My name is Jack Sandor, and I’m running for Victoria city council.

I’m a 27 year old construction worker, and the former Vice President of Homes for Living, an entirely volunteer-driven organization dedicated to solving the housing crisis. I grew up on Warren Gardens in Gonzales, and went to Margaret Jenkins, Central, and Oak Bay for elementary, middle, and high school respectively. When I moved out, I couldn’t afford to live in Victoria, so I bounced around a few places before landing in a house in Saanich that I shared with four of my friends. It was small and in terrible shape, but that meant the rent was cheap, so I was able to afford it.

I recently made the decision to move back to the city I love, and I now live near Stadacona park, on the edge of Fernwood. It’s a nice enough apartment in a good location, but my rent has more than doubled. I would like to own a home one day, but like basically everyone else my age, that seems almost impossible. Despite my partner and I earning decent incomes and living fairly frugally (my car is as old as I am), even a modest condo would be an enormous financial burden that we can’t comfortably bear, and we don’t see a realistic path to ever owning a home of any kind.