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Some very good stuff in Wednesday's marathon 12-hour City Council, and some really shitty stuff, too. https://lat.ms/3bv5TyF
Let's start with the good news: The City Council extended the freeze on rent increases in rent controlled units to 360 days after the end of the Safer at Home order. A huge increase from the previous 90 days. Proud to work with @davideryu on this #RentFreeze. HUGE news.
More good news: The Council voted unanimously to urge the feds to pass rent/mortgage cancellation and forgiveness., specifically endorsing the "Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act" introduced last week by Rep. @IlhanMN. Joining a national movement, @davideryu and I co-sponsored.
More good news: the council unanimously passed @CD6Nury's Emergency Renters Relief Program to assist low-income renters, including working-poor immigrants, who have limited means to pay back rent.
More good news: the council ratified an LAX policy I pushed, helping workers & businesses in LAX terminals. LAX will provide rent relief to operators of airport concessions - but only if they provide family health care to employees who've been let go. @UNITEHERE11
More good news: the council approved a worker protection ordinance I proposed in March w @mhdcd8 and @PaulKoretzCD5 . Thanks to work of @CD6Nury, we approved rules protecting hospitality workers and LAX workers.
The worker retention ordinance will protect people who have been laid off or furloughed by requiring companies to rehire them based on seniority. @MayorOfLA has already pledged to sign it. @UNITEHERE11
Bad news: The Council narrowly rejected (via a series of 7-6 votes) thee important renter protection measures supported by me, @davideryu @mhdcd8 @HerbJWesson @PaulKoretzCD5 and @josehuizar.
Our defeated measures would have: established a genuine eviction moratorium; prevented tenants from being evicted due to rental debt accumulated during the COVID-19 crisis; and extended the freeze of rent hikes to units not covered by the rent stabilization ordinance.
The council rejected those measures following really crappy legal advice from the City Attorney, and after some harsh attacks on public interest lawyers, affordable housing activists, and lawmakers seeking to push the envelope during the crisis.
. @davideryu and I cited a brilliant, detailed, heavily-sourced opinion from public interest and civil rights lawyers: https://bit.ly/3apacdG . It is great work from lawyers at @PublicCounsel @PubIntLawCtr @InnerCityLaw
@ednlosangeles & Housing Equality & Advocacy Resource Team.
@ednlosangeles & Housing Equality & Advocacy Resource Team.
City Atty dismissed the superior legal analysis, saying the firms represented tenants, while City Atty represented the council and the mayor. As I reminded them, we represent the people of LA, and that's who we need to be looking out for.
City Atty has consistently opposed eviction preventions that other cities passed. Their advice contradicts governor's statements, and completely ignores expanded powers we have during state of emergency. They refuse to see this as a public health issue.
Basically, City Atty said that not only was I wrong, but that the governor is wrong, public interest and civil rights lawyers are wrong, and cities that stand up aggressively for tenants during a public health crisis are wrong. (And many cities have done so.)
One of my colleagues attacked the public interest lawyers, saying they "should be ashamed of themselves." It was one of several comments in the meeting dismissive of a huge coalition of activists fighting for Angelenos reeling from economic disaster https://lat.ms/3bv5TyF
Sine the council passed earlier tenant protections, we've seen they're not enough. Tenants are getting eviction notices, are being threatened, ordered to produce documents, strong-armed into payment plans, ordered to turn over federal stimulus checks. They are being locked out.
Tenants are fearful and confused. Opponents said the proposed legislation to protect renters was "a charade" "shameful" "false hope" "unrealistic" and "unacceptable."
So much of the council debate made it sound as if renters and landlords were of equal number. They are not. Nearly two-thirds of LA residents are residents.
It is not false hope to try to go big and help people. It IS false hope to tell people we have an eviction moratorium when we do not. It is not a charade to try to act. It IS a charade to tell people we can't act when other cities have.
It's not unacceptable to try to exercise emergency powers. It IS unacceptable to allow tenants to be scared, confused, intimidated by eviction notices when we have the power to stop it. I wish we had prevailed today, but we'll keep on fighting for the majority of Angelenos.
Additional news: Joined by @mhdcd8 with the support of @PaulKoretzCD5, I introduced a proposal urging @MayorOfLA to use his emergency powers to launch a social housing program, using federal funds to buy hotels and other properties to provide housing for Angelenos.
And @mhdcd8 & I, backed by @CD6Nury asked which hotels that got economic incentives have refused to house homeless Angelenos in vacant rooms during this crisis. Hotels with a public subsidy need to step up for public health. We need to know who is not stepping up and why.
Long day. Some wins and some losses. But powerful public testimony from people of Los Angeles, great organizing by groups around the city fighting for positive change, and my kid kept sneaking into my office to give me hugs. I'll take the good and try tomorrow to build on it.
