Tenants United for Fairness

An unprecedented number of Berkeley residents and community members attended a convention Sunday, in which four candidates were chosen to run for the city Rent Stabilization Board on a pro-tenant slate this November.

A group of Berkeley property owners is seeking at least $500,000 annually to fund a coalition for landlord rights.

Unlike the city’s school board and City Council elections this year, all candidates who are running for Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Board are guaranteed a position.

At a convention Sunday afternoon, over 100 Berkeley residents elected five candidates to run for rent board on the pro-tenant slate this November.

The number of formal complaints of election law violations filed by city residents was more in this year’s election compared to those filed in previous years.

On Tuesday, Berkeley’s Fair Campaign Practices Commission heard a complaint alleging that Tenants United for Fairness, one of the two slates running for the city’s Rent Stabilization Board, violated city and state election laws.

The long-fueled tension between Berkeley tenants and property owners has taken on greater significance for Rent Stabilization Board candidates in this November’s electoral race.