Summary: Cady Thomas, the Government Affairs Director for North Carolina, says that her job is to “talk, stock, and stay paranoid,” and that’s exactly what she does. Tune in to learn about “housing affordability,” why it’s so important to stay informed when it comes to legislature, and discover your market is impacted by your involvement. Now, more than ever, realtors need to speak up for the sake of their businesses, their clients, and their communities. Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:40 – Cady is a GAD (Government Affairs Director) for North Carolina 01:05 – She went to D.C. after college and worked on the hill for a couple years before going to law school 01:21 – Moved back to Raleigh to do a corporate and capital markets practice, but realized she didn’t like sitting in an office all day 01:40 – Started doing a pro bono project where she got to the North Carolina General Assembly lobbying the members; successful in passing a revision to the juvenile justice code 01:55 – Found job in lobbying world with realtors 10 years ago 02:25 – What was something crazy/unexpected that you learned/seen along the way? 03:07 – No metal detectors/badge check in the North Carolina Legislative building 03:35 – Friend said, “Cady, half the people in here are packin’...they’ll never put up metal detectors” 03:45 – Shows difference between the state and federal legislature 03:57 – Shocking: The decisions the state makes and how quickly they can make them affect members 10x greater than at the federal level in everything but taxes 04:40 – She learned that she had to read every bill and find out the happenings in every committee because anything could affect real estate 04:57 – Why are realtors so blinded to what happens at the state level? 05:07 – Most people don’t understand state structure 05:41 – Realtors are in the business of making friends – politics isn’t about making friends and realtors don’t want to get involved 06:20 – Find the issues that resonate with the brokers because they be passionate about getting involved 06:48 – Hoping to get through local issues that affect clients 07:02 – Private road maintenance issues and DOT to take over maintenance 07:30 – Getting kids to school busses with proper roads 08:21 – Having a statewide database of roads that are on transportation’s books is a solution 08:40 – Counties already have the information, it’s just a matter of getting it together with technology and keeping it updated with DOT’s records 10:05 – As a consumer, what do you think needs to happen in the realtor community to stay ahead of legislative curves in the future? 10:21 – Creating relationships with elected officials, running for office, advocating for clients where local governments are coming down harder on property rights 10:41 – Counties and cities are taking development ordinances too far, like aesthetic design controls which aren’t powers given by general assembly 11:19 – Have passed legislation to combat that, so it is clear 11:44 – Being vocal and brave will increase awareness in community and broker community 12:11 – Affordable housing is becoming a bigger issue and legislation like aesthetic design control drives up the price further 12:30 – If realtors don’t combat bad legislation, it hurts affordable housing 13:07 – Housing affordability: Affordable within your means and for your circumstance (near schools, amenities used, etc.) 13:46 – “Affordable housing” has negative connotation; “Housing Affordability” better 14:30 – Cities are encouraging more assistance-based payers in their developments 15:00 – Assistant based payers living in environment with others improve the livelihood of all involved 15:48 – How should a realtor find out what their GAD is doing? 16:03 – A phone call, an invitation to a staff meeting, a coffee meeting with broker so the