PHOTO CAPTION (left to right): Milissa Rosenau, RPAC Trustee; Jonathan Bingle, Spokane City Council candidate; Betsy Wilkerson, incumbent Spokane City Council candidate; Michael Lish, City Council candidate; Eric Johnson, 2021 President of the Spokane Association of REALTORS®.

Spokane REALTORS® Endorse Housing Advocates

Top Choices to Bring Solutions to Spokane’s Housing Crisis

CLICK HERE to read the key issues on why we selected Jonathan Bingle

CLICK HERE to read the key issues on why we selected Mike Lish

The Spokane Association REALTORS® believes we are facing a crisis when it comes to available housing. Our apartments and rentals in Spokane are seeing around a 1/2% vacancy rate. While many of these renters qualify to buy a home,  there are few options available to them. We are already seeing record low inventory of housing at all levels.

As such, we see this year’s Spokane City Council races as being critical in addressing our key issues of housing affordability, housing availability, property rights and community safety. Our investment reflects the importance we place on these races

In May of 2021, a group of volunteer Spokane Association of REALTORS® met with nearly all of the City of Spokane candidates for office. Each was asked the same series of questions relating to our core issues. After meeting with these candidates, the committee selected those ideas and strategies that best move our issues forward.

Spokane City Council

Dist. 1 Jonathan Bingle

Dist. 2 Betsy Wilkerson (incumbent)

Dist. 3 Michael Lish

Each of the candidates met with a team of REALTOR® member volunteers, who made a unanimous choice of those selected. “There has never been a more critical time in our city’s history for issues surrounding housing,” said SAR President Eric Johnson. “We believe these candidates represent Spokane’s best chance at repairing 10 years of underbuilding in our region.

The candidates first responded to a lengthy housing questionnaire, before meeting with the candidate interview committee. According to the chair of the SAR Governmental Affairs Committee Tom Clark, “we ranked each of the candidates, selecting those that most closely align with our core values, and who demonstrated the best strategy for creating home ownership opportunities at all levels. The three we selected will the best chance we have to help so many in Spokane who are suffering because of years of ignoring the housing shortages.”

The primary election for the City of Spokane is August 3rd, 2021.