Delano rent control advocates say they have nearly 3,000 signatures for November initiative

BY STEVEN MAYER smayer@bakersfield.com

Rent control advocates in Delano recognize that the housing crisis is widespread and that rents are on the rise across the country, not just in Delano.

But this northern Kern County farming community has a legacy of fighting for social justice, they say, and might just be the perfect place to take a stand against out-of-control rents.

"We are going to the November ballot. Rent control will be on it," promised Arturo Rodriguez, communications director for the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance, a collection of groups and individuals advocating for rent control in Delano.

Rodriguez and other advocates said they have turned in nearly 3,000 signatures from Delano voters, well more than the 1,700 required to qualify the petition for the November election.

As home rental costs have soared in Kern County and across the state, supporters of the rent control initiative in Delano have been knocking on doors for months in an effort to get the issue before voters.

If it does get on the ballot, and voters ultimately approve it, Delano will become the first city in Kern County with rent control.

The way the initiative is currently written, it will not affect rentals built after 1995, organizers acknowledged Tuesday. In fact, they said, no one knows exactly how many renters in Delano would be affected by the passage of the ballot measure.

The petition states the proposed ordinance would limit rent increases to a rate that’s 60% of the annual change in the federal consumer price index. Rents would not be able to rise more than 3% per year, though exemptions would apply.

There would also be new restrictions on landlords' ability to evict renters, along with new prohibitions on actions such as intimidation of tenants and bad-faith negotiations.

According to the campaign's coordinators, more than half of renters in Delano are rent-burdened, which means they are paying more than 50% of their income on rent.

Johnny Itliong, the son of Larry Itliong, a well-known labor organizer and Filipino leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, joined the advocates Tuesday.

"For me, it's a continuation of what my father started back in the day," Itliong said. "He came here in 1929, and it's the same issue, housing for the farmworkers.

His father always said the fight is about housing, that it's always been about housing.

"When big companies come in from L.A. and into Delano, and raise prices like it's Los Angeles ... it's an issue," he said.

It's all about speaking up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, he added.

Citing data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Community Survey, organizers said in a news release the risk of homelessness increases when rents surpass 30% of a household's income.

The city of Delano saw a 20% increase in unsheltered homelessness between February 2022 and March 2023.

"I was born and raised (in Delano), went to all local schools," Yolanda Chacon-Serna said at Tuesday's news conference.

Rising rents, she said, have forced her to move out of her own community.

"Corporations make billions in profits, and we can't even afford to live in our own community."