Rally Against Big Money and Predatory Landlords

Are you curious who's behind all the huge No on M signs around town? Have you wondered who the No on M campaign's biggest supporters are locally and otherwise?

Meet us at Trescony park, where we will be marching from to do a demonstration at one of the larger signs, at 1612 Mission St. We want to highlight Harry Dong, the owner of the building at 1612 Mission Street, who is a landlord and opponent of Measure M. He preys on desperate tenants to draw the highest possible rents he can.

In 2017, Dong told tenants applying to live in his rentals to bid above his original asking price. Dong emailed: “Many more qualified applicants have applied to rent these houses than usual — […] If you and your group are willing to pay more, then please email me the amount of the proposed monthly rent you are willing to pay, along with the address of the house or houses you would like to rent.” (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Because tenants are struggling to find basic shelter, Dong knows he can price gouge and most of us will just have to take it. Tenants with more money will win out and have shelter, the rest of us will live in cars or the woods.

The No on M campaign insists that they are good landlords that charge fair rents, but for some reason they are comfortable with Dong displaying their sign. Maybe its his $1000 campaign contribution.

He and landlords like him are supported by incredible amounts of money from real estate interests from out of town. No on M has raised close to $750,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to fight rent control here. Some contributions:

$10,350 from 1010 Pacific Investors in Belmont, CA
$20,800 from Selby Development Group in Menlo Park, CA
$48,000 from Contra Costa Re Investors in Danville, CA
$175,000 from the California Association of Realtors in Los Angeles, CA
$200,000 from the National Association of Realtors in Chicago, IL

Don't let wealthy property owners and industry dictate Santa Cruz politics!