ACTION Apartment Association

Challenger hopes to topple Ted Lieu

08/06/2018 9:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

When Kenneth Wright ran for Congress in California’s 33rd district in 2016, he knew he would lose. This time, though, Wright believes he has a chance. In the June primary, Lieu earned about 61 percent of the vote while Wright earned about 30 percent. Lieu has held the seat since he won a 2014 election to replace longtime congressman Henry Waxman.

Three key issues Wright hopes to focus on during the campaign: crime, homelessness and keeping the California coast clean.

De la Torre to take the stand in Voting Rights trial

08/06/2018 9:37 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board member Oscar de la Torre will take the stand this week in the voting rights trial challenging Santa Monica’s election system. Lawyers for the City of Santa Monica plan to accuse de la Torre of throwing his 2016 campaign for City Council to win the case and force the city to move to district-based elections, according to court documents filed by Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, LLP, the law firm representing the City.

In an email to the Daily Press, City of Santa Monica Chief Communications Officer said, “The City has had a long and engaging relationship with at-large school board member Oscar de la Torre, which it hopes will continue after trial.”

De la Torre’s wife, Maria Loya, and the Pico Neighborhood Association, have sued the city over its at-large election system, saying it discriminates against Latino voters. Loya ran for City Council in 2004, losing the at-large election but won the most votes in the Pico Neighborhood.

Berkeley puts rent-control update measure on November ballot

08/06/2018 9:22 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Berkeley is asking voters to approve updates to the city’s rent-control ordinance in November, to go into effect only if the California law restricting rent control is repealed.

State Proposition 10, also on the ballot in November, would repeal Costa Hawkins, which introduced rent-control restrictions statewide in 1995. If Proposition 10 passes, Berkeley will automatically return to its original 1980 rent-control ordinance, unless the new local measure amending it is also passed.

If approved by voters, the measure will return Berkeley to its system of rent control, but exempt newly constructed buildings for 20 years, and exempt both in-law units and the main houses they’re attached to permanently.

Kate Bransfield and Armen Melkonians have decided not to enter the race for City Council

08/06/2018 9:16 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Kate Bransfield and Armen Melkonians

Kate Bransfield and I have decided not to enter the race for City Council for the November 2018 election.

This was a difficult decision for us to make but one we felt was necessary at this time. We would like to thank everyone who has given us their encouragement and support, as well as a special shout out to all who signed our petitions to place our names on the ballot.

Our decision to not enter the race at this time is based on the uncertainty of the at large election system for the November 2018 City Council race. As you man know, the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) filed by Maria Loya and the Pico Neighborhood Association against the City of Santa Monica is currently being heard by Judge Palazuelos in L.A. Superior Court. As the trial was not postponed, the results may affect the November 2018 election. Should the judge rule in Plaintiffs favor, the at large elections in Santa Monica will be cancelled, district lines will be drawn, and new District Elections will be held sometime after November 2018.

As you know, our election campaign to represent your voice on the City Council would have been a hard-fought grass-roots campaign. To run an effective campaign, we would need the volunteer support from the hundreds of Residocracy volunteers who have stepped up time after time to take our city back.

The judge’s decision on the CVRA lawsuit is sure to come out in the next several months. On the strong likelihood that the CVRA lawsuit will win and the November election will be cancelled, we cannot in good conscience ask for the tremendous level of support and hard work from our Residocracy volunteers that will be required and may be in vain.

Thus, we have decided to not enter the race for City Council at this time. We are hopeful that justice will be served through the CVRA lawsuit, that district elections will be our future, and that we will rise to fight another day.

Until then, we will continue to fight through Residocracy to make sure that Your Voice is heard at City Hall. Thank You again for all your support and encouragement.

The Affordable Housing Destruction Act, Prop 10, is a DISASTER FOR SANTA MONICA TENANTS!

08/03/2018 2:25 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Affordable Housing Destruction Act, Proposition 10, is a DISASTER FOR SANTA MONICA TENANTS!
Landlords will not be able to increase rents upon vacancy if Costa/Hawkins "Decontrol/Recontrol" is repealed. Including condos, single family homes and ADU "Granny" units.

DISASTER FOR SANTA MONICA TENANTS BECAUSE:

1 Newsom, Chaing, Villaragoso: All opposed to repeal.

2 Increase in Ellis Act evictions: When landlords "go out of business", all tenants are evicted when property is sold to condo developers.

3 Repeal of vacancy decontrol/recontrol will not change rents on existing tenants, only make renting more difficult.

4. Improvements & repairs will be much more difficult.

5 Retrofit earthquake repairs will be canceled/delayed.

6 Buildings and apartments with low/moderate rents will run down from neglect.

7. More pressure for tenants to pay water and trash.

8 . Only high rent apartments will be advertised.
9 Vacant low rent apartments will be held off market.

10 More Air BB and short term rentals.

11 Reduced assessed values mean that lower property taxes will be paid for bonds including schools.

12. More opposition to defeat bonds that need 67%.

13 Will lead to "financial means test" to justify existing tenant low rents.

14. Will lead to repeal building prohibition on condo conversions of existing apartments.

16 Panic selling: Last year 5-10 buildings a week for sale, now 85-100.

17 More Rent Board expense to handle changes, fight lawsuits, and enforce owner violations.

18 More building removals from rent control due to lack of "fair return" when retrofit and maintenance costs cannot be paid by vacancy increases.

19 Rent Control Increase petitions will need to be restructured to permit increases on existing tenants for repairs/quake retrofit/improvements.

20 Roommates will no longer be permitted since rent cannot be raised if original roommate moves out.

21 Will lead to the "taking" issue to go to supreme court which could outlaw rent control.

22 Normal rent control is balanced. Extreme rent control destroys!

NO ON 10!

No on Prop 10

08/03/2018 9:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Proposition 10 will make the crisis worse

Why I'm Running for Rent Control Board

08/03/2018 9:39 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Naomi Sultan/ Nicole Susan Phillis

Why I'm Running for Rent Control Board by Naomi Sultan

Hello everyone - This is my first time running for public office and I would like to introduce myself and explain what I'm about.

I am a veterans' rights attorney and longtime Santa Monica tenant and I am running as a challenger for Santa Monica Rent Control Board!

I am running because we need a new voice on the Board to ensure that Santa Monica neighborhoods and tenants who live in our community are protected.

Why I'm Running for Rent Control Board by Nicole Susan Phillis

I am running for re-election of the Rent Control Board because I believe rent control is a key tool that must be preserved to ensure tenants can age in place in Santa Monica.

There are changes the Board can implement to strengthen the law, and I am currently spearheading efforts on a few of those changes. I am currently focused on prohibiting rentals of rent controlled apartments to non-natural persons (i.e., corporations).

Key witness takes the stand in Voting Rights lawsuit

08/03/2018 9:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The woman suing the City to change to district elections after losing her bids for the City Council and College Board took the stand Thursday in a trial that will determine the future of Santa Monica’s democracy. Attorneys from both sides grilled her for two-and-a-half hours before the court took a break for lunch. When they returned, Maria Loya returned to the witness stand, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Loya’s 2004 campaign for the City Council is one of seven elections her team of lawyers say were racially polarized. In that election, Bobby Shriver swept the city-wide race, winning the most votes in every single neighborhood except for hers, the Pico Neighborhood.

Opening Statements begin in Voting Rights lawsuit

08/02/2018 10:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Famous civil rights attorney Milton Grimes painted a bleak picture of the Pico Neighborhood on the first day of the trial to determine the legality of Santa Monica’s election system. Grimes, who famously represented Rodney King, is one of three attorneys representing the plaintiffs Pico Neighborhood Association, Maria Loya and her husband, SMMUSD School Board Member Oscar de la Torre, in a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit.

Should California’s Costa Hawkins rent control act be repealed?

08/02/2018 10:43 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Urban Land Institute of San Francisco held a public forum at the Google Community Space Tuesday night debating Proposition 10, the November ballot initiative that would repeal the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act and allow California cities to potentially expand their rent-control ordinances.

Arguing in favor of Proposition 10 and potential rent-control expansion was Amy Schur, the director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.

John Eudy, co-chair of the “no” campaign Californians for Responsible Housing (and also a vice president at Essex Property Trust) argued against repeal.

David Garcia, a policy director at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center For Housing Innovation, appeared as a third-way party; however, since Garcia appeared to nominally oppose Costa-Hawkins repeal, he often functioned as a second anti-Proposition 10 voice.