Oakland Renters Rally To Save Rent Board

Oakland Renters Rally To Save Rent Board
By Lynda Carson 8/25/04

Oakland,Ca-Friends and supporters of wrongfully dismissed Commissioner
Andrew Wolff, started showing up in front of Oakland City Hall upon the early evening of Thursday, August 23, 2001, as a challenge to the policies of Mayor Jerry Brown. This was a rally to save the rent board from the corrosive politics of big monied interests that seek control of the rent board through the underhanded schemes of Mayor Jerry Brown. As the activists made their way to City Hall, the sky above was dabbed ablaze with brightly colored orange clouds from a setting sun, as the sea gulls flew by overhead amidst the sounds and smells of Oakland\'s urban madness.

The activists accompanied by Oakland renters, converged upon the steps of City Hall in unison to express alarm and condemnation for the unlawfull dismissal of
Commissioner Wolff from the rent board, and demanded the immediate reinstatement of Wolff to the rent board. In the realm of Oakland politics, this
has been viewed as the gambit for establishing a weaker tenants movement,
in measure to serve notice to the Land Lord Lobby that Oakland is wide open to the exploitation of it\'s renters. In the past, Commissioner Wolff held his ground on the rent board against unlawfull rent increases, and on two occasions pushed through a Just Cause Evictions Measure that landed in the lap of a hostile City Council. Wolffs removal from the rent board has been viewed as political in nature, and was done in an underhanded fashion. The result was to anger the community at large, and stack the rent board with weak tenant representation. Mayor Jerry Brown, et al, has been sued for the strong-armed tactics of attacking Commissioner Wolff, and Oakland renters. According to Wolff\'s Legal Representative; Hunter Pyle passionately told the crowd of nearly 30 supporters at hand, that the expedited case to return Wolff back onto the rent board goes before Judge Richmond of the Alameda Superior Court as soon as September 6, at 2 P.M. Pyle went on to say that this was a travesty of justice, and that he could not say no, to the law suit.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Wolff was well aware of the stress he was feeling over the situation, and tried to prepare himself for the scene that awaited him.

Feeling abit nervous and very emotional, Commissioner Wolff stepped out of his car from in the parking lot across the street from City Hall, and used a car window as a mirror to check out his attire before making his scheduled appearance. Wearing a dark suit, white shirt, with a stripped blue and white tie, it was obvious that the tie had to go, and was left behind. As he gathered his courage to meet what lies ahead, a pathway led to the stairs and a door that opened out onto the shadows of City Hall.

A reporter and camera crew from KQED was already waiting for Wolff, and in a moment the decision was made to set up upon the grassy knoll for some interviews. Attorney Phil Rapier was one of the first to be part of the series of interviews by KQED, as the timely arrival of many other participants in this evenings event quickly gathered, and assesed the moment.

As I made my way along the outskirts of the throng of supporters, I recognized
many from past events, and I knew a few from some of the tenants meetings that I\'ve attended. I noticed that Chris Bruney of KPFA was already working the crowd for some interviews for the Friday news broadcast, and I started to focus on where to start for my own interviews.

I started with Randy Silverman of Berkeley\'s Rent Board. When I asked why he was here to challenge Mayor Jerry Brown, Silverman charged that; Oakland\'s rent laws have a huge loophole without Just Cause. The loop hole leaves renters defenseless, and may partialy explain the many slum conditions throughout Oakland. Renters often get evicted in Oakland if they dare to ask for repairs in the rental units they reside in, and low-income renters are the most abused in this cruel system. Silverman went on to say that he used to rent space from Sharon Maldonado, also on the Berkeley Rent Board, and said that not all landlords are bad as he praised Sharon M., for her good deeds, and mentioned that he knew some friends of mine named Greg and Tani who also rent from Sharon.

Wilson Riles Jr., had a moment to spare to share some of his views. Riles is
in full campaign mode as a candidate for being Oakland\'s next Mayor, and the crowd warmed up nicely to him when it was his turn at the megaphone. Before
then we talked abit, and I asked Riles what he thought about this event. Wearing a traditional medicine bag dangling at his waist, Riles told me that he believed that the dismissal of Wolff from the rent board was totally political.
He went on to say that it was heartening to see the variety of Wolff\'s supporters showing up to express thier disapproval of the Mayors actions.

Moments later with megaphone in hand, Riles went on to tell the cheering crowd that he was concerned about the state of affairs for Oakland renters.
The majority of Oaklanders are renters Riles exclaimed, and it\'s not allowable
to jerk Andrew Wolff from the rent board in such a manner. Riles charges that;
based on city policy, renters are of no value in Oakland. Meanwhile, tenant activist James Vann led the crowd into a chant of,\"Andrew Must Stay\".

A host of other speakers took their turns at the megaphone, including Rebecca Kaplan of the Green Party who told me that she needed three months to rest up in Mendocino County after running for Council Member At Large last year. Eighty year old Charlie Betcher was energetic in his role as President of United Seniors, and carrying the torch for the Gray Panthers, in an effort to challenge Mayor Jerry Brown\'s actions. Mr. Betcher told me we need strong rent controls in Oakland. He says, that he thinks that Jerry Brown got old and rich, and that he misses the Jerry Brown that used to have a radio-spot on KPFA. Jerry fooled us all, he say\'s. Mr. Betcher certainly seemed to be an interesting fellow,
and I wish that I knew him better.

Breonna Cole, who is Wilson Riles campaign manager, stated that she believes
the unlawfull removal of Wolff from the rent board is a classic case of how we\'re being governed, and charges that Oakland is run without the input of the
people.

Laura Lane, an attorney with East Bay Community Law Center, claimed that Jerry Brown is hostile to Oakland renters, and removing Andrew is an attack on
all of Oakland renters. She went on to state that; putting Andrew back onto the
rent board would be a good step to renew confidance in his policies.

Everyone had their own views, and Steve Leiken claimed that; removing Wolff
is outrageous, and that Jerry will pay politicaly. With megaphone in hand, Leslie
Dinkins exclaimed that we need Just Cause, and thanked the crowd for showing up to support Commissioner Wolff. It was just about time to move inside to confront the rent board in Hearing Room 1, and Eddie Ytuarte urged everone inside.

But before that, Andrew Wolff had his turn with the megaphone. Briefly, Wolff
states that he appreciates that people showed up for the nights event to support him and the rights of Oakland renters. He went onto state that he believes that his removal from the rent board had to do with his involvement with Just Cause, and maintained that he believes that we still need Just Cause.

With that said, the crowd was ushered inside of Hearing Room One, to confront the Rent Board, and the new appointee of Mayor Jerry Brown who was already sitting in Commissioner Wolffs seat. Ahmad Mansur, was sworn in by the City Manager Robert Bobb, for Mayor Jerry Brown, while the City Council was conveniently away on vacation. Under normal circumstances, the Mayors
appointments to boards and commissions, come under the scrutiny of the City Council and need at least 5 Council votes to approve the appointments. None of this was done in accordance with the regulations set forth in Oakland\'s City Charter, which clearly states that Commissioner Wolff was entitled to a Hearing before his dismissal, and that it would take at least six Council Members to vote him out of his seat from the rent board. As a result of the political shenanigans of Mayor Jerry Brown in his attempt to trample upon the City Charter, his new appointee Ahmad Mansur was tossed into a boiling cauldron of emotions, as one after another of Wolff\'s supporters stepped up to the podium demanding that he step down immediately. In a green shirt, Mr. Mansur sat there grim faced with a smirk upon his face, as he silently watched the crowd
before him voice their opinions.

Janet Arnold, a claims specialist with the Social Security Administration, passionately described some of the tales of horror she hears from her clients,
who claim to be terrified by the eviction for profit system of Oakland. She works with the disabled of Oakland, and strongly is in support of Andrew Wolff
and Just Cause. She went on to say that; theres no protections for the elderly
or the disabled in Oakland from those that evict for profit. Indeed she is right, and as proof, a recent Task Force Report from city staff reveals that the 2 Year
Moratorium On Rent Increases in Oakland (meant to hinder evictions for profit),
was actually writen in such a way that it could not be enforced, and as of yet
none of the theiving landlords have been under any pressure to even pretend
that this law affects their criminal activities. Millions have been swindled from Oakland renters during the reign of the Jerry Brown Administration, and not even one of the landlords face prosecution.

When pro-tenant attorney Phil Rapier stood his turn at the podium, he spoke of
some victims that he represented for the Eviction Defense Center, run by Anne Omura. Rapier described a scumbag by name of Paul Maguire, who recently bought up over 200 rental units in Oakland, and who immediately began to evict the African American residents, only to replace them with Spanish speaking immigrants that were then being charged double the rents. The unseemly evictions ended up in the courts after the renters decided to fight for their rights, and the case went before Judge Hodge. A jury declared that this Paul Maguire (scumbag) has been discriminating against the African Americans with
these unlawfull evictions, and the tenants won their case against this inhumane
treatment. The tenants resided at 8001 Mac Arthur Blvd, in Oakland, and Rapier
wanted people in the Hearing Room to know this.

To the astonishment of the crowd, Rent Board Commissioner Kathryn Kasch, started laughing at Rapiers tale of woe. Someone in the audience cried out; you are laughing at this? Then the outraged crowd of supporters cried out; SHAME!
With this being to incredible to be believed as being true, I was relieved to learn that the people from KQED got Commissioner Kasch on tape as she laughed from Phil Rapiers passionate tale of woe for his clients. This evenings turn of events, shed a light on Jerry Browns Kingdom of the damned in ways that surprised us all. Commissioner Kasch was one sick bitch, and in no position to be on the rent board!

After a few more speakers took their turns at the podium, including Larry Shoup, and Ben Kawakami, demanding Just Cause and that Commissioner Wolff be reinstated on the board, I was pleased to see that this event was coming to a close for the evening. I\'ve been sick for a number of days, and was starting to feel very fatigued.

Andrew Wolff finally took his turn at the podium. Feeling very emotional, Wolff stated that he felt slandered and frustrated, and believed that he was removed for political reasons. He told the crowd that he was standing up for his principals, even though he felt offended and disappointed. He went on to promote Just Cause, and mentioned that he felt overwhelmed.

The crowd quietly dispersed shortly thereafter.

When I last spoke with Andrew, I asked, how do you feel? He said that he just wants to go home, take a shower, and go to bed. He was tired and emotionaly wrought. Andrew asked me if he should have been so emotionaly transparent?
I think I said, that I believe that he would probably have been a dead man if he failed to have these feelings.

The next stage of this travesty is the court case number 2001-20532, coming up on September 6, at 2 P.M. , at Superior Court of Alameda, with Judge Richmond presiding. Any supporters of Commissioner Wolff are welcome to the Court House, as Andrew Wolff VS Jerry Brown, Rebecca Eisen, Kathryn Kasch, The City of Oakland, and the Rent Board.