Politics Shut Down Oaklands Rent Arbitration Program

Politics Shut Down Oaklands Rent Arbitration Program
By Lynda Carson 7/27/01

Oakland, Ca--City Mayors at times make some rash decisions that set the course for
uncharted dirty waters, and Oaklands Mayor Jerry Brown is no exception to the rule. As a favor to his landlord buddies, Mayor Jerry Brown had faxed a July 24, 2001, notice to the work place of Andrew Wolff, an appointed board member of Oaklands Rent Arbitration Program. In short, the intent of the July 24 faxed notice from the Mayor was to inform Mr. Wolff that he has been dismissed from the Rent Board in a decree by none other than himself, the Mayor. However, according to city public records, documentation reveals that Andrew Wolff\'s 3 year term on the Rent Board began on October 20th, 1998, and does not end officialy until October 20th, 2001. Upon further checking, Oaklands City Charter, Article 6-Section 601, clearly states; members of boards and commissions shall be appointed by the Mayor subject to confirmation by the affirmative vote of five members of the Council and may be removed for cause, after hearing, by the affirmative vote of at least six members of the Council. The strong arm tactics of the Mayor had no legal basis of fact to support his momentary lapse of reason in his attempt to dismiss this Tenant Advocate from the rent board, and this bright young man solidly held his ground. Mr. Wolff feeling confident that his term on the Rent Board has not expired, and fully understanding that due process of law did not take place to officialy remove him, he entered Thursdays meeting to take his place alongside the other board members in his official capacity to ensure that the renters of Oakland are not ripped off by the landlords seeking rent increases. Pandemonium soon broke loose by his mere presence among the ranks of the disbelievers, and the meeting was shut down shortly there after. An official lock-out by city staffers of Oakland intent on denying the right of citizens access to the scheduled hearings for the evening.

The shutdown of the hearing process of the rent arbitration program and the lockout occured at Oaklands City Hall, in Hearing Room 1, upon July 26, 2001. Late night calls to some of the other board members were attempted.

Some believe that at the root of this are the angry landlords that despise Andrew Wolffs
pro-tenant positions that he has been known for, and that when Mr. Wolff allegedly bought a condominium during the past year, the landlords used that as an excuse to pressure city officials to get rid of Mr. Wolff, because now he is allegedly a home owner neutral. However, in a recent opinion over the matter by a city attorney named Rich Elgin, allegedly he ruled in Mr. Wolffs favor and wrote an opinion that could be argued in favor of Mr. Wolff\'s position that indeed he is allowed by law to still remain on the rent board until his term expires or the Council rules that he\'s out. Sources say, that allegedly some clients (landlords) of Greg McConnal a pro-landlord attorney, may sue the city if Mr. Wolff is not removed before any other cases go through the hearing process, and that the threats of a lawsuit set the stage for the showdown. Sources say, that Rich Elgin is under alot of pressure for his opinion that disatisfied the landlords over Wolff\'s position.

According to Kathryn Cash, a neutral on the rent board appointed around 1 year ago by Mayor Jerry Brown; Ms. Cash stated that it seemed very odd that the landlords knew more than she did about Andrew Wolff being told not to come to the hearing room for the July 26 board meeting, and that they openly expressed amazement that he was there.
Someone definitly was in the landlords camp on that one, and she was kept out of the loop she believed. This was a mess, Ms. Cash went on to say, and none of the board members knew how to handle the situation. To elaborate further; seems as though this was not handled properly Ms. Cash went on to say, and it was a waste of time for the 4 cases that were to be heard that evening. Ms. Cash informed me that Andrew Wolff was courteous enough to hand out copies of the City Charter before leaving the hearing room, which included the information on how board members may serve out their term, unless the Council votes otherwise. Regarding a recent opinion of a city attorney named Rich Elgin, neutral board member Cash was aware that the opinion was in favor of Andrew Wolffs position to remain on the board, and she did not really know why the pressure was on to remove him before his term was up in a few months. Ms. Cash had no idea as to when hearings will again resume under these circumstances of the lock-out, and she pointed out that the Council Members are now on vacation. Kathryn Cash shared that she has an interest in housing issues, and that she has a degree in City Planning.

Sources say, that before leaving the hearing room, Tenant Activist James Vann commended Mr. Wolff for his principled position in protecting the rights of Oaklands renters especially in light of Mayor Browns failure to consult with tenant activists before selecting a new representative for the rent board.

During an interview with Mr. Wolff and others after the shut down of the meeting, it was apparent that this is of major concern to the renters movement of Oakland seeking to
gain some political ground that might help to free people of the eviction for profit system
and the outrageous never ending rent increases. How could this have possibly happened, asked a bewildered eyewitness? It\'s a lock-out at the rent board!

Regarding tonight\'s lock-out, where this is going is hard to say, and according to sources this has never happened before in the rent board. But already, renters of Oakland are lining up to support Andrew Wolff against the strong arm tactics of Mayor Jerry Brown and his landlord friends, even if it means that the rent board is shut down till doomsday. Mr. Wolff himself is concerned about the future of the rent program that has recently been dominated by landlord forces trying to gain total control of any resistance to their demands in Oakland, as he explained his position.

It was Elihu M. Harris, who appointed Andrew Wolff to Oaklands rent board back in 1998 in an effort to strengthen Oaklands rent control laws. Mr. Wolff is an attorney at law, a tenant activist with Just Cause Oakland, and was the board member who recently speerheaded efforts by the rent board to successfuly vote for a Just Cause Evictions Measure on two occaisions with the majority of the rent board. Allegedly, landlords and the Mayor were livid at the rent boards votes to support a Just Cause Evictions Measure, and sources say that Penelope Pahl, the Director of the rentboard pulled the plug on such activities by changing regulations so that this will never happen again while she is in charge. Oaklands rent board has 7 board members. Two board members are landlord reps, two are tenant reps, and 3 are neutrals. Number of members whose terms will expire in the year 2001, are 3. Present board members are Andrew Wolff (tenant rep), Bridgett Berigan (tenant rep), Kathryn Cash (neutral), Michael Clark (neutral), Nina Tanner-Smith (landlord rep), Allen Beeles (landlord rep), and Rebecca Eisen (chair person). Allen Beeles and Rebecca Eisen were not present at Thursdays meeting when the rent board was shut down. Sources say, that the Mayor has in mind to appoint a fellow by name of Amad Monsari as a replacement for Andrew Wolff on the rent board, if or when it re-opens.

Soooo, who has the power to shut down the rent board and keep renters from having their cases heard? Sources say, that those present at the rent board meeting were litterly shocked by the proceedings, and questioned the legality of it.

Oaklands rent board hearings generaly start around 7 p.m., twice a month on Thursdays.
Sources say, the meeting of July 26, 2001, started late, around 7:45 p.m. Sources also say, that the there were enough board members present to make a quorum, and that the hearing process had no legitimate reason to have been shut down. All were present except for Beeles, and Eisen. Acting Chair Person Kathryn Cash, directed the meeting to order, and made a roll call to get the evening under way, sources say. According to sources, allegedly it was the city attorney Rick Elgin who pressured acting chair Kathryn Cash to shut the hearings down before another step was to be made. Allegedly, the Mayor is knee deep in this unlawful attempt to deny Mr. Wolff of his lawful right to fulfill his duties, and to deny Oakland renters of a fair process devoid of political muscle.

During Mr. Wolff\'s interview, he states that when he first arrived at the rent board upon the evening of July 26, 2001, the landlords were shocked to see him there, but it appeared that the other board members had no idea as to what was going on, except landlord rep tanner. Mr. Wolff goes on to state that he was immediately approched by a city attorney named Rich Elgin, who challenged him and asked why are you here? Allegedly, he was also approached by Penelope Pahl the Director of the rent program, also asking Wolff what are you going to do? Sources say, that it appears that the landlords were tipped off that the Mayor tried to strong arm Wolff out of the rent board, and that their surprise was apparent when Wolff showed up. Sources also say, that by shutting down the rent board and hustling everyone off before the hearing cases could proceed, that it would only be fair for Wolff to insist that the hearings be rescheduled so that he can fulfill his duties to the citizens of Oakland until his term expires on October 20th, 2001.

Anyone wishing to offer their support to Andrew Wolff and the renters of Oakland on this matter, may feel free to leave a message with; Tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

Oaklands Mayor Jerry Brown certainly has a challenge on his hands, and he needs to justify his wanton abuse of power and irresponcible intimidation tactics, say Oakland activists.

Oakland is not alone in needin protections for renters and the following is a list of California cities that have rent control laws.
* Berkeley
* Beverly Hills
* Campbell
* Cotati
* East Palo Alto
* Hayward
* Los Angeles
* Los Gatos
* Oakland
* Palm Springs
* San Francisco
* San Jose
* Santa Monica
* Thousand Oaks
* West Hollywood
* Westlake Village

The following info pertains to Oaklands Rent Control Laws, and the rent program.

THE RESIDENTIAL RENT ARBITRATION SECTION OF OAKLAND, CA.

Allegedly, Ordinance 9980 C.M.S. establishes a Residential Rent Arbitration Section to resolve disputes regarding rent increases for those willing to defy the landlords. This ordinance may apply to all residential rental units, except the following:
a) units owned by a governmental entity;
b) certain care facilities;
c) religious homes;
d) dormitories owned and operated by educational institutions;
e) transient accommodations;
f) non-profit cooperatives;
g) buildings that were constructed after January 1, 1983; and
h) buildings in which the owner has incurred substantial rehabilitation costs.

Allegedly, landlords must notify all tenants in writing of the existence of the Residential Rent Arbitration Section if their feeling up to obeying the law, and must post a notice of same in all vacant units. That notice must include the unit\'s previous rental amount, but as of yet the majority of the landlords in Oakland ignore the law so that they can really stick it to the tenants when it comes to raiding their bank accounts...

For any more information, please feel free to contact the Residential Rent Arbitration Section in the Community & Economic Development Agency, 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 5th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612; or call (510)238-3721, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 4:30p.m. You too can challenge rent increases....

Perhaps one of these days the rent board may actualy have some hearings again so
that renters may challenge unlawful rent increases, but until that time occurs it remains closed until further notice, and everyone is locked out as of July 26, 2001.

The surreal world of Politics in Oakland has just opened up a new chapter in the unreal world of strong arm Mayors that have no place in a decent society of law abiding citizens. Resident\'s of Oakland are welcome to contact the Mayor to demand that Mr. Wolff be allowed to finish his term on the rent board without political interference, or at the least to request that the Mayor justify his apparent unlawfull conduct.