Supes Table “Green” Rent Increase SchemeRandy Shawbyline‚ Jul. 29‚ 2008After hearing from angry tenant representatives and recognizing that the legislation had been so poorly drafted as to be unworkable, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee voted to table a measure that would increase rents on the city’s already financially-strapped tenants. Sponsored by Supervisor Alioto-Pier, the legislation was marketed as boosting water conservation. Ted Gullicksen of the San Francisco Tenants Union and other speakers noted, however, that the legislation was a rent increase measure masquerading as helping water conservation. In fact, it became clear from testimony by staff of the Public Utilities Commission and the Department of the Environment that leading officials of these agencies lack even the most minimal consciousness of the economic struggles faced by the city’s tenants. As I pointed out in my own testimony, the alignment of the city’s environmental leadership with landlords against tenants is a political strategy that will only undermine the conservation cause. |