THOMAS F. REILLY
Romney’s record ‘terrible’

Three candidates for governor said during a forum focused on housing-related issues that local housing authorities should be required to verify that those applying for public housing are legal residents of the country.

Democratic candidates Thomas F. Reilly, Christopher F. Gabrieli and independent Christy Mihos indicated that they are not opposed to a Senate budget amendment that would require housing authorities to verify the residency status of applicants, as well as give priority to U.S. citizens and documented immigrants on waiting lists for housing.

Meanwhile, Gabrieli said that some “diminution” of local control would be needed to speed up the permitting process and increase the housing supply in Massachusetts, while opposing candidates shied away from directly addressing that point, arguing that existing programs could boost housing production if they were used more effectively.

The candidates’ responses came during a gubernatorial forum last week at Faneuil Hall in Boston that was sponsored by a host of advocacy and community-based organizations, including the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Boston Society of Architects and Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance.

Candidates fielded questions on everything from cluster zoning, to state funding for housing programs, to ways to increase housing starts.

Mihos said illegal immigrants are costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars in health care and housing costs, and that the state should be taking care of “our own.”

“This is a huge problem [for housing authority officials],” he said.

Reilly chimed in that there is “nothing wrong with inquiring and asking someone to verify their status,” and giving priority to American citizens for publicly funded housing.

But Democratic rival Deval Patrick and Green-Rainbow Party candidate Grace Ross suggested they would not support the Senate proposal, with Patrick saying that a more balanced approach is needed.

Both Patrick and Mihos repeated their support for expanding the SoftSecond mortgage loan program, which has assisted 8,800 low-income homebuyers in the last 15 years, and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The candidates, along with Ross, pledged to increase state funding for both the trust fund – which has helped build more than 2,600 affordable homes – and the mortgage program when they appeared at another housing forum earlier this month.

Gabrieli also noted his support of such programs, and later took a swipe at Gov. Mitt Romney for failing to keep his promises regarding housing.

“This governor has said he would double housing starts,” said Gabrieli. “He hasn’t.”

Reilly also took some shots at the Romney administration. “There’s a reason why Kerry Healy isn’t here today,” said Reilly, as part of a response to a question by a panelist who asked how he would increase affordable rental housing. “There’s been a terrible record [on housing] by Gov. Mitt Romney, Kerry Healy and President Bush.”

Lt. Governor Kerry Healy, the Republican candidate, initially accepted the invitation to participate in last week’s forum but then later said she wouldn’t attend, according to the event’s organizers.

In addition to criticizing the Romney administration, there was some sparring between Patrick and Reilly over Patrick’s involvement with beleaguered mortgage lender Ameriquest.

Moderator and New England Cable News anchor R.D. Sahl asked Patrick why he decided to serve on the board of Ameriquest’s parent company, ACC Capital Holding Corp., given its controversial history and charges that the company engaged in predatory lending practices.

The company settled a $325 million lawsuit in Massachusetts and 48 other states early this year for purportedly failing to disclose to consumers high fees associated with refinancing loans and other unfair lending practices.

Patrick – who headed the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division when Ameriquest settled a $4 million lawsuit with the Justice Department after the company was accused of predatory lending – said he was asked to join the board by the company chairman to help change its lending practices and make improvements. Patrick, who plans to step down from the company’s board July 1, said he helped in reforming Ameriquest.

But Reilly was unconvinced, saying that the company is “notorious” for predatory lending, has turned many people’s dreams of homeownership into a “nightmare” and has not changed its ways because the lender is still foreclosing homes.

“Why Â… he ever went to work for a company like that is beyond me,” said Reilly.

Patrick defended his involvement with Ameriquest, saying he helped the lender reach the recent multimillion-dollar settlement, and characterized the criticism as an opportunity by his opponent to take a “cheap political shot.”

“Ameriquest blew it. I’ve said it over and over again,” he said.

Besides predatory lending, another hot-button issue that popped up was home rule and the resistance that cities and towns have shown toward growth and development.

Andrew Crane, president of the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts and one of the panelists at the forum, asked whether the candidates would support changing the state zoning act to mandate that cluster zoning be adopted by cities and towns. Cluster zoning enables developers to group homes together and preserve open space throughout and around a project.

Currently, communities can allow cluster development by right, meaning that developers don’t have to seek a special permit. But only Gloucester has taken advantage of the law.

‘A State Problem’
Homebuilders and other supporters argue that cluster development is an environmentally friendly tool for getting more housing built in the state and should be embraced statewide.

While all the candidates indicated support for cluster development and suggested that housing is a statewide problem, they seemed hesitant to embrace any measure that would chip away at a community’s control to make zoning and planning decisions.

Saying he is a “firm believer of local rule,” Mihos repeatedly said more state aid needs to flow back to cities and towns to help them address infrastructure issues and give them more of an incentive to support new-home development and growth. Mihos has proposed giving 40 percent of state tax revenue to cities and towns and freezing property values – and taxes – from the time of purchase until the home is sold.

Only Gabrieli directly said that local control over zoning and building regulations needs to be altered, noting that there needs to be a “re-jiggering” of the balance between state powers and local rule.

“This is a state problem and Â… communities shouldn’t be allowed to pass the buck,” he said.

Patrick called cluster zoning a “smart idea” but said there are many impacts of such development, adding that he is “sympathetic” toward communities that lack resources to deal with growth.

Reilly said cluster zoning is a “win” for developers, communities and environmentalists, but added that certain decisions have to be made at the local level and there should be incentives for cities and towns to adopt such zoning – including a bigger chunk of state aid.