Politico senior executive editor Alex Burns, California editorial director Christopher Cadelago and senior policy editor Joel Rubin sent out the following on Wednesday:
Following the exciting news this morning on the economics team, we are thrilled to announce Liam Dillon is joining POLITICO as our first reporter dedicated to covering housing issues in California — a new beat that will focus on efforts in Los Angeles to rebuild after devastating wildfires and one that underscores the state’s place at the center of the housing affordability and homelessness crises.
Liam is a perfect fit for the job. As an authority on this sprawling and complex topic, he joins POLITICO after nearly a decade at the Los Angeles Times, where he reported on housing affordability and neighborhood change across the state. His deeply reported stories have explored the root causes and wide-ranging impacts of California’s housing challenges, from the dire conditions of Skid Row in Los Angeles to the opulence of Silicon Valley enclaves. His work has been recognized nationally for shaping public understanding of housing and urban issues, while also spurring new laws and public policy changes. For his final piece at the Times, Liam this week published a comprehensive examination of rebuilding efforts after other major wildfires in the state.
Liam spent his first three years at the Times covering housing out of the state’s Legislature in Sacramento. Prior to the Times he worked nearly seven years at Voice of San Diego, where he led the organization’s investigative team, and his byline has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and The Atlantic.
In his new role, which he’ll start later this month, Liam will cover high stakes battles over housing and development, beginning with the extraordinary push underway to rebuild Altadena and Pacific Palisades, two distinct communities decimated by the fires in January. He’ll cast a wider net as well to write stories that examine the entrenched housing shortage in Los Angeles, the pressure the city is under to prepare for global events like the World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games, as well as the power players shaping legislation and development from Sacramento to Washington. His work will be a potent addition to our reporting from other states on the politics and policies surrounding housing and affordability.
Liam is the latest in a series of exciting hires and investments in teams across POLITICO, including the White House, politics, health and economy teams and more. He is part of a plan to increase our presence over the coming months in Los Angeles, where his assignment is one of a few moves we’ve got in the works to build new coverage areas and bolster the reporting we’re already doing. Housing remains a top concern for voters, and with Liam leading our coverage, POLITICO will be the essential source of information, driving the conversation and shaping the narrative around one of the state’s most urgent challenges.
