Housing activists harangue Alameda County supervisors for the fourth time in less than a week
Rep. Ro Khanna makes his pick for Sunday's 49ers game
COUNTY NEWS
TENANTS PROTECTION ORDINANCES
—SLZ PROTEST—Housing activists again demonstrated on Wednesday night in an effort to urge some Alameda county supervisors to support new tenants protections for unincorporated Alameda County. It’s the fourth protest since last Friday.
—The demonstrators made their voices heard outside the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Unincorporated Services meeting at the San Lorenzo Library. The group, many Latino residents of the unincorporated areas, were initially stopped from entering the meeting by a county staffer, citing limited space due to Covid-19 restrictions.
—Shortly later, Supervisor Nate Miley arrived and greeted the group outside for about 30 minutes and participated in a sometimes contentious, yet courteous conversation about his stances on three tenants’ protections ordinances waiting to be fully decided by the Board of Supervisors.
—“I’ve been pretty consistent in my position,” Miley told them, noting that he voted for the Fair Chance ordinance last December. Miley, though, abstained from the two other ordinances—a rent registry and Just Cause protections. “I believe there are problems with Just Cause that I want to get corrected,” he added.
—Miley stopped short of fully describing his issues with the current Just Cause ordinance, but in one instance, suggested he would prefer additional justifications for evicting tenants other than the 13 currently listed in the ordinance. Most of the justifications are obvious. For example, an eviction can be triggered by criminal activity or non-payment of rent.
—“You and I, basically, have the same position,” Miley told a demonstrator. “You want all of that that is contained in the two ordinances. I want some of that that is contained in the two ordinances, and at the same time address the problem once the rent moratorium is over.”
—He reiterated that small landlords, some of whom who are seniors and minorities, Miley said, also need his attention as much as renters.
—After some demonstrators criticized Miley for receiving campaign contributions from landlords in past, in addition, to asserting he doesn’t care about renters in his district, Miley shot back. “If I don’t do what you want me to do, you accuse me of not caring about people.”
—Housing activists, many who believe the nearly year-long vetting process for the three ordinances amounted to a compromise with landlords, responded negatively after Miley said he would bring together tenants and landlords in order to forge a compromise. That is, in the event the three ordinances are not fully approved by the Board of Supervisors next month.
—After two successive postponements of a second reading of the ordinances this month, the next scheduled hearing is Feb. 28.
—WAHAB LETTER OF SUPPORT—State Sen. Aisha Wahab, who rose to local prominence because of her support for tenants protections in Hayward, sent a letter this week to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, in support of the three ordinances currently before the board.
—The pandemic-era countywide protections have benefitted tenants in the unincorporated areas, Wahab wrote. “Now that we have seen how critical those protections are for keeping people housed and preventing displacement, it is imperative those protections be permanently enacted.”
CONGRESS
17TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
—BANG BANG DUAL ENDORSEMENT FAN—Rep. Ro Khanna sent out a self-deprecating tweet this week to register his support in this Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.
—Khanna is a Philly native. The 49ers’ Levi Stadium resides in his 17th Congressional District.
—In a nod to his predilection for offering dual endorsements to candidates in the past, including in last year’s contentious 10th State Senate District race between Aisha Wahab and Lily Mei, Khanna chose both teams.