United States Congressman Scott Peters is a champion for Progressive Abundance. A member of both the Congressional YIMBY Caucus and the Congressional Build America Caucus, Representative Peters even had a hand in founding YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County.

In this episode of Radio Abundance, we met up with Congressman Peters while he was visiting his home district and brought together YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County’s former President Angeli Hoyos and current President Manny Rodriguez for a special conversation on Building America from San Diego to the halls of Washington DC. Enjoy!

Join YIMBY Democrats for America, Radio Abundance, Project Liberal, YIMBY Action, Dream for America, Abundant Housing Los Angeles, YIMBY Los Angeles, YIMBY Law, YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County, Los Angeles New Liberals, New York City New Liberals, and People First California at The Festival of Progressive Abundance, coming to the gorgeous Cinevita in Los Angeles from Friday, January 30th to Sunday, February 1st, 2026! Featuring United States Congresswoman Laura Friedman, California Forever Founder & CEO Jan Sramek, Niskanen Senior Fellow & Author of ‘Why Nothing Works’ Marc Dunkelman, Special Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Economic Mobility Michael Tubbs, and Monumental Labs Founder & CEO Micah Springut.

Tickets are $275 for Early Adopters if you get yours before the end of the day on Tuesday, November 25th, and $315 for Early Birds who buy before December 22nd, 2025. Get yours today, and join us for a one-of-a-kind festival, summit, conference, rally, and party experience!

For 7 years until YIMBY Democrats for America launched in 2025, the only YIMBY Democratic organization in the United States was YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County. And what a success they’ve been!

For this special episode of Radio Abundance, YIMBY Democrats for America Executive Director Steve Boyle swung over to San Diego for an in-person, in-studio conversation with 3 All-Stars of the San Diego YIMBY scene: YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County President Manny Rodriguez, YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County Communications Head Saad Asad, and the Global Policy Leadership Academy’s Manager of California Homelessness and Housing Curriculum Gabrielle Werve. Enjoy!

Congressman Jake Auchincloss helped launch YIMBY Democrats for America and Radio Abundance by joining us on our premiere episode alongside Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Secretary of Housing & Community Development Jake Day. Less than 6 months later, Congressman Auchincloss joined us at in Washington DC to explore his new op-ed on Charter Cities, in which he wrote:“Building new cities next to productive cities is the “have your cake and eat it too” of economic development. “Having your cake” is agglomeration. Adjacent hubs generate the interactions that drive innovation, which increases productivity, which boosts wages. “Eating it too” is affordability. A new city can build housing and infrastructure at the scale and speed necessary to produce enough supply to drive down costs. This benefits not just the denizens of the new city, but those of the existing one, too, since housing markets are as regional as labor markets. Over the long term, new cities can become links in a new economic geography, radiating economic opportunity inwards from the coasts and forging a more geographically inclusive nation.”Along the way, we also talked about one of Congressman Auchincloss’ most important issues: the attention-fracking of America’s children by social media companies by what Congressman Auchincloss calls “digital dopamine.”

Read the op-ed here, and enjoy Congressman Auchincloss on Radio Abundance!

This month, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a new Executive Order to increase housing production and affordability in Maryland. Secretary of Housing & Community Development Jake Day joined Radio Abundance in Washington DC to answer your questions about the new Executive Order, from what it entails to how they plan to enforce it to what we can expect to see as results.Secretary Day joined us on the same day that we interviewed both him and Congressman Jake Auchincloss at the DNC in Washington DC — two of three guests from our premiere episode double-header. With only Governor Wes Moore missing from a reunion special, Secretary Day brought a special message from Maryland Governor Wes Moore for all YIMBY Democrats across America:“Hey, Jake, please give my best to the YIMBY Democrats! It’s crazy to think it’s been just 5 months since that first episode we did together. How funny that you’re getting the band back together with my man Jake Day and Congressman Auchincloss. I’d be there with you if I wasn’t literally launching my re-election bid today! You’re in great hands though, and together with Secretary Day, we’re making sure that Maryland leads in addressing our housing crisis, Building America, and championing Progressive Abundance. We got this.”Here’s that clip:

The “Housing Starts Here” executive order:

* Directs the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Maryland Department of General Services, to identify specific state-owned properties for transit-oriented development, paving the way for more homes for Maryland families to be built through improving the use of state-owned land.

* Promotes government efficiency by reducing state permitting timelines, bringing more homes to market faster while improving the transparency of jurisdictional housing production.

* Creates a new state housing ombudsman to act as a liaison between the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and other state agencies, local governments, developers, local communities, and other stakeholders to assist in the permitting process—ensuring development projects continue without delay.

* Directs the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to work with local jurisdictions to create housing production targets for the state, each county, and each municipality with planning/zoning authority. The production targets are to be published in January 2026 and updated every five years.

* Establishes annual Maryland Housing Leadership Awards to recognize jurisdictions that make progress on their housing development goals. The awards give jurisdictions bonus points that increase their competitiveness when applying for funding programs through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.