WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — "My bus is running slightly behind," Olaleye Onikuyide texted ahead of our meeting at a coffee shop on West Hartford's main street. The 28-year-old Democrat running for Connecticut state representative still made it on time and said he loved riding public transit. Onikuyide also lives with his parents, though he said that's by choice to save money, unlike the many young adults who can't afford to live on their own.
Still, as part of a generation that faces record-high housing unaffordability, he started obsessing years ago over how to make it cheaper. Now that the cripplingly high cost of both rent and homes has become an urgent national conversation, he likens it to being a fan of a niche music group before everyone else caught on. "All of a sudden, it's blown up and everybody's at the concerts and you're like, 'OK, this is a bit of a crowd here now,'" he said with a broad smile.
Nationwide, housing costs are a top issue for voters in a midterms season laser focused on affordability. A chronic housing shortage has pushed up prices, and the fallout cuts across generations. Younger people are renting with roommates into their 30s.
They're struggling to save for a down payment and wondering whether it even makes sense to buy, given today's sky-high prices. Empty nesters looking to downsize can't find an affordable place to go, and longtime homeowners are reluctant to move at all, given current high mortgage rates. Generation Z candidates from both major parties said their age group has a lot at stake and is uniquely positioned to help create solutions for everyone.
"We're in the thick of it," Onikuyide said, citing not only high housing and gas prices but also student loan debt and a tough labor market. "We might be the generation that is more educated and yet worse off than our parents." His policy goals include creating more mixed-income housing and walkable cities. Adding density to urban areas can be controversial, as longtime residents worry about more traffic or strained infrastructure.
But Onikuyide and others also see an opportunity for bipartisanship. And if elected, he would feel well-placed to make life less expensive for his constituents. "I keep one eye on the national conversation about it," he said, "but the action is happening at the state level." About an hour away in New Haven, Conn., 26-year-old Eli Sabin found a quiet room for talking inside the ornate City Hall.
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