I really enjoyed the Jan. 18 editorial about Gov. John Spellman (“In Our View: Spellman Set Bar High“). One thing that was missed: He was instrumental in the creation of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. I was blessed to have been appointed as one of the first commissioners to be on the board. There was no money from the state for this commission, so we had to front all costs until the bond was passed. I served on the board for more than eight years.
The commission helps first-time homebuyers purchase a home at a lower rate. It was, and is still, a wonderful program that now helps developers to build rental units with a percentage allocated to 60 percent and less for affordable housing.
This was just another excellent program that Spellman did for our state, which was the last state to put this program in place.
