Oakland Renter's In A Crisis

Oakland Renters In A Crisis
By Lynda Carson 12/28/01

Oakland, Ca-Within 3 day's after the December 18 2001, C.E.D.A. Meeting voted on measures that would weaken renters right's in Oakland, renters and members of the Campaign For Renter's Right's immediately set forth passing out their fliers telling of their 3rd planned rally for January 15 to oppose the Dick Spees Task Force Deal. The full City Council is expected to vote on the Task Force Deal January 15, 2002. Because members of Just Cause Oakland and the Oakland Tenants Union were supporters of James Vann whom is promoting the Task Force Deal, renters did not have the much needed support to oppose the backroom deal reached between landlords and the Oakland Tenants Union and have been pretty much on their own in public opposition to the deal. Then word leaked out that Just Cause Oakland was about to plan their own rally for the 15th of January to oppose the Task Force Deal, and piggy back it onto the one planned by the Campaign For Renters Right's. As recent as last summer, members of the Oakland Tenants Union and Just Cause Oakland stood before the full City Council demanding that the Task Force Deal be voted for. Now they are about to publicly rally in support of the renters opposed to the Task Force Deal, and believe that it would help to create some good PR for the kickoff of their Just Cause Campaign on January 26, 2002.

In a brief statement from the Campaign For Renter's Right's, their position is that they welcome the support of anyone willing to oppose the Task Force Deal no matter where it comes from. Regardless, they were shocked to learn that Just Cause Oakland was being
devious in their effort's to lure in members of B.O.S.S. to their secretly planned steering committee meeting for January 2, 2002, while they were being excluded from the meeting and did not receive an invitation. B.O.S.S. and the Campaign For Renter's Right's have been aligned against the Task Force Deal in several recent past rally's.

In Brief: Oakland renters and members of the Campaign For Renters Right's received word on Friday December 28, that they were not invited to the proposed secret meeting of the Just Cause Oakland steering committee planned for January 2, 2002, at the California Tomorrow Headquarters. Through a number of calls, the following became apparent. In a strategy planned to pull in members of B.O.S.S. away from the Campaign For Renters Right's, Holly Finck of Just Cause Oakland/Mission Housing S.F., arranged through her friends at California Tomorrow to have a secret meeting to plan a rally that would piggy back upon the January 15 Rally which the Campaign For Renters Right's has put together. No one from Just Cause Oakland reached out to contact the activists with the Campaign For Renter's Right's to invite them to the meeting, and it quickly became apparent that the renters of Oakland once again were about to be left out of some more back room deals about to be made. The January 15 rally would be the 3rd to oppose the Dick Spees Task Force Deal which would be harmfull to Oakland renters, and members of B.O.S.S. have helped to organize the event's with the Campaign For Renter's Right's. Members of Just Cause Oakland and the Oakland Tenants Union have been livid that the renters have publicly opposed the Task Force Deal and James Vann, feeling embarrased, and refusing to join in publicly to oppose the deal with more than a token gesture behind the scenes. Members of JCO/OTU and Holly Finck invited members of B.O.S.S. to the planned secret meeting for January 2, 2002, at California Tomorrow in a crude attempt to disrupt the alliance between members of B.O.S.S. and the Campaign For Renters Right's, and to recruit members of B.O.S.S. to their agenda for Just Cause.

According to one source at Just Cause Oakland (JCO) it is unusual for others outside the steering committee of JCO to be invited to their meeting's, or for the meeting to be held at California Tomorrow. By deadline of this story, Holly Finck of JCO was not available for comment to explain why she was behind this plot to lure in B.O.S.S or undermine the alliance between the Campaign For Renter's Right's and B.O.S.S. Others in Just Cause reveal that they are disorganized and have trouble getting people out to support them for event's, making this an opportunity for them (JC) to get media exposure at an event others would work hard to create.

Renters and supporters of the Campaign For Renter's Right's are not concerned about the folks of B.O.S.S. having a desire to support renters right's. One said: if Just Cause Oakland is only doing this to take credit for the work B.O.S.S. has done along with C.F.R.R. to openly oppose the Task Force Deal now that the battle is almost over, then it is a cheap shot to promote dirty campaign trick's in the world of politic's. However, she said; if Just Cause Oakland finally came to their senses and now publicly support's the renters of Oakland against the Task Force Deal, it is long overdue. Just Cause Oakland needs support in it's planned efforts to create a Just Cause Ordinance for Oakland, but has been struggling ever since James Vann sunk the Campaign one and a half years ago, plus the continuence of feuds that further marginalize the group from the community. This latest fiasco of Just Cause Oakland failing to invite the people of the Campaign For Renter's Right's to the California Tomorrow Meeting is another example of poor leadership in the movement. Some in the movement already are very concerned that Just Cause will not fly this time due to the lost support during the past year. Others scream out in alarm that the infighting has to stop now.

Confusing is that many in the Oakland Tenants Union and Just Cause Oakland still support James Vann, and parts of the Task Force Deal which then allows Vann to claim that he has the will of the people behind him. Meanwhile, the Official replies are that Just Cause Oakland and the Oakland Tenants Union doe's not support the Task Force Deal. Many in the community are livid at James Vann and the situation that he has nourished to arise, and now call him the King of Clown's in the Oakland Tenant's Movement. The result is that a CRISIS exist's in the tenants movement and renters are wondering what is going on. This does not bode well for the attempts to place a Just Cause Initiative on the ballot in the near future while the community is feeling in turmoil over the Task Force Deal.

Low-income renters shall be the ones worst affected if the Task Force Deal is voted into law, and homelessness is expected to rise sharply down the road. Rent's shot up 21% in Oakland during the past year, vacancy rates are less than 2%, and the City of Oakland moved from being the 7th most expensive U.S. City to reside in to number 4 during the past year. On December 18, 2001, C.E.D.A. voted on the Task Force Deal which now goes before the full City Council on January 15, 2002.

In a call to James Vann on Saturday December 29, 2002, Vann states the following:
Vann say's; A small committee is to meet Dick and Jane (Spees & Brunner) in the near future at an undisclosed location to re-write the Task Force Deal into one last FINAL DRAFT. Vann when asked, declined to reveal whom the committee members are to be, or when they plan to meet, though he stated that he already had that information on hand. Others already have been trying to learn who the deal makers are to be through different sources. When asked exactly what it is that they plan to change in the Task Force Deal, Vann claimed that he was not sure, and expressed surprise that he did not know what Spees and Brunner voted on at the December 18 C.E.D.A. Meeting. Vann went on to claim that he had the full support of Oakland renters in the deal he is pushing for, and denounces the rally's of protesters as being meaningless, and that their Peoples Task Force Proposals have been ignored by himself and the other committee members. As passed, the Dick Spees Task Force Deal supported by James Vann may void out any future Just Cause protections for over 10,000 families on Section 8 Contracts in Oakland, shall weaken rent law's for most Oakland renters, allow the rents to be raised by use of a new formula to replace the annual 3% rent cap in Oakland, speed up rent increases through the NEW RENT PROGRAM, and cost Oakland renters million's of extra dollars down the road.

In a writen quote from John Reimann of the Campaign For Renter's Right's regarding the Task Force Deal and Just Cause Oakland tactic's:
Reimann says;

I am not surprised that these dirty deals are being made behind closed doors. Whenever they want to screw the people, that's how they do it in this
"democracy". The railroad train is all fuelled up, waiting at the station to railroad us working class and poor people out of Oakland; it's being driven by Jerry Brown and his yuppie pals.

Oakland renters nor members of the Campaign For Renters Right's have been invited to the planned Just Cause Steering Meeting hosted by California Tomorrow scheduled for January 2, 2001.

Oakland renters are urging people to show up at the January 15 City Council Meeting early (6 p.m.) for a rally upon the steps before going inside to STOP THE TASK FORCE DEAL!

WHEN: January 15/6p.m.-Oakland City Hall-Near 12th St, BART STATION.

The "secret" Just Cause Oakland Steering Committee is scheduled for January 2, 2002.
Time: 7 p.m. at California Tomorrow.

California Tomorrow
1904 Franklin St
Suite 300
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 496-0220
(510) 496-0225 fax

info [at] californiatomorrow.org

http://www.californiatomorrow.org/

For the latest on the series of Task Force Stories click below.

http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/12/112608.php