A Message from AAGLA Board President, Cheryl Turner

We are appalled at the racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ, and other discriminatory and hurtful comments made by City Councilmembers Nury Martinez and Kevin de Leon, which were apparently condoned by Councilmember Gil Cedillo during an apparent private meeting over redistricting. In response, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles had issued a statement expressing our outrage and extreme disappointment – You can see our statement below this message.

While the three Councilmembers were engaging in their horrific, prejudiced discourse, there did appear to be some acknowledgement of the problems faced by us landlords and that City Council is being overwhelmed by renters when making City Council decisions.  At the time I am writing this message, Nury Martinez, had resigned as President of the City Council and later resigned her office completely, and it appears for now that Gil Cedillo will finish his term in a couple of months. We will see how Kevin de Leon responds to his role in this matter.

At the time of this writing, we are concerned about the major organizational changes that have occurred or are occurring in the Los Angeles City Council’s structure. With Nury Martinez’s resignation from the City Council, Paul Krekorian has been elected as the new President of the City Council, which is  also known as the “President Pro Tempore.”  Councilmember Krekorian is a rental property owner and an attorney. He should understand our issues as rental property owners who have now been deprived of rental income during the past nearly three years under pandemic-related regulations. Councilmember Krekorian should understand that many of us have been the victims of renters who were “gaming the system” claiming they cannot afford to pay their rent since they were not required to show any evidence that they unable to pay due to COVID-19 impacts. He should also understand the legal ramifications associated with the City Council’s decisions on these matters. However, he unfortunately has repeatedly abstained from voting on all rental housing issues that come before the City Council, to avoid any potential conflict of interests.

Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon were removed from all of their committee assignments. Nithya Raman is currently the Vice Chairperson of the Housing Committee. Councilmembers Harris-Dawson, Krekorian and Lee are members of that committee. Will Councilmember Raman be elevated to the Chairperson of the Housing Committee? And, who else will be added to that important committee? Will the new appointees continue to harm independent, “mom and pop” rental property owners or will they bring a more balanced approach to the decision-making process of that committee? We are closely watching to see whether Councilmember Krekorian will make changes to City Council committee assignments.

As the new City Council President, we are hoping that Councilmember Krekorian will provide some stability to the Council. We should have some answers by the time you read this message regarding the structural changes for the rest of this year. We will have to “stay tuned” regarding the impact of the newly elected Councilmembers who will be installed into office next year.

Let me conclude my message on a more positive note. In March 2022, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and Apartment Owners Association of California filed a joint Federal lawsuit seeking to stop the County of Los Angeles’ enforcement of its eviction moratorium which has remained in effect now for nearly three years. We had a hearing on this matter this past July, and on October 19^th the District Court finallyt ruled and in our favor by granting our motion for preliminary injunction. The Court order gives Los Angeles County until December 1^st to modify its eviction moratorium, and at that same time, the County will no longer be able to enforce its existing eviction moratorium ordinance. While this ruling has come a little bit late, it is a victory for our members nonetheless, and it will allow us to seek a final judgement declaring the County’s ordinance unconstitutional so that our members may attempt to obtain compensation from the County for their lost rent.

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The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles Issues Statement on Racist Comments Made by L.A. Councilmembers Martinez, DeLeon and Cedillo

We are an Association of values. An important, governing principle of our Association stipulates there is absolutely no place for discrimination in rental housing nor in any place or situation. Simply put, discrimination at any level or type should not be tolerated and must be protested in the strongest manner possible.

The abhorrent, racist comments recorded of Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin DeLeon and Gil Cedillo were harmful and a “shock to the system” for all Angelenos of all backgrounds. There is no room for the type of poor judgement and bad behavior recently exhibited by those we elect to public office to serve the public’s interests fairly and without bias. The three councilmembers absolutely must, without further delay, resign their positions on the City Council. This is what the people of Los Angeles want, and it is what Councilmembers Martinez, DeLeon and Cedillo must do following such an extreme lapse in good judgement.

It appeared that very few were spared from the recorded comments recorded of the Councilmembers. We heard coming from the mouths of these three elected officials attacks on race, national origin, religion and even slighted statements concerning renters and rental property owners.

We were shocked and dismayed that Councilmember Martinez and the others also turned their attention and negative commentary to providers of housing in Los Angeles. Too many of our members have suffered greatly for nearly three years under the policies created by this City Council and others to deal with the impacts of the global pandemic. Our members and other rental housing providers were singled-out and forced to shoulder the burden of providing housing services without compensation. Our lease contracts were unilaterally cancelled, lives were disrupted, and many today find themselves in terrible financial predicaments.

Cheryl Turner, the President of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, responded to the attacks on renters and housing providers that were made by the Councilmembers:

“Our organization does not condone any form of discrimination by its members. We regularly provide training in Fair Housing Laws and deplore any form of bias to ensure that all people are treated equally and fairly when applying for rental housing. Accordingly, it is shocking and disheartening to me that three of our Councilmembers had engaged in discriminatory and prejudiced behavior.  Housing providers have been the victims of enough animosity during the past nearly three years under intolerable, COVID protections forcing them to provide housing services without any form of compensation. We housing providers have been criticized and attacked by both renters and government officials throughout the pandemic. Councilmember Martinez’s vicious comments about housing providers is an obvious attempt to continue to ‘stir the pot’ for some unknown political gain. All of us recognize that we have housing issues, but both sides, renters and housing providers alike, need to work together to solve these issues. There needs to be a coming together of both sides so we can stop this political gamesmanship and create true workable solutions with elected officials that we can trust.”