79 - 'Strong Mayor' and California's Looming Eviction Crisis (8.4.2020)

We're joined today by two very important guests to discuss two very big issues.

Sacramento City Council is on track to have its most progressive and representative dais ever with the addition of Councilmember-elect Katie Valenzuela and District 8 candidate Mai Vang this fall. So naturally our white, male mayor is making a power grab.

Valenzuela joins us to discuss her concerns with Mayor Darrell Steinberg's 'strong mayor' initiative, which both she and Flo have publicly criticized. Among their questions: What, if anything, do the community equity elements in the proposal have to do with a strong-mayor power grab? Shouldn't those be two separate measures? And why on earth does the mayor believe he deserves veto power over city council?

If state officials don't act fast, California is on the verge of an eviction avalanche brought on by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. That's why we're also joined by housing advocate Michelle Pariset to discuss two bills that could put some relief on the state's renters:

- Senate Bill 1410, which would let the state take responsibility the unpaid rent from tenants who’ve struggled to make the payments during the pandemic

- Assembly Bill 1426, which would make it illegal to evict a renter for nonpayment of rent accrued during the COVID-19 emergency and 90 days afterward.

Oh, and did we mention that the city of Sacramento is suing Michelle in a jaw-dropping attempt at voter suppression?

You might remember Sacramento housing advocates gathering over 40,000 signatures to get real rent control protections presented to voters in the November 2020 elections. The city, working on behalf of landlords and developers, wants to silence voters by pulling it from the ballot.

Talk about bad faith.

Thanks for listening and, as always:

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Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.