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As CLUE, we educate, organize, and mobilize the faith community to accompany <br />workers and their families in their struggle for good jobs, dignity, and justice. <br />CLUE <br />b" <br />Clergy & Laity United <br />for Economic Justice <br />Board <br />Rev. Gary Williams <br />Saint Mark United Methodist <br />Church <br />Chair <br />Mary Stancavage <br />Meditation Coalition <br />Chair <br />Derek Smith <br />UFCW 324 <br />Treasurer <br />Rabbi Dr. Stephen J. Einstein <br />Congregation D'nal Tzedek <br />Sacretary <br />Vivian Rothstein <br />Santa Monica CLUE Committee <br />Chao- of Personnel <br />Michael Soto <br />NUHW <br />Chair of Development <br />La Hill Castillo <br />Castillo Consulting Partners <br />Griselda Marlscal <br />SEIU-UHW <br />Rabbi Daniel Mehiman <br />Temple Ner Torrid <br />Glynndana Shevlin <br />Disney Worker, UNITE HERE 11 <br />Melissa McCarthy <br />Episcopal Diocese of Lp5 Angeles <br />All Tea l <br />Teamsters Local 2010 <br />Jennifer Gutierrez <br />Museum of Social Justice <br />John Cager <br />Ward African Methodist Episcopal <br />Pastor Bridle Roberts <br />UNITE HERE 11 <br />Staff <br />Michelle Seyler, J.D. <br />Executive Director <br />Rev. Juan Carlos Durruthy <br />Faith -Rooted Organizer <br />Local Garcia <br />Senior Faith -Rooted Organizer <br />David Jainism <br />Faith -Rooted Organizer <br />Pastor Cue JnMarle <br />Faith -Rooted Organizer <br />Adam Overton <br />Faith -Rooted Organizer <br />Riya Patel <br />HA/Admin Manager <br />Guillermo Torres <br />Director of Immigration <br />Jacki Weber <br />Development Director <br />October 5, 2021 <br />Mayor Sarmiento and City Council Members <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />Dear Members of the Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, <br />On behalf of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), we urge you to vote <br />in favor of agenda item number 9, the enactment of rent stabilization and just cause <br />protections, as well as take the necessary steps to create the rent board. This ordinance <br />was drafted by, and for residents of Santa Ana. Representing the faith community in <br />Orange County, we believe that tenants have the right to live in dignified housing; and we <br />need a tenant protections ordinance immediately as Santa Ana tenants live in fear of <br />recurring rent increases and retaliation in the form of unjust evictions. <br />On September 301h2021 COVID-19 emergency housing protections expired leaving <br />many residents at risk of eviction and displacement, and threatening the culture of our <br />city. Likewise, beginning in October, 2021 all renters who have been financially impacted <br />by the pandemic will be required to pay a significant percentage of the rent debt they've <br />accrued in addition to covering present and future rent payments in full. Figures show 89 <br />percent of rental assistance funds have not been distributed at the federal level. In <br />addition, the federal unemployment benefit programs under the CARES Act ended on <br />September 4Lh, 2021. Yet, many renters continue to face unjust evictions and predatory <br />rent hikes, all while accumulating rent debt. It is unconscionable that as renters recover <br />from this devastating pandemic, they are simultaneously subject to predatory rent hikes. <br />This is especially preposterous when residents making minimum wage of $14 an hour <br />are expected to work 104 hours per week to afford a 1-bedroom apartment. Now more <br />than ever, it is imperative that we enact real permanent renter protections in our city. The <br />ordinance would provide a cap on rent increases so that rent cannot be increased more <br />than 3 percent per year and extend just -cause eviction protections for the majority of <br />renters in the city. <br />The city of Santa Ana has been the hardest hit by the pandemic in all of Orange <br />County, with almost 900 COVID-19 confirmed deaths and over 48,000 confirmed <br />COVID-19 cases. The global pandemic has also had catastrophic economic <br />consequences for residents in Santa Ana. The majority of residents are <br />working-class, low-income, renters (56 percent), extremely rent -burdened (64 <br />percent) and live in mixed -status households. When such a great number of the <br />population is already rent burdened, meaning they are spending over 40 percent of <br />their income on rent, unregulated rent increases put our community members at risk <br />of becoming houseless. Therefore, Rent Stabilization and Eviction Protection policies <br />equal houselessness prevention. <br />Passing the ordinance is necessary. Although California businesses have moved forward <br />with opening up, we must consider that many community members continue to suffer <br />from the consequences of the pandemic due to the tragic loss of their loved ones, <br />overwhelming medical bills, as well as the significant reduction in work hours and job <br />layoffs. Implementing tenant protections would provide immediate relief to Santa Ana"s <br />most economically vulnerable populations including: single mothers, essential workers <br />earning minimum wage, elders living on a fixed income, and thousands of K-12 students <br />464 Lucas Ave #202 a Los Angeles, CA 90017 a 213-481-3740 a w .cluejustice.org a Printed in-house <br />