An Astoria city councilor who made housing his top priority says he will need to resign because he can’t afford to continue living in the district he represents.
At a meeting on Monday, Vance Lump declined to reveal personal details about his situation but told the Astoria City Council he is in a situation where he cannot afford to keep his current house and that rentals in his district and within his budget are scarce.
“I have made a difficult decision to leave this community,” Lump said. “It is just not financially feasible for me to stay.”
Lump was elected to a four-year term in 2024 and represents Ward 4, which covers the east side of Astoria including the Uppertown and Alderbrook neighborhoods. He attended Clatsop Community College and owns a historic wood window restoration and fabrication business.
Lump said he felt his situation should be “a wake-up call to everyone in the city that doesn’t believe the high cost of housing is a problem for all Astorians.”
“The fact that a working-class tradesperson like myself, educated at a local college and working in a the high-demand field of historic preservation, cannot live in Astoria without being significantly housing-burdened should be setting off alarm bells,” he said
Lump’s seat on the Astoria City Council will be vacant effective Nov.1. City councilors still need to determine how they will go about filling that position, but the city charter requires they fill it within 60 days of the vacancy going into effect.
Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick said city councilors should think about people they know in Ward 4 who are involved in the community and who might be good candidates.
During his time on the City Council, Lump has frequently found allies with City Councilors Andrea Mazzarella, Andy Davis and Elisabeth Adams on housing issues.
The four have formed a majority on the five-member council, emphasizing the need for workforce and affordable housing. They approved new licensing requirements for vacation rentals in part over concerns about the impact of such rentals on long-term housing availability in Astoria.
Lump hopes that whoever replaces him takes housing issues in Astoria seriously.
“I have said all along that the housing crisis is Astoria’s biggest issue as it touches on so many other problems in the city today, including homelessness, the ability of businesses to succeed and the potential for Astoria to thrive in the future,” Lump said.
“Landlords that are bleeding renters dry and the high cost of home ownership have made it difficult for young working-class people to see a stable future here,” he added. “If this city doesn’t get serious about addressing the housing crisis, what you will end up with is a population that is increasingly wealthy, older and unlike the Astoria of the past.”
Adams agreed. Afterwards, she told KMUN that while certain particulars of Lump’s housing situation may be unique to him, the broad issues he faces with finding housing in Astoria are not.
“For me, as a renter, if I lose my housing, I would then also have to step down from the City Council,” she said.
“Finding housing in this market,” she added, “whether it be a rental or to purchase, is such a struggle that you’re already in a situation where running for office or concentrating on your housing becomes the final decision maker on whether you can be civically engaged.”