short-term rentals from certain residential areas.
He may have changed his tune to run for Congress, but a brief review of his campaign finances reveals a slew of donations from other corporate executives. Somehow, Kalloch claims to be a champion for affordable housing. His record says otherwise. I don’t trust an Airbnb executive to protect our housing supply, and I certainly don’t trust someone who puts corporate profits before working Oregonians.
Kalloch will not be receiving my vote for Congress, and I urge other Lincoln County voters to follow my lead.
— Monica Kirk, Depoe Bay
He doesn’t get my vote either after reading the voters pamphlet. Would love to see our state enact a double property tax rate on all STR . They could provide a tax credit for providing long term housing to help encourage that housing over STR.