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Mayor Schaaf proposes tenants should pay half of new taxes on rental properties

by Lynda Carson (tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com)
Proposing that renters should pay half of the new taxes on rental properties in Oakland regardless of their disability status or income, and without offering any exemptions to protect the poorest of the poor, sick, elderly or disabled, in her own words Mayor Schaaf claimed, “I support allowing half of new taxes on rental properties being passed on to tenants.”
ebrha_candidate_questionnaire_-_libby_schaaf.pdf_600_.jpg
Mayor Schaaf proposes tenants should pay half of new taxes on rental properties

By Lynda Carson — October 31, 2016

Oakland — In an interview questionnaire of the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBHRA), Mayor Libby Schaaf declared that she supports allowing half of new taxes on all rental properties to be passed on to the renters of Oakland, a city with tens of thousands of very low-income renters that would be harmed by such a tax increase on their households.

During 2013, 25.5 percent of residents with an income below the poverty level lived in Oakland.

Proposing that renters should pay half of the new taxes on rental properties in Oakland regardless of their disability status or income, and without offering any exemptions to protect the poorest of the poor, sick, elderly or disabled, in her own words Mayor Schaaf claimed, “I support allowing half of new taxes on rental properties being passed on to tenants.”

With all the massive gentrification schemes occurring, it was Mayor Schaaf that invited the wealthy landlords, carpetbaggers, realtors, speculators, and Wall Street investment firms into the City that have plenty of money to pay the taxes on the rental units they are building, and buying in town. Despite the big money involved in the gentrification of Oakland, Mayor Schaaf proposes that half of new taxes on rental properties should be being passed on to the tenants.

In an effort to get the support of the members of EBHRA the Mayor also criticized Measure EE, Oakland’s just cause eviction protection ordinance when responding to a question in the questionnaire, and claimed, “I think Oakland may have been better served by a legislatively adopted measure, so adjustments could be made without the need to return to voters.” Mayor Schaaf was referring to weakening the ordinance on behalf of the wealthy landlords, if it was originally a legislatively adopted ordinance, which it is not.

For years, the City Council refused to adopt a just cause eviction protection ordinance in Oakland, despite years of tenants and tenant activists appearing at City Council meetings to demand that the City pass such an ordinance to protect the renters from mass evictions. It was not until 2002 that in a major struggle against the City Council, Oakland landlords, realtors, and EBHRA, formerly known as the Rental Housing Association of Northern Alameda County (RHANAC), that the voters finally passed Measure EE into law. It is a just cause eviction protection ordinance, that has helped to protect tens of thousands of renters by slowing down the on-going mass evictions, and eviction-for profit schemes occurring in town.

The Mayor also suggested that when the City moved to pass changes to it’s rent ordinance limiting rent increases for capital improvements that she was happy with her role as a broker in the deal, and mentioned that on behalf of the landlords in Oakland that she pushed for a higher share for landlords in recoverable capital improvements.

In her own words, Mayor Schaaf gave the impression to EBRHA that she is pro-landlord, and claimed, “I fought to keep the Council to stick to the deal that was made and also advocated for a higher share for landlords in recoverable capital improvements.”

The executive director of the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBHRA) is Jill Broadhurst, and EBHRA is controlled by it’s Board of Directors.

In Oakland Measure JJ is on the ballot in November and if voted into law it will help to protect renters by strengthening existing renter protection laws. Voters are urged to vote YES on Measure JJ to help stabilize communities in Oakland, and slow down greedy landlords involved in price gouging and eviction-for-profit schemes. If Measure JJ passes, it would strengthen the very same renter protection laws that Mayor Schaaf would have weakened on behalf of the landlords and EBRHA, if she had the opportunity to do so.

Renter protections will be on the ballot in 6 cities during November in the Bay Area. No matter how hard the landlords and the California Apartment Association are trying to stop the renters movement, tenant advocates across the Bay Area are urging renters to vote on strong renter protections during the upcoming November elections in the cities of Richmond, Oakland, Alameda, Burlingame, San Mateo, and Mountain View. The activists are urging people to vote “no” against any weak proposals placed on the ballot by the City Council in Alameda, and Mountain View.

For more on the East Bay Rental Housing Association interview questionnaire, see attachment below.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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