John M. Lee: Make Your Vote Count

Please vote on June 8.

Since my column last month regarding voting "no" on Prop. F, I have been speaking to many of you regarding this measure and the other propositions that are on the ballot. I have enjoyed the discussions and sometimes debates on the various topics. What I love about this country and this wonderful city of ours is that we can express our opinions freely and exchange information with each other no matter what it is. And, at the end of the day, we all have only one vote that we can use on election day. So, please exercise that freedom and do not forget to vote!

I have spoken to property owners and tenants in the past month about Proposition F, which, if passed, would allow renters to file a petition claiming financial hardship at any time with respect to any rent increase. Payment of the rent increase would be put on hold for a period of 60 days from the date of filing or until a hearing is held and a decision is issued by an administrative law judge. The reaction has ranged from: We should be sympathetic to tenants who are in need, to: If tenants cannot afford the rent, they should just move!

But all have agreed that with the miniscule maximum allowable rent increase of 0.1 percent this year, Prop. F is much ado about nothing. What this proposition amounts to is SF Supervisor Chris Daly and the liberal supervisors' way of punishing property owners and shifting society's, or the government's, responsibility to one segment of the population ... in this case, property owners.

After some discussion and enlightenment, just about everyone agrees that we should vote "no" on Prop. F. People or groups who are taking a no on Prop. F position include Mayor Gavin Newsom, supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Carmen Chu, Plan C, Alice Tolkas LGBT Democratic Club, San Francisco Republican Party, San Francisco Association of Realtors, Chinese Real Estate Association of America, Coalition for Better Housing, SPUR, San Francisco Chronicle and the Committee for Preservation of Rental Housing, just to name a few.

Also of note is that in the voter pamphlet, the majority of the arguments in favor of Prop. F were paid for by the Tenant's Union, a radical tenant's group; whereas the arguments against Prop. F were from a much more diverse group.

In addition, the San Francisco Rent Board, in a letter to the mayor, also expressed concern about Proposition F, stating: "The existing hardship policy is more liberal than the provisions in Proposition F" and that it contains provisions with many unintended consequences for tenants. If the Rent Board is concerned about this measure, shouldn't you be too?

The other interesting race on the June 8 ballot is the election of Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) members. In the past, elected officials tend to shy away from being too involved in the DCCC. However, two years ago there was what some people have called a takeover of the DCCC by the progressive liberals in San Francisco and now the stakes are much higher in the battle between moderates and liberals.

In 2008, with the liberals firmly in control, the DCCC endorsed candidates for supervisor and all won in their districts, thus making the organization a force to be reckoned with. I encourage each one of you, no matter what position you hold on these propositions and candidates, to go vote on June 8!

John M. Lee is the president of the San Francisco Association of Realtors and specializes in the Richmond and Sunset districts. If you have real estate questions, call him at (415) 447-6231.