The Advocate

The Big Tent has just released its proposed Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance (RS&TPO). A copy is available here for everyone to read freely. This critical legislation would provide the following: 1. Rent stabilization to cap annual increases and keep housing affordable. 2. Just cause requirements for evictions to protect tenants and property owners. 3. A rent registry to track rental housing in the city to help enforce the ordinance and evaluate the market. 4. A review board that is representative and has authority to resolve disputes or violations. 5. A diversity, equity, and inclusion provision for broad-based applicability to ensure that the ordinance serves all residents of San Leandro. 6. Sufficient funding and staffing to support the ordinance. 7. An anti-harassment clause to protect renters when exercising their rights. 8. A private right of action so that individuals can hold violators and the city accountable. 9. Improved noticing requirements so that ev...

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the action of human beings." — Nelson Mandela in 2005 at the Make Poverty History rally in London’s Trafalgar Square. Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in San Leandro in 2020 is approximately $1,845 per month . For a single year of occupancy, that total rent is $22,140. The minimum wage as of July 1, 2020 is $15 per hour . For a single full-time worker that equals a gross annual income of $31,200. After taxes, that comes to approximately $26,425 annual net income . That leaves you with approximately $4,285 for the entire year, or about $357 monthly, to pay for groceries, water, electricity, transportation, healthcare, and internet. This assumes you don't get sick or injured, lose your job or access to reliable transpiration, are evicted or foreclosed on, experience any kind of financial emergency, and that you aren't saving for retirement. In one of the m...

On November 16, the San Leandro City Council is set to vote on changes to our municipal code “relating to standing or sitting on traffic medians or near curbs.” While the city has tried to present this as a change to increase traffic safety and relieve road congestin, the reality is that it is merely another attempt at anti-panhandling laws that criminalize poverty and infringe free speech. In fact, some members of the City Council said exactly as much at their September 8 meeting, specifically the mayor and vice mayor! You can look up the relevant information on their website at https://sanleandro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=754137&GUID=35FDF636-2AE8-48FE-8AF2-E18471022DD3&Options=info|&Search= , beginning at Item 10.C. The older meeting records are available at https://sanleandro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=754132&GUID=7A8CE643-C818-4D9B-AECE-55D23C7C71CC&Options=info|&Search= , beginning at Item 8.M. Notably, the Supreme Court ruled in Norton v....