Protect Salinas Renters’ Referendum Campaign
In politics, there are winners and there are losers. A group of community activists might have celebrated victory a little too soon when, in 2024, Salinas City Council approved a suite of renter protection ordinances, including a 2.75-percent rent control cap. Partly in reaction to that, voters elected a whole new council in November 2024. They swiftly voted to repeal the renter protection ordinances, but proponents were not going to be so easily defeated. Under the banner Protect Salinas Renters, they pounded the pavement, gathering signatures for a referendum to undo the repeal, producing more than 6,998 valid signatures required in 30 days, a massive undertaking. Now the matter is set to go directly to voters, a win for democracy, no matter which side of the issue you are on.
