Landlord-backed initiative fails to qualify for ballot

Backers say measure would have reformed renter protections

MOUNTAIN VIEW » A controversial initiative that backers say would have reformed renter protections in Mountain View failed to qualify for the November ballot, leaving proponents eyeing another try in 2020.

Laura Teutschel, spokeswoman for Measure V Too Costly, said the initiative was “within hundreds” of the roughly 5,000 signatures from the city’s registered voters needed to qualify for the 2018 election. Backers, which include the California Apartment Association, have until mid-October to submit the necessary amount of signatures to qualify for the November 2020 ballot or they will have to start the process over from scratch.

“We are not comfortable with the number we have, but we are going to continue to collect them,” Teuschel said.

Opponents, including the city’s mayor, had argued that the initiative actually would have repealed renter protections and claim that their efforts to counter the measure was why it failed to collect enough signatures.

“We really kind of inundated Mountain View with media,” said Steve Chandler, of the Mountain View Tenants Coalition, referring to newspaper opinion pieces and letters, and ads purchased on Google and Facebook. “The thing that really put us at an advantage is we did extensive flyering to every (residence) in Mountain View.”

Chandler said efforts of volunteers with the Tenants Coalition, the Mountain View Mobile Home Alliance and the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America apparently convinced residents to not sign the petition for the measure, titled “The Mountain View Homeowner, Renter and Taxpayer Protection Initiative,” and withdraw signatures they had already submitted. City Clerk Lisa Natusch confirmed Tuesday that the city received 290 signature withdrawal forms.

“Speaking for myself, it’s clear that Mountain View voters were not fooled by the apartment owners’ deceptive campaign to place the sneaky repeal on the ballot,” Mayor Lenny Siegel said in a statement. “I urge the landlords to work with city leaders on both sides of the rent con-

trol debate to find permanent solutions to our housing crisis.”

Opponents said if the initiative had passed, it would have overturned the city’s 2-year-old renter protections, which tie annual percentage rent increases to adjustments in

the Consumer Price Index. The initiative included a clause that states if more than 3 percent of the city’s 15,000-plus rental units are vacant, there would be no limits on rent increases. The current vacancy rate is 4.3 percent and has not dipped below 3.9 percent in the past three years, according to city data.

“It’s been over 4 percent for years,” Chandler said.

Teutschel blamed Siegel in part for the initiative’s failure for being “in cahoots” with the Tenants Coalition. She said one of the consequences of Measure V, the rent stabilization initiative approved by city voters in 2016, is that rental units are disappearing from the city.

“We are concerned about them blocking the democratic process,” she said.

The initiative, which was filed by former mayor John Inks and real estate agent Bryan Danforth, argued that its aim was to prohibit Rental Housing Commission members from paying themselves a salary or appropriating money from the city’s general fund; encourage property owners to keep rental units on the market and in good shape; allow landlords

“Speaking for myself, it’s clear that Mountain View voters were not fooled by the apartment owners’ deceptive campaign to place the sneaky repeal on the ballot.” — Mayor Lenny Siegel

to quickly evict renters who commit criminal acts or cause disruptive behavior; and protect lowincome and elderly renters from unfair rent increase or evictions.