The effort to put a rent control measure on the Santa Ana ballot has failed

The California Apartment Association had until today at 5 pm to turn in enough signatures to put rent control and eviction measures on the next Santa Ana ballot however they did not make it. This means that the rent control and eviction ordinances passed by Santa Ana Mayor Vince Sarmiento and his City Council majority, which includes Jessie Lopez; Johnathan Ryan Hernandez and Thai Viet Phan will go into effect.

The opponents of these ordinances can still take action by opposing Sarmiento when he runs for reelection next November. If they topple him and are able to reelect the anti rent control Council Members (Phil Bacerra, David Penaloza and Nelida Mendoza) then they will have a chance to form a new City Council majority and undo these ordinances.

Sarmiento won the Mayor’s office last year with only a third of the vote. This year he embarrassed himself by referring to Anaheim police officers as murderers when they killed a felon who had been pursued at high speeds. Video footage later appeared to exonerate the police officers. To make matters worse for Sarmiento, his brother-in-law was retained by the family of the dead felon and they may sue the City of Santa Ana.

As bad as the rent control ordinance is the eviction ordinance may be even worse. It was already hard to evict bad tenants. Doing so now will be almost impossible.

Most cities that have enacted similar ordinances have ended up with even less housing as developers steer clear of cities with such ordinances. Moreover these ordinances may prompt current apartment owners to turn their units into condos and get out of the rental market.

The primary reason renters have fallen so far behind in Santa Ana, and in California, is the current inflation crisis that has been fostered by President Joe Biden, coupled with the huge increase in gasoline prices since Biden was elected.