Bipartisan anger over report detailing Kelly Ayotte’s role in creating housing crisis

Reactions have come fast and furious from both sides of the aisle following the release of a bombshell report by the New Hampshire Union Leader this week that detailed how Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte pocketed millions of dollars from private equity firm Blackstone — the largest corporate landlord in the United States.

Blackstone’s business practices have come under fire from many housing experts and public officials, who accuse the company of driving up housing costs and rent, greatly contributing to the worsening housing crisis, an issue that has been leading polls as a top concern among Granite Staters in the 2024 election cycle.

The report revealed that Ayotte has been paid $150,000 a year since joining the firm’s board of directors in 2019, and still sits on the board to this day while running for office. She also holds over $2.2 million in stock.

While acting as the largest landlord in the United States Blackstone has raised some rental prices at double the market rate, filed to evict tenants who owed just one month’s rent, and may have evicted thousands of tenants in the last six months of 2022 alone. 

Ayotte’s primary rival, Chuck Morse, was among the first to take her to task for using her brief time in the federal government to enrich herself at the expense of working people.

“The question every voter should be asking Kelly is what other corporate perks and advantages did she provide her corporate paymasters. New Hampshire isn’t for sale and voters know they can’t trust Kelly Ayotte,” Morse said in a post on social media.

He doubled down in a radio interview Thursday morning, saying her loyalty to the state is in question when she clearly has vested financial interests elsewhere.

“She serves on many boards, and the public wants to know what she’s doing and who she’s loyal to… she took her office after six years and decided that she was going to go make millions sitting on these corporate boards.”

Democratic legislative leaders have also expressed deep concerns over Ayotte’s seeming willingness to line her own pockets working for a firm that raises rent on working class Americans.

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State Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, a leader on housing policy in the state who passed the HOMEnibus legislative housing package earlier this year with bipartisan support, said there was nothing intrinsically wrong with large corporations serving as landlords, but that Blackstone’s aggressive moves at raising rents and housing costs set them apart.

“In many cases, housing providers serve as invaluable counterparts — bringing expertise, resources, and innovation to the table. When it comes to Blackstone, that has clearly not been the case,” Perkins Kwoka said.

“She knew what she was getting involved with, and willingly turned a blind eye in pursuit of her own personal interest. But to those of us who know Kelly Ayotte’s record, that’s not surprising, it is how she conducted herself while serving her single term in the US Senate — consistently voting to give corporate special interests and her wealthy donors tax breaks.” 

At a press conference Thursday morning, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley said Ayotte’s embrace of Blackstone method of making profit spoke directly to the values she would bring to the governor’s office, if elected.

“While families across New Hampshire have been struggling to afford rent or purchase a home, Kelly Ayotte has been cashing in on the hardship caused as a result of the housing crisis taking place,” Buckley said. 

Ryan Mahoney, executive director at AmplifyNH, a statewide public policy advocacy organization and communication hub, said Ayotte’s role in worsening the housing crisis damaged her credibility among state voters.

“On the affordable housing crisis, one of the most critical issues facing New Hampshire families, Kelly Ayotte is once again on the wrong side. She’s siding with the corporate interests who are lining her pockets and selling out New Hampshire’s renters and homeowners. She made millions from Blackstone as they drove up rent costs and helped make buying a home an out-of-reach prospect for too many families…Granite Staters just can’t trust her.”

According to the annual New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority New Hampshire Residential Rental Cost Surveys in 2019 and 2023, NH rents have increased 31% since Ayotte joined the Blackstone board, and average home prices have increased by about 80% from early 2018 to early 2024, from $269,000 to $485,000.