New AHF Ad Implores Newsom Not to Oppose Rent Control

Governor shares spokesman with anti-renter California Apartment Association and hobnobs with the super-rich while Californians fall into poverty and face unaffordable rent

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) ran a full-page advertisement in the Sacramento Bee Sunday, November 19, 2023 and posted a version on social media asking Governor Gavin Newsom not to oppose rent control as voters will have the chance to support it on the November 2024 ballot.

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AHF ran a full-page advertisement in the Sacramento Bee Sunday, November 19, 2023 and posted a version on social media asking Governor Gavin Newsom not to oppose rent control as voters will have the chance to support it on the November 2024 ballot. (Graphic: Business Wire)

A recent PPIC poll shows 62% of likely California voters favor “a policy that would expand local government’s authority to enact rent control on residential property,” and 55% support allowing local governments to enact rent control.

On October 25, 2023, the Justice for Renters coalition delivered more than 732,000 letters – filling 250 boxes – to Governor Newsom asking that he support, or at least not oppose, the 2024 California rent control ballot initiative. Newsom’s office responded by directing reporters to the spokesman for the anti-renter California Apartment Association (CAA) who also serves as the governor’s campaign spokesman.

“As we head into Thanksgiving and people are making the difficult decision of whether to put food on the table or pay rent, Governor Newsom should have a heart and give renters the relief they have been looking for and the relief he has promised. He should support rent control in 2024 or at least not oppose it,” said Susie Shannon, Policy Director for Housing Is A Human Right. “You cannot align yourself with big corporate landlords and say that you support renters as well.”

An Open Letter to Governor Newsom: Please Don’t Oppose Rent Control calls on the man elected to represent the best interests of Californians to stop jet-setting around the world and start paying attention to the real needs of the people here at home.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.9 million individuals across 45 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, and subscribe to our AHFter Hours podcast.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231120505665/en/

If Gov. Newsom can’t bring himself to support rent control to help Californians who need relief, the least he can do is not oppose it – nor align himself with billionaire developers with no interest in addressing CA's affordable housing & homeless crises.