Gov. Easley Takes Aim at MH
It is one thing to hear criticism about manufactured housing in places like Brookline, Massachusetts or Kensington, Maryland. You know, places where manufactured housing is seen as often as aberrant US spy satellites (and perhaps where they are as well-received).
It is another thing to hear criticism coming from one’s backyard.
The manufactured housing industry woke up last week to a press release from North Carolina Governor Michael Easley. Having heard enough about formaldehyde fumes in travel trailers in the Gulf Coast, Easley wants some answers. He threw out a few questions to Brad Lovin, the executive director of the North Carolina Manufactured Housing Institute.
– “What is the level of formaldehyde in manufactured homes made, as well as sold, in North Carolina?” – Who in North Carolina owns these mobile homes with the high levels of formaldehyde and who is selling them?”– “What are you doing to address these health concerns and fix the problem?”
– “How can we help you make sure that people who might be in potentially unhealthy homes are aware of the situation and make sure they are safe?“
This will be interesting to watch.
North Carolina is a state that is normally very favorable for the manufactured housing industry. Many manufactured homes are built in North Carolina. In the 2nd quarter of 2007, manufactured housing builders employed 3,040 people. Mobile home dealers employed another 1,589 (figures from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission). It is not a small constituency.
This criticism isn’t coming from one of the usual critics, either. Governor Easley is not prone to picking on people just to make a political statement. He likes to attend a few ribbon cuttings when Dell or Google open a new plant in rural North Carolina. Other than that, he doesn’t play for show. He will admit that he is normally very reticent of limelight. He’d as much prefer to work on crafting a new piece of hand made furniture. Moreover, he comes from Eastern North Carolina, where mobile homes are often as much as 30 percent of the housing stock.
