Residents of District 2 deserve a meaningful choice in the upcoming supervisor election. According to census data, 73% of the residents of the district are tenants. They are facing many of the same issues confronting tenants across the city. Yet their supervisor, Michela Alioto-Pier, votes against tenant interests at every opportunity. Something is wrong with this picture. A well-run progressive campaign focusing on tenant issues should be able to take this seat in November.
Speculator Evictions, A Tale of Two Districts
Real estate speculators are increasingly turning their focus to more upscale neighborhoods, like North Beach (D3) and the Marina (D2). They buy buildings and immediately evict all tenants using the Ellis Act. Long-term tenants, including many seniors, are being driven out of their homes and neighborhoods. San Franciscans overwhelmingly oppose these speculator evictions. The response to these evictions by the supervisors of District 2 and District 3 could not be more different.
Supervisor Peskin (D3) responded to the attack on tenants in his district by taking a strong stand against speculator evictions. He publicly supported tenants who were fighting infamous speculator WB Coyle and other serial evictors. He sponsored legislation to increase relocation payments to tenants displaced by Ellis Act evictions. He sponsored legislation to make condominium conversion impossible for speculators who use the Ellis Act to evict tenants. He made clear to the real estate speculators that he would use the weight of his office to stop evictions of long-term tenants in his district.
Supervisor Alioto-Pier (D2) has taken precisely the opposite approach, apparently welcoming the epidemic of evictions in her neighborhood and across San Francisco. She has voted against all efforts to protect SF’s long-term tenants. Alioto-Pier’s voting record on tenant issues would make George W. Bush proud.
Here’s a quick review of her key anti-tenant votes:
Voted Against Relocation Payments For Tenants Evicted Under the Ellis Act: Alioto-Pier opposed Peskin’s ordinance to increase relocation payments to tenants displaced by Ellis Act evictions. Imagine opposing a law that simply requires real estate speculators who stand to make hundreds of thousands (or in larger buildings, millions) of dollars off evictions to provide $4500 to the tenants being evicted. Alioto-Pier’s opposition to the relocation payment law shows how completely out of touch she is with her tenant constituents.
Voted Against Anti-Eviction Condo Conversion Law: Alioto-Pier also opposed legislation to restrict condominium conversions in buildings where disabled and senior tenants have been evicted under the Ellis Act. Mayor Newsom signed the legislation into law last month, suggesting that Alioto-Pier is more anti-tenant than her predecessor in District 2.
Voted Against Disclosure Requirements About Evictions: Alioto-Pier opposed legislation to require disclosure about evictions to prospective purchasers of property. She voted against this commonsense law that would have protected homebuyers and tenants. Voters flatly rejected her position, passing Prop. B when tenant advocates took the issue to the ballot this month.
Voted To Allow Landlords To Take Away Tenant Garages For No Reason: Alioto-Pier’s recent vote against Supervisor Mirkarimi’s garage legislation will not go over well in her district. Many D2 residents live in large apartment buildings, and they rely on their parking spaces as an integral part of their tenancies. Mirkarimi’s legislation (co-sponsored by Supervisors Peskin, Maxwell and Daly) prohibits a landlord from taking away a tenant’s parking unless the landlord has good cause to do so. As Supervisor Maxwell put it, this is an issue of fairness.
Alioto-Pier apparently believes that landlords should be able to take away their tenants’ parking spaces for no reason and without explanation. Her opposition to Mirkarimi’s garage legislation shows just how extreme her anti-tenant views are.
Alioto-Pier is vulnerable to a serious challenge by a progressive emphasizing tenant issues. The question is, will anyone take up this challenge?
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