8/2/23, 3:14 PM Mail - Christine Foster - Outlook
https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox/id/AAMkADQxZjU1MjI1LTZmYjctNDYzMS1hMzQwLWIyOGZkMDEyMmNjOABGAAAAAADF8cX9eOPtQZJowdg… 1/1 Public Comment on Agenda Item 1. Accept Certificate of Sufficiency of Petition Entitled “Initiative Measure Repealing Fairfax Just Cause Eviction Ordinance and Replacing it with Just Cause Eviction Standards in the California Tenant Protection Act of 2...
PJ Feffer <[email protected]>
Wed 8/2/2023 3:01 PM
To:Chance Cutrano <[email protected]>;Barbara Coler <[email protected]>;Stephanie Hellman <[email protected]>;Bruce Ackerman <[email protected]>;Lisel Blash <[email protected]> Cc:Michele Gardner <[email protected]>;Christine Foster <[email protected]> I am writing to urge the Town Counsel to, pursuant to the options available to the Town Council under Elections Code sections 1405 and 9215, submit the Measure to the voters at the next Regular municipal election, November 5, 2024. It would be absurd and cruel to adopt the measure without alteration for all the reasons for which this town admirable adopted the ordinances this Measure seeks to remove, and further in light of the removal of the ability of the Town Council to legislate on this subject matter and the reactionary process.
A special election would also be an bad unjust outcome. This initiative was driven by a deceptive, manipulative reactionary element that at times was outright hateful. As a result of California's elections process the Measure's proponents were able to drown out civil and accurate discussion of the issues, regardless of merit or the ability to stand up to scrutiny to push as fast as possible to for the prize to secure a spot on the ballot. Calling for a special election does not allow for adequate to fully develop and illuminate the issues and actual impacts in and among our community. As of the time this agenda had been posted, there had been no substantive disclosure filings of any kind by those involved in this process. There have been no independent expenditure filings related to the measure, though clearly there should have been given the campaign we've seen so far. Unfortunately, the County of Marin does not investigate campaign disclosure violations. This means that pursuit of civil actions or injunctions is left to the parties pursuant to Section 91001 of the Political Reform Act, and any persons residing within Fairfax. Given the abdication by our local government of enforcement responsibility, the Town Council should allow Fairfax residents the time it needs to advocate for the disclosure and process the public is entitled to have. The public should also have the time to seek additional ballot initiatives to be considered at the same, given the related subject matter, depending on the outcome of the Town's amendment process for the ordinances.
Do not allow this group to rush through what would be an extremely harmful measure. It would be shocking to allow them to force through, via a less than full ballot process, changes that are aimed to allow for the authority to raise rents to higher than currently permitted amounts, and increase the ease and ability to evict people from their homes through no fault of the tenant.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss further.
Thank you,
PJ Feffer