State Housing Interagency (SHIP) Kickoff Remarks
September 22, 2025
Hello. Thank you for being here today. This is an exciting moment – a culmination of a lot of work from the people in this room.
Everyone here also knows well that the highest policy priority for my administration has been to address Oregon’s housing affordability and supply crisis with urgency and action.
We have a goal to build 30,000 residential units annually for next ten years. Given our current production numbers, that is ambitious. But from the Legislature to local governments to advocacy and community groups, there is broad support for being bold.
So, my challenge is to think about every opportunity to build more homes in Oregon. With bipartisan legislative support, the state has dramatically increased investments in affordable housing, increased infrastructure funding tied to housing, and enacted legislation to expedite the construction of housing at the local level. In other words, we are taking urgent action, but we must continue to search for solutions.
One solution worth exploring is to rethink how state agencies involved in housing development implement their programs and policies. Can we reduce state-level barriers to housing and maximize state resources to support increased production? The answer is unequivocally yes.
I firmly believe state agencies can streamline processes, find efficiencies and deploy resources for greater impact. And because housing touches multiple agencies, I also believe Oregon needs a coordination framework that encourages a bolder approach to agency collaboration.
That is why I am excited about the State Housing Interagency Partnership or SHIP. It brings together agency leaders, with support from agency staff and HAPO, to collaborate on planning and implementing the priority actions to meet this moment. I know agencies must contend with multiple priorities and fiscal-political constraints. But the point of SHIP is to make the sum greater than the parts – to lean into the idea of collective action so that, by working together, that we can overcome limitations to make the difficult possible.
Speaking of difficult things, I have some thoughts. First, I am challenging this group to act urgently. I know this partnership is just getting organized, but we cannot waste a moment. Oregon’s housing crisis so deeply affects the well-being of the state’s residents and our economy that every day is critical. So, my first request of SHIP is to identify priority actions that agencies can have ready for the summer of 2026. We need to show Oregonians that the state is moving with urgency and that housing will be easier and faster to build next construction season.
Second, as you think about agency policies and programs, I want to challenge this group to question conventional practices and be innovative. I firmly believe agencies can prioritize housing production while still meeting other policy goals such as public safety, clean water, and careful use of tax dollars. I also believe that if we are willing to fully appreciate this unique moment and to move beyond the conventional that we can find efficiencies and leverage existing resources to support building more homes, both in total number and types.
This is the moment for state government to rethink service delivery and show we can meet the housing challenge with creativity and leadership. I look at this group and I see leaders who can innovate and lead. Under the guidance of Co-Chairs Bateman and O’Day and with your collective expertise, I am excited about what can be accomplished.
You should know that I am counting on this partnership to generate ideas and options that can inform future executive action. As I have said many times, my north star is that every Oregonian is able to access and afford a home in the community of their choice. Finding ways to reduce state-level barriers to housing and maximizing state resources in support of increased production will be critical for delivering for Oregon.
My office stands with you, and I am personally prepared to back the SHIP partnership and to support bold ideas for boosting housing production.