Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the first Gen-Z member elected to Congress, said he was turned down for an apartment in Washington DC, because of his poor credit score.
Frost, 25, expressed his frustration on Twitter, writing: ‘Just applied to an apartment in DC where I told the guy that my credit was really bad. He said I’d be fine.
‘Got denied, lost the apartment, and the application fee. This ain’t meant for people who don’t already have money.’
The Democrat, who is set to make $174,000 a year as a freshman in Congress, noted that his credit troubles stemmed from quitting his full-time job to run his campaign while working part-time for Uber.
‘I have bad credit cause I ran up a lot of debt running for Congress for a year and a half. Didn’t make enough money from Uber itself to pay for my living.’
Congressman-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost (above), 25, said he was turned down for an apartment in Washington D.C. because his credit score was ‘really bad’
Frost said his poor credit score stems from having to quit his full-time job to run his campaign while working part-time for Uber. Pictured : Frost inside his yellow Kia Soul driving for Uber
Frost vented his frustration on Twitter about lack of access to housing, noting that unlike others, he would most likely find a place since his salary in Congress will be $174,000
The young progressive, who will represent Florida’s 10th District in the Orlando area, ran a campaign focusing on gun reform and abortion rights.
He had previously worked as an organizer for the March for Our Lives and the American Civil Liberties Union, but switched to working for Uber once he launched his candidacy.
‘I quit my full time job cause I knew that to win at 25 yrs old, I’d need to be a full time candidate. 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day,’ Frost said. ‘It’s not sustainable or right, but it’s what we had to do.’
He noted that he was also unable to give himself any stipend from his campaign chest, which had swelled to more than $2.5 million.
Frost said that his situation was similar to New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who previously worked as a waitress before winning her seat in 2018.
During an interview with the New York Times about her move to Washington D.C., the congresswoman noted that she would have trouble finding an apartment until her new salary kicked in.
Frost, however, said that his new $174,000 salary will most likely allow him to nab an apartment sooner or later, a luxury he acknowledged his fellow Gen Zers don’t have.
‘I’m speaking from a point of privilege cause in 2 years time, my credit will be okay because of my new salary that starts next year,’ Frost said. ‘We have to do better for the whole country.’
A recent report from credit tracker Experian found that members of Gen Z had an average credit score of 679 last year, below the national average of 714.
The average one-bedroom apartment in Washington D.C. goes for more than $2,400, according to Rent.com.
Frost said that he ran his campaign like a full-time job and needed loans to pay for his living expenses. He noted that US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a similar problem when she ran for Congress in 2018
A former March For Our Lives organizer, Frost is seeking stricter gun control laws and has stressed opposition to abortion bans. His campaign raised $2.5 million
Front is the son of a Cuban immigrant who came to America with her mother during the Freedom Flights in the early 1960s, where Cubans fled the communist regime for Miami.
He first became an activist after the deadly 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.
Frost, himself, said he is a survivor of gun violence during a shooting in downtown Orlando on Halloween in 2016. It came just for months after the deadly Pulse nightclub shooting in the city that left 49 dead and 53 wounded.
‘I come from a generation that has gone through more mass-shooting drills than fire drills,’ Frost told the New York Times in August.
‘This is something that my generation has had to face head-on: being scared to go to school, being scared to go to church, being scared to be in your community. That gives me a sense of urgency.’
Last year, Frost was among the voting rights protesters arrested in Washington D.C. for blocking pedestrian traffic.
The protest called on President Joe Biden to pass federal voting rights legislation and to eliminate the Senate filibuster. Frost was given a fine of up to $250.
