intersections

Affordable Housing Victory in Los Angeles

Today I had the privilege of participating in something truly historic in our city. The Los Angeles City Council today enacted two ordinances aimed at curtailing gentrification in the city. These are complicated issues, but I feel that my role is to stand with the poor and the disenfranchised whenever I get the chance.

The main issue before City Council today was an ordinance that essentially protects "residential hotels" from being demolished or converted into luxury condos or other market rate housing. The folks at LA CAN (Los Angeles Community Action Network) have been leading the charge on this issue for something like 6 years. I spoke for a grand total of 1 minute before the City Council members who were mostly chatting with either other and their staff. Nevertheless, good organizing finally won the day and we have successfully protected over 18,700 affordable units from being lost forever.

Residential hotels in the City of Los Angeles are basically "housing of last resort." If these units are converted to market rate housing the people who currently live there will be homeless. They have nowhere else to go. By preserving these units we essentially prevent thousands of people from becoming homeless and insist that the working poor have a place in our city.

Read the Los Angeles Times report of this ordinance and the other ordinance referred to as an anti-mansionization ordinance. I'll let you figure out what that means.

No on 98/Yes on 99

/Apologies to all non-California residents while I dip into a state political issue for a minute.

So, I'm driving back to my office today after having lunch with my dad and I hear the new Yes on Prop 98 radio ad and it just drove me crazy. I hate to even send you to the Yes on 98 website, but it's the only way I can figure out how to have you hear the ad yourself. So, click here and have a listen.

The whole thing is done my children who claim ask, with tears in their voices,

"You mean we're never going to see our friends again?"

Proposition 98 is being billed as an anti-eminent domain law, but what they don't tell you on their website or anywhere is that it will effectively destroy rent control laws in California. Once a tenant moves out of a rent-controlled apartment that unit will never be under rent control again. Little by little rent control will be a thing of the past. This is one of the last safeguards of affordable housing, especially in the urban areas of California.

So, the League of California Cities, Governor Schwarzenegger, and literally dozens of other organizations (including LA Voice) have stood up to oppose this horrible proposition put forth by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. Not only this but a counter proposition has arisen - Proposition 99. You can read more about Prop 99 here, but it accomplishes many of the good things about Prop 98 without destroying laws protecting renters.

So, Californians...when you go to the polls on June 3rd (that's right, there's an election on June 3rd), please vote NO on 98 and YES on 99. Protect renters!

Bush's SCHIP policy violates law

This is perhaps old news by now, but on Friday afternoon several media outlets, including The Hill, reported that...

The Bush administration’s limits on expansions of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are unlawful, according to Congress’s investigative arm.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unlawfully bypassed congressional review when it issued a directive to states in August alerting them that federal authorities would seek to restrict raising the income eligibility level for the program, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded in a report issued Thursday. [Read the whole thing here]

We have known for some time that the Bush Administration has little regard for the law - a deep irony given that the GOP has long been touted as the party of "law & order". This is just the latest example and one that touches close to me because of my work with the PICO Network to expand SCHIP coverage so that all children in America can see a doctor when they need to. Our campaign was ultimately unsuccessful last year, but we are not finished with this fight.

"Extending health coverage to the millions of the uninsured children whose families are struggling to make ends meet is at heart a moral issue and therefore should be a top priority for the next President," said Rev. Bob Stevens, Chair of Congregations United for Neighborhood Action, the PICO affiliate in Lehigh Valley, PA. "PICO urges all of the Presidential campaigns to make a clear commitment to enact bi-partisan SCHIP legislation within the first 100 days of their administration." [more]

I'm heading to Washington, DC

I leave early tomorrow morning for Washington, DC where I will spend parts of three days (returning Friday) doing some research meetings with other PICO leaders around the country in our ongoing work for health care coverage for all children. Thursday morning I will hear Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi address the Families USA conference that we will be attending. We also have a variety of other research actions planned.

On Thursday afternoon I am one of three panelists discussing how we have shaped the moral arguments around S-CHIP expansion and reauthorization. I don't know any of the other panelists but it should be a good learning experience. As my good friend, Mireya keeps saying, this community organizing work keeps taking us out of our comfort zone and teaching us so much about ourselves as well as the work we're doing.

I hope to catch up with a few friends in the midst of a flurry of meetings. It will be a whirlwind trip, but I'm looking forward to the opportunities it will present.