Trailer park tenants pressed on vote
Letter from landlord about election results referred to state authorities for investigation
A letter sent to tenants of Pagel’s Trailer Park in Fort Morgan has been called voter intimidation by some tenants.
The letter, dated Oct. 19, went to all rental properties in the park and suggested if Joe Biden wins the presidency that rent will be doubled. Currently lots are rented for $280 a month.
“Please understand IF
Joe Biden is elected as our next President, everything you do and have to pay for will change completely,” the letter said. “Everything will be increased. Like paying ALOT (sic) more in taxes, utilities, gasoline, groceries, new permits, fees and regulations… everything! This also means YOUR RENT will be increased to cover these expenses. Most likely, rent would DOUBLE in price!”
The letter goes on to promise that if President Donald Trump is reelected rent will remain the same for at least two years, and states they aren’t trying to dictate votes.
“Voting is your choice and we are not telling you how to vote. We are just informing our tenants what WE will do according to the election results,” the letter said. “If Trump wins, we all win. If Biden wins, we all lose.”
Many tenants saw it differently and accused the owner of trying to coerce them to vote a certain way.
“I mean, we can’t control how this whole election goes,” Cindy Marquez, a tenant of the trailer park, told 9NEWS. “We can’t control what everyone else does, you know? We can’t control the results.”
Landlord Bernie Pagel couldn’t be reached for comment but advocated for other landlords to send similar messages to tenants in a tweet dated Sept. 26.
“Attention landlords. Let your tenants know that if Joe Biden wins, you will have to increase rent to cover tax burdens and regulations he will enact. Let tenants know everything will increase; rent, groceries, utilities, taxes, clothing, food, schooling, prescriptions, etc.,” the tweet, written in all caps, states.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said in a release posted to Facebook it was aware of the letter and information had been sent to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and Attorney General’s Office.
“The Colorado Attorney General’s Office will be handling this investigation. The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office will assist as requested,” the release states.
The AG can’t comment on pending investigations, but Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser tweeted that “any voter intimidation is a crime and will be prosecuted” in September.