For families across District 40, the dream of homeownership has become increasingly out of reach. Rents have climbed year after year, pushing working families further from the communities they helped build. Young professionals who grew up in the district are being forced to move away because they simply cannot afford to stay. Seniors on fixed incomes are watching their housing costs consume an ever-larger share of their monthly budgets. The housing crisis is not an abstract policy debate. It is a daily reality for thousands of people in our district.
The roots of this crisis are not mysterious. For decades, Sacramento has layered regulation upon regulation onto the process of building new housing. Permitting timelines have stretched from months into years. Environmental review requirements, while well-intentioned, have been weaponized to block projects that communities desperately need. Fees and compliance costs have been stacked so high that builders are unable to deliver homes at prices that middle-class families can afford. The result is a state that produces far fewer housing units than its population demands, and a market where prices have nowhere to go but up.
This is a problem that demands leadership from someone who understands what it actually takes to build something. Zhirayr Gumruyan has spent his career navigating regulatory environments, managing complex projects, and delivering results on deadline and within budget. As an entrepreneur who has built companies from the ground up, he knows that the gap between a good intention and a tangible outcome is execution. Sacramento has plenty of politicians who talk about housing. What it lacks are leaders who have the practical experience to understand why their policies keep making the problem worse.
Gumruyan is not interested in making promises that sound good on a campaign mailer but evaporate the moment the election is over. He believes that the housing crisis will only be solved when the state removes the barriers that prevent the private sector from building the homes that Californians need. That means honest conversations about what has gone wrong, a willingness to challenge the status quo, and a commitment to accountability that extends beyond the next election cycle.
The families of District 40 deserve a representative who treats housing affordability not as a talking point but as an urgent problem that requires real solutions and measurable progress. Gumruyan is committed to being that representative, bringing the same discipline and results-oriented approach that has defined his career in the private sector to the halls of the state capitol.
Together, we can bring real leadership to Sacramento and fight for the families of District 40.