Our ballot measure is picking up steam
Here's what that means for Housing Authority 🥹
We’re about to enter the final four weeks before Measure 26-238, Eviction Representation for All, is voted on. Election Day is May 16 and ballots go out on April 26 so if you live in Multnomah County, Oregon tell your friends (!!).
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Eviction Representation for All is a citizens’ ballot initiative we have been working on for almost three years. It’s a volunteer, tenant-led project to bring tenant-right-to-counsel to our county eviction court to fight the imbalance of power tenants face when they’re being forced out of their homes.
It’s endorsed by over 60 organizations and pissing off all the right people. And I’m really proud of that. But at the same time, I am feeling:
Last week, some campaign volunteers and I participated in an interview with the Oregonian Editorial Board to inform their Yes/No endorsement of our measure. The Oregonian is the regional “newspaper of record” and is historically hostile to progressive campaigns and policies. The opposition campaign was present, of course, and we spent the whole hour fielding questions about the tiny capital gains tax increase we’ll be leveraging on rich people to pay for the program while the interviewer completely ignored how the measure would demonstrably decrease homelessness and displacement.
The whole process really illuminated the catch-22 leftists’ experience while policymaking in America. At every turn, the opposition said: “We know eviction is a problem, but it shouldn’t be solved in this way.”
This is bullshit, and we know it’s bullshit.
We were told early on that we wouldn’t be able to start a new program without funding. But when we found a novel source of funding that only targets the very wealthy, the wealthy stand behind disingenuous identity politics and tell us we were going about things the wrong way.
The political class, which is to say, landlords and other rich people, will never show an ounce of solidarity with those they view as their lesser. They’ll claim to care about housing and homelessness, but they balk the instant a proven solution comes along.
Their criticisms and recommendations are never in good faith. They want general funds (meaning income tax on wage labor) to pay for everything while their day trading and business income remains taxed at lower rates and it's crucial we keep that in mind. We cannot let the people responsible for the current disastrous state of affairs dictate policy to us.
After all, if the rich in Portland had their way, homeless people would be rounded up into policed concentration camps. No, that isn’t a joke. So when in doubt, keep this handy rule in mind: don’t listen to people whose best idea is doing nothing and worst idea is doing Nazi shit.
So while we’re entering the final push of the campaign, here’s what to expect from Housing Authority.
We paused billing - we won’t be charging for paid subscriptions while our hearts and minds, thoughts and prayers are focused intently on something other than this newsletter. Billing will resume in June.
The content we will be publishing will be very ERA focused - if hearing about the campaign isn’t something you’re interested in, no hard feelings, we’ll catch up with you after May 16.
We will be sharing opportunities to help the campaign - if you want to donate a $6 happy hour beer to the cause, if you want to help us text and/or phone bank, stay tuned.
Love it. Almost there for the ERA campaign. You can do it :)