sussexcountian reports from Georgetown, Delaware manufactured housing communities are becoming a hot topic in the race for the state representative seat in District 37. A “rent justification” bill that would have required approval from the Governor’s Advisory Council on Manufactured Housing for any increase in rent at an MHC beyond the consumer price index failed to pass the house two months ago. Republican incumbent Briggs King, who abstained from voting because her uncle owns MHCs in Sussex County, was criticized by Democratic challenger Beth McGinn, a resident of an MHC in Long Neck, saying, “I think by not voting, she’s basically ignored the concerns of voters in the bottom half of her district. We don’t send people to Legislative Hall not to vote.” King, who has since come out against the legislation, says increased rents help update and maintain communities, and existing rental assistance programs are preferable to rent control. McGinn says her opponent should have worked with homeowners associations to correct the legislation, instead of not voting, noting laws are skewed against MHC residents because it is so expensive to move their homes if they are dissatisfied with their current community. As MHProNews has learned, Briggs King is executive director of the Sussex County Realtor’s Association.
