Santa Cruz Together raises $60,000 to fight rent control

By Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/government-and-politics/20180801/santa-cruz-together-raises-60000-to-fight-rent-control

AUGUST 1, 2018, SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz Together, a group formed to fight stricter rent control rules on the Nov. 6 ballot in the city of Santa Cruz, has raised nearly $60,000 from 120 mostly local donors, according to the latest campaign finance reports. The sum is double the $30,000 raised by tenant advocates who wrote the 33-page measure going to voters but it is dwarfed by the more than $383,000 raised by an opponent group sponsored by the California Apartment Association.

Thus far, rent control opponents have raised 15 times the money raised by tenant advocates. The Movement for Housing Justice submitted the measure to limit rent increases and restrict evictions after Zillow reported rents in the city rose 46 percent in four years and tenants shared stories of evictions disrupting lives. Opponents agree there is a housing crisis but say the restrictions will make the housing shortage worse. Santa Cruz Together qualified as a campaign committee in April and submitted campaign finance reports covering April 1 through June 30, spending $10,500, with a balance of $49,000.

The most common occupation of donors was “retired,” listed by 50 individuals. Thirteen real estate agents, eight property managers and seven real estate companies made donations as did a voice teacher, an art therapist, a farm owner and a marriage and family therapist. The largest donor was Karon Inc., of Santa Cruz, which sells homes and manages rental properties and made donations in April and June totaling $9,995.

Chelsea Wagner, retired in Santa Cruz, gave $5,000. Walt and Dorothy Eller of the Walt Eller Co., a Santa Cruz company with residential properties for lease, contributed $4,000. Real estate investor Ken Carlson of Santa Cruz gave $2,500. Santa Cruz resident Lynn Renshaw, a leader in Santa Cruz Together, gave $1,310, and Dan Coughlin of Santa Cruz, a co-leader of Santa Cruz Together, gave $1,005.

Peter Cook of Lighthouse Realty, another leader in Santa Cruz Together gave $1,000 in April. In July, he urged rental property owners to give $400 per unit to fight the rent control measure and said he had a check for $4,800 for the 12 rental units he owns in the Beach Flats neighborhood, a sum that is not included in the latest finance reports. State law requires Form 497 to be filed by local campaign committees receiving contributions of $1,000 or more in the 90 days before an election, which would be Aug. 8.Dan and Jean Sullivan, Santa Cruz retirees, gave $1,200. The $1,000 donors included John and Linda Burroughs of Santa Cruz. He’s the chairman of Lighthouse Bank and a retired financial adviser and she’s retiring from her real estate career. Other $1,000 donors in Santa Cruz were: Hollie Locatelli, a bookkeeper, Robert Falconer, retired, and Virginia Coe, retired.

Santa Cruz residents giving $500 each were: Janel Garvin, market researcher at Evan Data Corp.; Michele Replogle, agent with David Lyng Real Estate; Jerald Spodick, broker with Jerry Spodick Real Estate; Marisa Stout, Stout Rental Property manager; and Russell Weisz, retired. Locust St LLC in Santa Cruz also gave $500. Street addresses are redacted from the campaign report, and a search of the Secrtary of State’s website did not turn up information on the limited liability company.

The $500 donors from outside Santa Cruz included: Rossana Bruni, Soquel, property manager, Distinct Properties; Mark and Trish Schwenne, Aptos, property managers; Rick Moe, Soquel, housing developer; Zack Fusari, Los Gatos, general contractor; Lowell Bookman, Soquel, investor; and R&K Proeprties, Scotts Valley.

The biggest campaign expense was $2,370 to Sentinel Printers of Santa Cruz for campaign literature, $1,530 to Blue Heron Design of Santa Cruz for web page services, and postage, $1,294 to Costco and $1,150 to the U.S Postal Service.

Full article: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/government-and-politics/20180801/santa-cruz-together-raises-60000-to-fight-rent-control