Roland Lemar

Representative Roland Lemar and state Housing Commissioner Evonne M. Klein have received the Connecticut Fair Housing Center’s Edward M. Kennedy Legislative Advocacy Award in recognition of their efforts to expand access to affordable housing.

Lemar, who is House chairman of the legislature’s Planning and Development Committee, said the legislative action they fought for would discourage exclusionary zoning practices and eliminate archaic and undefined terminology in the state’s zoning statutes.

Lemar and Klein are the co-chairs of the state’s Fair Housing Working Group, which was created to bring fair housing issues to the attention of the legislature.

“Our communities have a much better chance to grow and prosper when we promote inclusiveness,” Lemar said. “That’s why we will continue to work to dismantle the barriers and promote our communities as beacons of fairness through appropriate legislation and policy.”

The mission of the Connecticut Fair Housing Center is to ensure that all people have equal access to housing opportunities in Connecticut. Because housing discrimination disproportionately affects people with low incomes, the center focuses on the intersection of poverty and housing discrimination. The center also assists Connecticut homeowners who have been hit hardest by the nation’s ongoing foreclosure crisis.