Tuesday is election day – aka the last day to vote in the primary! If you’re not registered to vote at your current address or you’ve lost your ballot, you can still vote! California has same-day voter registration, which means you can vote at any voting center in Alameda County starting Saturday! You can find your nearest voting center here.
For Tuesday’s primary election, the BTU membership has voted to endorse the following candidates and ballot measure positions:
People Powered Progressives Slate (Avery Arbaugh, Alfred Twu, Paola Laverde, Michael Cheng, Carol Coyote Cook, Sadia Khan, and John “Chip” Moore) for Alameda County Democratic Central Committee
Nikki Bas for Alameda County Supervisor
Margot Smith for State Assembly
Jovanka Beckles for State Senate
Barbara Lee for US Senate
Berkeley Measure H (parcel tax renewal to fund schools) – YES
The only people Jesse Arreguin cares about are his corporate donors. He is a danger to tenants, affordable housing, and every progressive issue. Don’t let him sell us out in the State Legislature!
Help us get the word out to voters about why Jesse Arreguin is so dangerous! We encourage everyone to share this graphic on social media, as well as to print out copies and hand them out to voters in Senate District 7.
You can see or full list of endorsements (including Jovanka Beckles for State Senate) here.
The Berkeley Student Cooperative has rooms for rent available ASAP! Housing in the co-ops to virtually ALL college and university students – you do NOT need to attend UC Berkeley in order to live in the vast majority of their properties, most of which are located extremely close to the UC Berkeley campus.
Rent is as low as $918/month, which includes meals and groceries (except in their three apartment-style properties, which do not include food).
Please join us Saturday, January 6th from 2PM to 5PM at 747 Lobos Avenue, Richmond for a house party for Jovanka Beckles for State Senate. There will be tons of labor and progressive figures to help start the sprint to the March primary election, and we’d love to have you there.
If your Berkeley landlord is threatening to evict you for any reason, including through the Ellis Act – immediately email us at info (at) berkeleytenants.org with the subject line “I AM BEING EVICTED” so that we can help you!
The next meeting will be Saturday, February 13 at 5:00 PM on the Zoom platform, online. Members will be sent an email about the meeting. Agenda items will be sent out soon, but the major topic of this meeting will be the status of the local eviction moratorium.
To become a member, contact Berkeley Tenants Union by email. Dues are on a sliding scale and can be paid in a number of different ways. Members are eligible for our monthly counseling sessions as well as a strong say about what issues the organization chooses for action. Ask to see the BTU by-laws for more information.
These days, BTU communicates about actions via emails and Facebook. Be sure to like the Facebook page you see displayed on the sidebar to the right!
Also, please share this Facebook link to our meeting, or a link to this post – let’s build our numbers and bring more power to the people! https://fb.me/e/3KLr3BzA5
Berkeley Tenants Are Organizing! “The current city moratorium has “weak” penalties for property owners who institute late fees, lock out tenants or threaten renters, according to (a Berkeley Tenants Union leader) Lewis. He said crucial parts of the measure, such as amendments to include renters’ rights on eviction notices, were removed Nov. 17. If the stricter moratorium passes, it will not take effect until February 2021 due to restrictions in a statewide moratorium that prevents property owners from taking tenants to court, according to Lewis.” https://www.dailycal.org/2020/12/08/berkeley-city-council-votes-on-measure-to-strengthen-eviction-moratorium/
Berkeley Landlords Are Organizing Too! “There are multiple Eviction Moratoriums in effect during this pandemic. Berkeley’s Eviction Moratorium currently prohibits any type of eviction during the local state of emergency and dictates how rent not paid during the pandemic is to be handled. The state’s Eviction Moratorium (AB 3088 effective Sept 1 to Jan 31) is currently being modified at the legislature. We expect the moratorium will be extended through June of 2021, as well as continue to defer the 25% payment of rent until then. BPOA is working to provide guidance as to how the state’s extension will interact with our local Eviction Moratorium.” https://www.bpoa.org/
Weak Federal Protections Extended by Biden “At President Biden’s direction, the eviction moratorium from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been extended to March 31. But tens of millions of people owing back rent may be forced out of their homes even with the extension. After months of wrangling, Congress allocated $25 billion in rental assistance.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/opinion/eviction-crisis-moratorium.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Other News The East Bay Community Law Center is working with City of Berkeley leaders to establish a housing policy called the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. Learn more about TOPA here: https://ebclc.org/topa/
Your Berkeley Tenants Union is getting busy this election season!
Members must pay their dues if you want to vote on endorsements. Dues are a sliding scale. Contact “info at berkeleytenants dot org” to learn more.
These days, BTU communicates about actions via emails and Facebook. Be sure to like the Facebook page you see displayed on the sidebar to the right!
Be sure that you are on the mailing list too!
BTU has monthly clinics for free counseling if you are in trouble. We are also working on several ballot measures, and of course we urge you to support the Pro-Tenant Slate for Rent Board. If you want to volunteer to help get activists from BTU and like-minded organizations elected to the Berkeley Rent Board, you can sign up here to assist the Right2Housing Slate: https://berkeleytenants.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d3053fd94934e92d237a8b9e8&id=c69a08e63a&e=469b9ffc9e
ABOUT THE TENANT CONVENTION
The Berkeley Tenant Convention is a decades-old biennial event in which all Berkeley residents who fully support rent control are invited to nominate the progressive, pro-tenant slate for the Berkeley Rent Board. The sponsors of the 2020 Convention included the Berkeley Tenants Union, Berkeley Citizens Action, the Berkeley Democrats (NOT the Berkeley Democratic Club), the Cal Berkeley Democrats, the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, Friends of Adeline, the Gray Panthers, the Green Party, the NAACP, Our Revolution East Bay, SEIU 1021, UAW 2865 (the UC student-workers union), the Young Democratic Socialists of America – UC Berkeley, and Young Democrats for Justice in Palestine – East Bay.
ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
2020 Pro-Tenant Slate
The candidates chosen at this year’s convention are Dominique Walker, who works at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment; Mari Mendonca, a lifelong Berkeley resident who was appointed to the Rent Board recently; Xavier Johnson, who is a legal fellow at Centro Legal de la Raza; incumbent attorney Leah Simon-Weisberg, who has worked for San Francisco’s Eviction Defense Collaborative and Tenants Together; and Andy Kelley, Communications Director at the California League of Conservation Voters.
They are calling their campaign the Right2Housing Slate.
You can watch the whole 2020 Tenant Convention on video at BTU’s Facebook page, and keep up with the priorities and activities of our candidates at their website: https://berkeleyrentboard.org
FOR MORE INFO
Tenant Convention Slate for Berkeley Rent Board “About 615 electronic ballots and 95 paper ballots were cast, this is an unprecedented turnout. Because of the pandemic, most efforts were done online.” http://berkeleycitizensaction.org/?p=1193
![CALIFORNIA CAN'T AFFORD JESSE ARREGUIN'S CORRUPTION!
VOTE ON YOUR PRIMARY BALLOT BY MARCH 5
SAY NO TO ARREGUIN FOR STATE SENATE
As Berkeley Mayor, Jesse Arreguin:
• ROLLED BACK LONG-STANDING RENT CONTROL AND EVICTION PROTECTIONS
• ALLOWED THE LARGEST RENT HIKES ON RENT- CONTROLLED TENANTS IN 30 YEARS
• KILLED THE TENANT OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE ACT
Arreguin claims "bold leadership" but sells out to corporate donors like the California Real Estate PAC and California Apartment Association (big landlords)!
Don't let another corrupt politician advance to State Senate!
[Berkeley Tenants Union Logo]
www.berkeleytenants.org
labor donated
Berkeley Tenants Union](https://www.berkeleytenants.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GGAh4xYbYAAaEiz.jpg)
![[Logos of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the Contra Costa Young Democrats, Our Revolution East Bay, the California Democratic Party Renters Council, the Richmond Progressive Alliance, Black Women Organized for Political Action, the Berkeley Tenants Union, Teamster Joint Council 7, East Bay DSA, and the Diablo Valley Democratic Club]
Join co-hosts Steve Early, Suzanne Gordon, Ken Paff, Martha Gruelle, BK Williams, Kathleen Wimer, Joe Puleo, Carol Coyote Cook, Marisol Cantu, & Alexandra Early for a Richmong House Party for Jovanka Beckles for State Senate
January 6th
2-5PM
747 Lobos Ave, Richmond, CA](https://www.berkeleytenants.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image.png)
