By Ted Gullicksen, San Francisco Tenants Union
With the holidays just around the corner, most people are focusing on spending time with family and friends. But, if you’re a California landlord, you are counting the days until your deceptive anti-senior, anti-tenant, rent control abolition measure qualifies for the ballot. While most people take time during the holidays to reflect upon the things they have that make them fortunate – like a safe home for their family to live in – the landlords are anxiously awaiting the day they can kick those people out on the street.
California landlords have spent around 2 million trying to qualify their measure for the ballot, all with the hopes of getting rid of rent control and renter protections. These are protections that seniors, veterans, single moms and hardworking families depend upon.
Who would do such a thing you ask? Well, it reminds me of the Dr. Seuss story about the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. If he were writing about the Landlords’ Scheme today, this is what he might say:
The Landlords hated rent control! All the fairness and protections! So, they decided to take California in a whole new direction.
“We’ll get rid of rent control, 60 day notices too.
Those seniors and working moms won’t know quite what to do.
But voters like rent control and won’t want to end it.They won’t want to put this in the Constitution or amend it.
We must come up with a plan, a trick some would say.
We need to make certain we get our way!”
And so their Hidden Agendas Scheme was hatched out of greed.
They were only interested in filling their own selfish needs.
But they weren’t prepared for strong opposition.
And that is exactly what we will have – a broad coalition!
With the holidays just around the corner, most people are focusing on spending time with family and friends. But, if you’re a California landlord, you are counting the days until your deceptive anti-senior, anti-tenant, rent control abolition measure qualifies for the ballot. While most people take time during the holidays to reflect upon the things they have that make them fortunate – like a safe home for their family to live in – the landlords are anxiously awaiting the day they can kick those people out on the street.
California landlords have spent around 2 million trying to qualify their measure for the ballot, all with the hopes of getting rid of rent control and renter protections. These are protections that seniors, veterans, single moms and hardworking families depend upon.
Who would do such a thing you ask? Well, it reminds me of the Dr. Seuss story about the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. If he were writing about the Landlords’ Scheme today, this is what he might say:
The Landlords hated rent control! All the fairness and protections! So, they decided to take California in a whole new direction.
“We’ll get rid of rent control, 60 day notices too.
Those seniors and working moms won’t know quite what to do.
But voters like rent control and won’t want to end it.They won’t want to put this in the Constitution or amend it.
We must come up with a plan, a trick some would say.
We need to make certain we get our way!”
And so their Hidden Agendas Scheme was hatched out of greed.
They were only interested in filling their own selfish needs.
But they weren’t prepared for strong opposition.
And that is exactly what we will have – a broad coalition!
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