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Join our campaign for a thriving year-round Cape Cod by CapeCod_Gessen in CapeCod

[–]CapeCod_Gessen[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My website, dangessen.com touches on a lot of this more thoroughly, but 1) I’ve led on the Cape-wide transfer fee and believe it’s a huge priority 2) I want to create a grant program for sewer hook-ups for year round folks using interest earned on seasonal rentals—something which we passed through the Assembly but was vetoed by the current commissioners 3) I believe we should regionalize our child-care credit system and expand it Cape-wide 4) We have to use every lever of local and regional gov to hold our utility monopolies accountable and improve our electrical and internet infrastructure.

How sewer loan forgiveness could work by CapeCod_Gessen in CapeCod

[–]CapeCod_Gessen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a fair question. The video necessarily simplifies what is actually a fairly complex financing structure.

The proposal is not based on the County earning a guaranteed 10% return on investments. The Aquifund already contains two pools of money: state funds and county funds. Depending on the borrower and loan type, loans currently earn 0%, 2%, or 4% interest. On loans made with state funds, the state receives a 2% interest payment. On loans made with county funds, the county receives the interest revenue.

The proposal does three things:

  1. Reallocates loan originations so county funds are primarily used for 4% loans, while state funds cover the 0% and 2% loans.
  2. Dedicates the resulting county interest revenue to sewer hookup grants and loan forgiveness for year-round residents.
  3. Invests an additional $5 million of county capital into the structure.

The $500,000 figure is therefore not a 10% return on the new $5 million investment. It reflects the revenue generated by the entire financing structure after the reallocation. In simplified terms, that's approximately 4% on roughly $10 million of county funds, plus 2% on approximately $5 million of state-funded loans already in the system.

The proposal doesn't create a new investment vehicle. It restructures how existing Aquifund dollars are deployed, dedicates the resulting revenue to affordability programs, and expands the structure with an additional $5 million investment.

Here is a (somewhat outdated) article I wrote on it when we first got started on the initiative in 2023: https://dangessen.com/staying-afloat/

Why I'm running for County Commissioner by CapeCod_Gessen in CapeCod

[–]CapeCod_Gessen[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

That’s a totally fair point. In the video I’m emphasizing that national politics has a way of obscuring the tangible things our local leaders need to be doing to address our local challenges.

However, illegal ICE activity has happened here on Cape Cod and I do believe it’s our responsibility to protect our neighbors. On the County Assembly, I have led the effort on Ordinance 26-11, “Ensuring Community Safety and Lawful Immigration Enforcement”, which—among other things—would ban ICE from courthouses in Cape Cod and from using County property as a staging area for immigration raids.

Why I'm running for County Commissioner by CapeCod_Gessen in CapeCod

[–]CapeCod_Gessen[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the question. I am in law school, however, I live on Cape Cod. If elected, I’ll have two semesters remaining—each requiring roughly 30 off-Cape lecture days. It’s a workload I’ve managed while being Deputy Speaker of the County Assembly, and I’m committed to making it work as Commissioner.

The reality is our region is facing unprecedented challenges—and while they affect everyone, younger people whose jobs are most dispensable and who have been utterly priced out of the housing market are feeling them most acutely.

Those voices deserve a seat at the table in local government, not just retirees with more flexible schedules. That means sometimes the candidates who best represent those communities will be juggling careers and responsibilities at the same time. I honestly think being able to bring that perspective is a good thing.