ACTION Apartment Association

Morena chosen over O’Connor at SMRR convention

07/31/2018 9:47 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The first major endorsement for the 2018 election season arrived this week with Santa Monicans for Renters Rights announcing their slate in several local races.

On the Rent Control Board SMRR endorsed Steven Duron, Nicole Phillis and
Naomi Sultan.

Read More on page 1: http://backissues.smdp.com/073118.pdf

SMRR Endorses McKeown, Himmelrich, Morena for City Council

07/30/2018 8:20 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 30, 2018 -- Two City Council incumbents and a new challenger won the endorsement of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) on Sunday paving the way for what promises to be a hotly contested race in November.

Greg Morena, a restaurant owner who also has the backing of the beach city's business community, will join Councilmembers Kevin McKeown and Sue Himmelrich on the slate of the City's most powerful political organization.

Incumbent Pam O'Connor did not seek the endorsement of the tenants' group after failing to win its backing four years ago ("O’Connor Faces Tough Re-Election Bid Without SMRR Support," August 12, 2014).

In the race for Rent Control Board, Naomi Sultan will join incumbents Nicole Phillis and Steve Duron on the SMRR slate.

Incumbent Todd Flora has been termed out after serving eight years.

Santa Monica-Malibu School Board Votes to Place Record Bonds on the Ballot

07/30/2018 8:18 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 30, 2018 -- The School Board on Thursday placed bonds on the November ballots in Santa Monica and Malibu that together amount to $680 million, the largest ever placed before local voters.

The $485 million bond for Santa Monica and $195 million for Malibu came after the board created School Facility Improvement Districts (SFIDs) for each City in anticipation of Malibu's possible split.

A $485 million bond for Santa Monica would cost an average of $27 million annually, with estimated taxpayer levies of approximately $40 per $100,000 of assessed (not market) value, District officials said.

Santa Monica Council Grudgingly Places Term Limits Measure on Ballot

07/30/2018 8:16 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 30, 2018 -- The Santa Monica City Council voted grudgingly last week to place a measure on the November ballot that would limit Council members to three terms.

Because the measure received the necessary 10,620 voter signatures to qualify, the Council had little choice but to place it on the ballot.

Measure TL -- which limits terms “whether consecutive or not” -- would only apply to council terms of office that begin on, or after, the election

Self-education is the key to smart voting

07/30/2018 8:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Editorial

CITY COUNCIL AVOIDED A SELF-MADE controversy this week when they chose not to proceed with a ballot measure to update the City Charter in anticipation of changes to state rent control laws. There’s certainly some confusion about what will happen in November but a troublingly consistent theme throughout the local discussion was how little renters and landlords know about the rules that govern either their income source and housing respectively.

Read More on page 7: http://backissues.smdp.com/072818.pdf

Council abandons Prop 10 companion measure

07/27/2018 5:45 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Landlords and Rent Control Board members found themselves in rare agreement Tuesday night as they urged the City Council to drop
the idea of a companion measure to Proposition 10,the controversial statewide initiative that would give cities more power over rent control.While the two groups disagree on the merits of the Affordable Housing Act, both agreed an
amendment to the City Charter in the event it passes would have been unnecessary and premature.

Read More on page 1: http://backissues.smdp.com/072718.pdf

My landlord offered me $35K to move out

07/27/2018 5:43 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Across Los Angeles, property owners are trying to entice tenants to leave

The landlord in our rent-stabilized building has been offering “legacy tenants” five-figure buyouts to move away. It’s a practice called “cash for keys,” and it’s happening across Los Angeles. Here’s how it’s playing out in my building.

Speculation Likely Driving Ellis Evictions in Santa Monica, Study Finds

07/27/2018 8:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 26, 2017 -- Recent buyers and not longtime owners of Santa Monica rent control buildings are more likely to use the Ellis Act to get out of the rental business, according to a recent eviction study.

The study by the San Francisco-based Anti-Eviction Mapping Project indicates that real estate speculation in Santa Monica is driving evictions under the state law enacted in 1986 to help landlords struggling under rent control.

The Mapping Project found that the average length of ownership before an eviction takes place under the Ellis Act is seven years.

Armen Melkonians and Kate Bransfield Visit City Clerk to Petition for City Council Race

07/27/2018 8:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

SMRR To Face Slow Growth Challenge for City Council

Santa Monica for Renters Rights have had a near lock on City council elections since the group was founded in 1979. Are local voters finally fed up enough by the non stop construction, traffic and enormous block apartment projects, to choose someone else?

Armen Melkonians thinks so, The man behind the "Residocracy" page on Facebook, used that platform to announce last Sunday that he had pulled papers to run for Santa Monica City Council.

City of Santa Monica’s Election System on Trial

07/27/2018 8:34 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Letter to the Editor

By Maria L. Loya

July 26, 2018 -- As a Latina mother raising two boys in Santa Monica’s Pico Neighborhood, I filed a lawsuit against the City of Santa Monica for violating the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) and the California Equal Protection Clause.

The reason for this is because Santa Monica maintains an at-large election system that works to dilute the vote of minorities with the intent to prevent candidates of color from winning a seat on the City Council.