Opposing factions gear up to keep or kick rent stabilization and tenant protect ordinances.

A few days after Monterey County Elections released the names of the measures for the November 3 ballot, Protect Salinas Renters held a press conference outside of Salinas City Hall on Monday, Aug. 10. 

“In November of this year, voters will have the opportunity to vote no on Measure H and reject the undemocratic repeal of critical renter protections and rent stabilization in Salinas,” said John Silva, a retired doctor and member of Protect Salinas Renters, the group that led the signature-gathering effort to get the measure on the ballot.

Voters will decide with a yes or no vote on Measure H the fate of four ordinances enacted by the Salinas City Council in 2024: rent stabilization capping annual rent increases at 2.75 percent or 75 percent of the consumer price index, whichever is lower; a rental registry, creating a database of all rental units in Salinas; just-cause eviction, requiring landlords to provide three months’ relocation assistance in evictions; and a tenant anti-harassment ordinance. 

Measure H asks voters whether an ordinance to repeal the rental protections, Ordinance No. 2687, passed by a new Salinas City Council in May 2025 by a 5-2 vote, should be adopted. For those who support the original rental ordinances that means a "no" vote on the measure. 

The yes on H group has gathered under a very similar name, Protect Salinas Residents, and is in favor of repealing Ordinance No. 2687 citing impacts to local landlords and contending the state already has adequate legislation in place to aid renters. The group is encouraging people to vote "yes" on Measure H.

“These local ordinances go far beyond that, adding layers of bureaucracy, public registry requirements, and financial burdens that serve politics far more than they serve people,” Ignacio Fregoso, who is campaign committee chair for Protect Salinas Residents, said on the group’s website. 

Protect Salinas Renters leaders called the opposition’s tactic “a blatant attempt to confuse voters.”

For over a year, Protect Salinas Renters, a grassroots coalition formed with doctors, teachers, students and renters, has been at the forefront of a campaign to protect the rent stabilization and tenant protection ordinances.

After the City Council voted to appeal the protections, the coalition gathered thousands of signatures and collected enough for the referendum. It left the Council with three options: undo their vote; send the matter to the voters in a special election; or combine it with a general election in 2026. The council opted for the third option, Measure H. 

The original ordinances are still in place pending voters' decision, and the repeal was temporarily put on hold.