[From Housing Long Beach Facebook page] After careful consideration and multiple rounds of deliberations, the #RentControlNow Coalition has decided to suspend the current signature campaign.
At this point, the coalition faces some insurmountable obstacles and the number of signatures required is too great to continue to ask volunteers to carry on in the face of some absurd opposition -- some of which has seen our volunteers harassed to the point of having the police called on them. For now, we change gears, as it has widely been reported that rent control will not appear on the ballot in Long Beach this November. This does not mean we are ending our fight for rent control and eviction protections or the fight against displacement. Rents have been dramatically rising for several years now, and, the real estate industry expects that to continue here in Long Beach.
We've learned a tremendous amount in this process. We've learned the ugly face of our opposition. We've also seen City Hall align against renters. We've also learned some key and valuable lessons in this process as well as the amount of resources that will be needed to push Long Beach over the top.
We took on the rent control fight because of the disturbing levels of displacement amid dramatically rising rents, the continued calls for action from our supporters and residents, and a concerted lack of action by City Hall. So, we put forward a policy idea that is widely used in large renter majority cities, such as Long Beach. We wanted to stop the bleeding and we refused to turn our backs on the community and shy away from a tough fight.
And, we are not doing that now. The fight is not over. The strategies and tactics will change. But, we will still be fighting for #RentControNow. The #RentControlNow Coalition will still be meeting, and developing plans for the 2020 ballot. The coalition is in a much stronger position to do so than we were at the start of this effort. We have learned a lot and have seen some of the best of Long Beach rise up for renter power.
As we shift gears, Housing Long Beach supporters (as well as our opponents who are reading this), should know that our commitment to this fight is as deep as ever. Too many people have been displaced and too much blood, sweat and tears have been shed to retreat. We will also continue to fight for full sanctuary status and immigration reform, our fight for utility justice will wage on, as well the fight for more affordable housing.
Together, we have work to do.
We want thank the countless volunteers who took petitions and hit the streets as far back as February for your time effort and energy. The work that Housing Long Beach staff placed in this cannot be highlighted enough. Again, this is not retreat, nor is it surrender. But, for now, we lick our wounds and regroup.
Responding to today's development, Mike Murchison (spokesman for the opposition group LB Residents for Fair Housing), isued the following statement:
The special interest group behind the effort to put a proposed rent control ordinance before voters announced today that it had given up its attempt to gather signatures due to a lack of support. Housing Long Beach announced in an email to supporters that it had ‘suspended' its signature gathering campaign due to ‘insurmountable obstacles.'
"This is not a suspension, it is an admission of defeat," said Long Beach Residents for Fair Housing Spokesman Mike Murchison. "Housing Long Beach has until July 30 to submit the required number of valid signatures to the City Clerk. They admitted today they have given up on that effort. Once that deadline passes, they will have to start from scratch if they want to attempt to qualify rent control for a future election."
"Rent control sounds like an easy fix to rising housing costs, but this policy would have led to fewer rental units in Long Beach, deteriorating neighborhoods, and less money for essential city services. Renters would have actually seen higher costs thanks to the market-distorting effects of rent control. Rent control attempts to treat the symptoms of a housing shortage rather than the underlying cause -- and in this case, the treatment would have made the problem worse. We thank the many individual donors as well as the many organizations who worked hard to support the Long Beach community: the Long Police Officers Association, Long Beach Firefighters Association, Small Property Owners Alliance-SoCal, California Apartment Association, Apartment Association -- California Southern Cities, and Pacific West Realtors."
"The more voters learned about rent control, the less they liked it, but we recognize that the people who backed this policy also want to make Long Beach a better, stronger city even if we disagree on the best way to do it. We will continue working until July 30 to officially defeat rent control, but today's announcement by Housing Long Beach is a victory for renters, property owners, and taxpayers across the city."
"From there, we will continue to work with our elected officials and other community leaders to develop solutions to our housing challenges. Long Beach has made tremendous progress because residents and city leaders are passionate about making our city a better place to live, work, and raise a family."
