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Ben Christopher

Housing Reporter

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Ben Christopher covers housing policy for CalMatters. Ben has profiled the people who fell through the cracks of California’s rickety COVID rent relief program, demystified the perennial debate between state regulators and local governments opposed to new housing, covered innovative ideas from cities on how to tackle their local housing shortages and explained how complicated legislative proposals about zoning, bonds and corporate ownership of single-family homes affect everyday Californians. 

His favorite reporting assignment so far: Touring the various two- and three-story structures that have sprouted up across San Diego under the regulatory guise of “accessory dwelling units” thanks to that city’s one-of-a-kind program. Prior to taking over the housing beat in the spring of 2023, Ben wrote about elections and politics for CalMatters, covering four election cycles, including the 2021 gubernatorial recall campaign. He has been known to craft the occasional politics-themed crossword puzzle. 

Ben has a past life as an aspiring beancounter: He has worked as a summer associate at the Congressional Budget Office and has a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Oakland where he enjoys riding his bike, baking (and then eating) pies and working on his repertoire of dad jokes.

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Latest Stories

WhatMatters
Will California tax Biden student debt relief?
Remind me how that Beatles song goes… If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat If your debt is cleared, I’ll tax the relief Okay, maybe that’s not quite right, but it’s a fitting enough description of the legal conundrum the state of California and as many as 1.3 million indebted residents are now […]
By • September 12, 2022
The state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
CalMatters en Español
‘Cerca de la línea:’ El principal organismo de control de finanzas de campañas de California requiere revisar más profundamente la red de donantes
En resumen El personal de aplicación de la Comisión de Prácticas Políticas Justas se niega a abrir una investigación sobre la institución Govern For California, pero su presidente quiere una revisión más amplia del modelo de recaudación de fondos de la red. Read this article in English. El regulador de financiamiento de campañas de California […]
By and • August 26, 2022
Edgar Ortega, a construction worker, breaks down dirt for a pipeline at an affordable housing construction site in Long Beach, on July 22, 2021. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters
WhatMatters
Clash of the titans
The end of the legislative year is upon us and that can only mean one thing in California: We’re about to have another loud debate about a controversial housing bill. It’s a Sacramento tradition years in the making. Legislators like to wait until the last minute (sometimes literally) to consider the year’s most contentious pieces […]
By • August 22, 2022
Legislators convene during a session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 11, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
WhatMatters
California Legislature: Slouching towards end of session
California lawmakers have less than two weeks to wrap up their work before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31. And so begins the final legislative traffic jam, as bills line up for final votes. A piece of legislation’s particular place in that line is the complex product of political horse-trading, the competing […]
By • August 19, 2022
Fast food workers from across the state rallied at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, urging lawmakers to pass AB 257. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Who’s atop the food chain in California?
This is CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher, filling in for Emily who is out sick. Feel better, Emily! Fast food workers and labor advocates wrapped up two days of marching, chanting and mariachi playing around the state Capitol on Wednesday, part of a years-long campaign for a legislative proposal that could transform California’s fast food […]
By • August 18, 2022
The state Capitol on June 24, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
CalMatters en Español
Multiplicando fuerzas: cómo una red de donantes está influyendo en el dinero de campañas en California
En resumen Govern For California está utilizando una red de sucursales locales para ampliar la influencia de sus donantes en las carreras legislativas. Entre los mayores beneficiarios hasta ahora se encuentra el asambleísta Robert Rivas, quien quiere convertirse en el próximo presidente de la Asamblea. Read this article in English. Revise las contribuciones de campaña […]
By , and • August 4, 2022

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Ben Christopher - CalMatters
Ben Christopher covers housing policy for CalMatters.
CalMatters
California, explained
Ben Christopher
Ben Christopher covers housing policy for CalMatters. His favorite reporting assignment so far: Touring the various two- and three-story structures that have sprouted up across San Diego under the regulatory guise of “accessory dwelling units” thanks to that city’s one-of-a-kind program. Prior to taking over the housing beat in the spring of 2023, Ben wrote about elections and politics for CalMatters, covering four election cycles, including the 2021 gubernatorial recall campaign. Ben has a past life as an aspiring beancounter: He has worked as a summer associate at the Congressional Budget Office and has a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Oakland where he enjoys riding his bike, baking (and then eating) pies and working on his repertoire of dad jokes.