(Image courtesy of Partners for Affordable Housing)
Following the launch of the Housing is a Math Problem campaign in August, Partners for Affordable Housing is welcoming community members to attend two housing-focused candidate forums ahead of the 2026 elections in partnership with Central Oregon Daily News.
These free, open-to-the-public, nonpartisan discussions will feature mayoral and city council candidates answering questions directly from coalition members. Unlike a traditional debate, Housing is a Math Problem candidate forums will feature questions developed by coalition members representing a broad cross-section of the Central Oregon community including labor unions, civic organizations, affordable and market rate builders, and representatives of people negatively impacted by high housing costs.
Information for each forum:
5-7pm September 22: Bend Mayor and City Councilor Candidate Forum at Open Space in Bend
5-7pm October 5: Redmond Mayor and City Council Candidate Forum at High Desert Music Hall in Redmond
All candidates who qualified for the local ballots in Bend and Redmond were invited to attend. The following candidates have said they will participate in the forums:
- Bend Mayor: Melanie Kebler and Bernadette Strome
- Bend City Council Position 5: Ariel Mendez
- Bend City Council Position 6: Elana Reinholtz
- Redmond Mayor: Ed Fitch, Jay Patrick, and Charles Webster Baer
- Redmond City Council: Tobias Colvin, Kathryn Osborne, Paul Povey, and a stand-in for Barbara Tate
*Redmond City Council candidate Raven Hansen was not available to participate in the event.
The forums will be emceed by the coalition’s media partner, Central Oregon Daily News (KOHD), and recorded. Within two days after the event, recordings will be available on Central Oregon Daily’s website as well as the Partners for Affordable Housing website.
The PAH coalition also released a new video today in addition to the coalition’s educational webpage and Policy Toolkit published last month, which are all components of the coalition’s Housing is a Math Problem education campaign. The video will be shared on social media and across the region to help raise awareness of the factors that drive up the cost of homes and generate conversation about housing solutions.
The Housing is a Math problem campaign seeks to clarify the housing crisis by introducing simple but powerful concepts:
- The housing problem is numerical, not ideological
- Elected leaders can change the variables in the housing equation
- The longer we wait to act, the more exponentially difficult the problem is to solve
“Policy decisions shape the future of housing,” said Eliza Wilson, executive director of RootedHomes and a member of the PAH coalition steering committee. “Bold leadership with a pro-housing lens is essential to removing barriers, lowering costs, and creating the housing opportunities our communities need to thrive.”
Forums are generously sponsored by Hayden Homes, Cascades East Association of REALTORS, Pahlisch Homes, Hooker Creek, Pinnacle Architecture, Bend Chamber and TEN OVER STUDIOS.
