Media Advisory: Asm. Wicks to Host Inaugural Hearing for Select Committee on Social Housing 

OAKLAND — On Wednesday, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks will host the inaugural hearing for the Assembly Select Committee on Social Housing in Oakland, the Assembly’s first remote hearing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hearing will cover a history of public housing within the United States, and include panelists from Spain, Austria, Mexico, and the U.S. to speak to existing and successful social housing models around the globe. Committee members will have an opportunity to hear from global experts on what’s been successful in other countries, gain an understanding of what’s working and what’s not, and gather information that will inform future legislation that will work for the people of California.

WHAT: Informational Hearing - Select Committee on Social Housing 

WHERE: Elihu M. Harris State Office Building Auditorium
1212 Clay Street, Oakland, CA, 94612

WHEN: Wednesday, October 20 - 10AM-12:30PM 

WHO: Hosted by Asm. Buffy Wicks, the hearing will also be attended by Select Committee Members Asm. Alex Lee (D-Milpitas) and Asm. Mia Bonta (D-Oakland).

Panelists will include: 

• Dr. Rob Wiener, Executive Director, California Coalition for Rural Housing
• Dr. Edward G. Goetz, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota

• Talía González Cacho, Professor, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico) 
• Eduard Cabre Romans, Housing Policy Consultant, Barcelona Department of Housing
• Dr. Wolfgang Amann, Director, Institut für Immobilien, Bauen und Wohnen (Institute for Real Estate, Construction and Housing - Vienna, Austria) 

The hearing will also be attended by a number of local, regional, and statewide housing organizations, as well as residents who have experienced the impacts of homelessness and/or social housing in California. To arrange an interview with Asm. Wicks, panelists, committee members, or attendees who can speak to their lived experience on this issue, please contact Asm. Wicks’ Communications Director Erin Ivie at erin.ivie@asm.ca.gov. 

All members of the public are encouraged to watch the committee hearing via livestream on the Assembly’s website. It will be accessible on the following webpage on the day and time of the Select Committee Hearing: https://assembly.ca.gov/todaysevents.

Members of the public are encouraged to submit written testimony prior to the hearing at Asm. Wicks’ website: https://a14.asmdc.org/email-assemblymember-wicks. Please note that any testimony submitted to the committee is considered public comment and may be read into the record and/or reprinted.

The public is strongly encouraged to participate in the public comment period via the web portal, or by phone. Those attending the hearing in Oakland must wear a mask at all times. 

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