1/22: The Oakland City Council passed the Spees/Brunner Task Force Deal to redefine current rent laws. Despite 70 people who spoke out against it during public comment, the already despised new rent proposals passed by a vote of 6 to 2. The 2 people who spoke in its favor were John Holmgren of the Oakland Realtor\\\'s Association and Greg McConnell, a landlord lobbyist, both of whom served on the Task Force that drafted the plan.

The new rent law ends the moratorium on rent increases after evictions, replaces the 3% annual rent cap with a very confusing CPI/less shelter formula, and imposes an annual $24 fee per rental unit to cover a budget for the creation of a new mediation program to settle challenges to rent increases, amongst other things.

Just Cause Oakland is campaigning for a just-cause evictions provision on the Nov. ballot.