Big money spent on the rent control campaigns: More than $1M raised for San Mateo, Burlingame measures

Opponents’ fundraising efforts have far exceeded proponents in each city who gathered signatures to place the citizens’ initiatives on the November ballot.

Between both cities, proponents for the measures have raised $72,635 to advocate voters approve tenant protections for San Mateo and Burlingame. Advocates contend a significant amount of money is being spent on the local issue by outside special interest groups.

The San Mateo County Association of Realtors and the California Apartment Association have successfully drawn more than $1 million from their active and financially influential stronghold of supporters who oppose rent control.

SAMCAR and the CAA have kept their campaign finances separate. The bold red, white and black “Costly Misleading” signs sprinkled throughout the cities are courtesy of SAMCAR, which formed the Coalition for Housing Equality — one in San Mateo and one in Burlingame.

Coalition spokeswoman Laura Teutschel said many of the group’s members are mom-and-pop landlords who believe the measures are bad for the community.

“Rental property owners in both San Mateo and Burlingame are really really concerned about what this is going to do to our city finances, and what this is going to do to their ability to rent property going forward,” Teutschel said. “SAMCAR membership is really, really concerned about that. They are out there volunteering, they’re out there walking neighborhoods and they’re donating money. That’s how strongly they feel about this.”

SAMCAR has raised $757,889 to oppose San Mateo’s measure and another $158,291 to oppose Burlingame’s, according to campaign finance forms filed with the two cities. Its biggest contributions were from its parent organizations. The California Association of Realtors donated $175,000 to fighting Measure Q and the National Association of Realtors gave $350,000 to oppose rent control in both cities, according to campaign forms. It also received a significant number of smaller donations from residents and smaller landlords throughout the region.

The CAA, which is a statewide agency, is opposing rent control initiatives in multiple cities throughout the Bay Area, including San Mateo, Burlingame, Mountain View, Alameda and Richmond.

It has different reporting requirements as a statewide lobbyist and the CAA Issues Committee has collectively raised $1,095,903 this year alone, according to forms filed with the Secretary of State’s Office.

Those who donate to CAA’s Issues Committee do so not supporting a particular cause, but to advance campaigns that affect the rental housing industry, according to Josh Howard, senior vice president with CAA.

So although CAA has raised more than $1 million this year, it’s impossible to determine whether the funds were raised solely to combat the numerous rent control initiatives on the November ballot.

However, CAA has spent $154,844 to oppose Measure Q and $123,463 to defend against Measure R, according to forms filed with the state.

It’s also spent $293,648 to oppose Mountain View’s Measure V; $151,559 on Alameda’s rent control charter amendment; and $110,042 opposing Measure L in Richmond, according to forms filed with the state.

In total, that’s about $833,556 spent on campaigning against rent control policies in the five Bay Area cities.

One of its largest contributions was $100,000 that came in Oct. 20 from Essex Property Trust, a San Mateo-based company and reportedly the state’s second largest rental property owner. It also received a $150,000 loan from Prometheus Real Estate Group, which has its California headquarters in San Mateo.

Much of the oppositions’ expenditures appear to have been geared toward mailers, polling, campaign signs and TV advertisements.

Proponents have carried out a more grassroots-style campaign, as they did while seeking signatures to place both measures on the ballot.

San Mateo Residents for Community Stability has raised $46,052 to support Measure Q while the Burlingame Advocates for Renter Protections raised $26,583 to promote Measure R. The groups’ largest supporters include Unite Here Local 2, which donated $15,000; Causa Justa, with $8,500; and the Service Employees International Union, with $5,000.

Attorney Daniel Saver, who helped draft both measures, said voters should pay attention to who is paying for the information they receive.

“The ‘no campaigns’ are essentially run by narrow special interest groups,” Saver said. “In San Mateo County, we’re talking about reasonably sized cities. We’re not San Francisco or Los Angeles or New York. The fact that this amount of money is being spent on our local election has the real possibility to distort the political process in our community.”

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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