Toni Castillo, Resident, Local 34

I’m a full-time library worker at Yale, based in Sterling Library, where my work helps students have the materials they need for their research every day. I care about doing my job well and love this city—so the fact that Yale’s voluntary tax contribution is set to decrease in 2027 and be up for renegotiation is both urgent and infuriating to me. That’s why I’m encouraging Yale students to vote for Norah Laughter, the only candidate in the Ward 1 race who’s done work beside me and my coworkers knocking on doors, lobbying at the capitol, listening to our stories, and fighting for a city where we can all live with dignity.

Yale benefits from a massive tax break, while the rest of us pay our share, and the city goes underfunded. I make a modest income, I bike to work in Ward 1 every day, and I see Yale constantly expanding. I know Yale's decisions on how to spend money come down to priorities, not financial stress. I've seen us send some people abroad for training in Georgia and Italy, while hourly workers like me ask for something as small as bagels in the break room and still often hear "no."

The housing market has become a nightmare, and Yale’s presence and expansion have made it worse. My partner and I are lucky that we rent from an individual landlord who charges a fair enough rent. It’s one of the few things making it possible for us to even begin building our life together. But we want to live like adults—not crammed in with roommates just to afford rent. All we want is stability and a bit of autonomy. But with wages that don’t keep pace and a housing market distorted by unchecked university growth and profit-hungry landlords, even that feels like a luxury. The idea of moving out and having to deal with corporate landlords who have hiked up rents across the city feels completely out of reach.

If Yale contributed more in taxes and wages to our local economy, I could finally start to breathe. I could buy groceries without anxiety, chip away at my credit card debt, take my partner out to dinner, or plan a weekend away. My coworkers are facing the same pressures: living in rundown apartments, splitting homes with too many people, just trying to make it work. We shouldn’t have to rely on luck to find decent housing. We shouldn’t have to settle. We should be able to thrive.