Despite California’s epic affordable housing crisis, many state legislators from the dominant party are beholden to real estate interests.
A Bay Area rent strike could be a harbinger of tenant unrest as California prepares for an eviction tsunami triggered by the pandemic.
The phone bank on Florence Avenue near Western is fully staffed on a Thursday afternoon. Its 20 callers could be hawking solar paneling or copper water pipes to anyone who answers. Instead, the men and women here are selling change in the most populous city in the most populous state in the nation. On this day, shortly before the election, they are contacting potential voters about three of California’s 17 ballot propositions.