The Battle Over Rent Control in the Heart of Silicon Valley

In this episode we take a deep dive into the challenges of tenant organizing in the heart of capitalist Silicon Valley. In the first in-depth coverage of the campaign we interview former local journalist Daniel DeBolt who played a key role with the Mountain View Tenants Coalition. Skyrocketing rents and mass displacement led to a coalition of renters and allies to wage a bitter battle against well funded landlords and a hostile city council to pass a rent control ballot measure that also rolled back rents for thousands of tenants. 

In the post interview commentary, hosts Markie and Pedro relate this to broader conversations around organizing and struggles over displacement in the Bay Area and Los Angeles - including Prop 10, a failed ballot measure in California that sought to repeal state restrictions on local cities enacting rent control. 

Related Links and Resources:

Slideshow presentation on the Measure V campaign with timeline and photos 

Learn more on the Mountain View Tenants Coalition and the Los Angeles Tenants Union

“Why Non-Profits Can't Lead the 99%” by Warren Marr

“From Reform to Revolution” by Ian Martin in the collection “An Anarchist Reader, For Effective Organising” by Zabalaza Books

We highly recommend the collection “Resources on Housing, Tenant Organizing and Gentrification” on the Black Rose/Rosa Negra blog with analysis on gentrification and rent control, interviews with organizers, organizing manuals and resources, models of socialized housing and more.  

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