DJ Hits the Road, Crisscrosses Country - Heads East Then West

It’s almost as if the meeting planners had a Texas legislative crystal ball way back when they planned their various summer gatherings.  Tucked nicely in the short two-month window between the conclusion of the 2017 Regular Texas Legislative Session and the July 18 start of the Special Session, TMHA’s Executive Director, DJ Pendleton, hit the road (sky actually), for Washington D.C. and then Arizona.

Pendleton, along with TMHA’s former chairman and vice-chairman of the National Retailers Council, Karl Radde, and Dick Ernst, chairman of the MHI’s Financial Services Divisions, roamed the offices in Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn the last week of June meeting with members of the Texas congressional delegation.  The business of the day included discussions with members and staff about the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, H.R. 1699, and HUD regulatory overreach in manufactured housing.  The full day of meetings covered nine congressional offices before it was time to say goodbye to our nation’s Capital and, thankfully, head back to God Bless Texas.

Pendleton’s second leg of his recent trips sent him west to Arizona.  Speaking at the annual Western States Housing Summit, Pendleton gathered with fellow executive directors from California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado as well as owners and operators of manufactured home communities in the western states to discuss recent legislative developments; swap success stories; learn from war stories; identify state and local trends; track migration of bad MH policy; and discuss future strategies to improve the manufactured home community industry.

After enjoying the brisk 124-degree Phoenix weather, and the nightmare inducing tales about regulation in California, Pendleton returns to Texas later this week.

Just in time for the Texas Legislature to gavel in for their Special Session, and some good old fashioned Texas summer political fun.