Page 12 - AAGLA-MAY 2022

Executive Director’s Message
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
THANK YOU!
Your contributions have made an industry-wide impact
aInd your voices are being heard!
By Daniel Yukelson
n my mind, I do not express my thanks enough. So, allow me to take this time to thank you for your continued loyalty and for always renewing your membership in the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. As most of you know, we are a non-profit organization supported primarily through the membership dues received from members like you.
Now, those of you who regularly read my monthly diatribes know I can be mean-spirited, sarcastic, provocative, humorous, and most importantly, I tell it like it is...at least in a way that I see things! But, this month, I want to seek encouragement and a spirit of cooperation, and perhaps generosity so we here at the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles can continue to forcefully advocate on your collective behalf.
As you know, your dues are renewed annually, and with each renewal invoice, we ask members to voluntarily contribute just a little bit more...just another $80 per year to support our multifaceted political advocacy efforts and litigation strategies...by contributing to our Political Action Committee (PAC), the AAGLA Legal Fund, and our state association, the California Rental Housing Association (CalRHA). The past two years have been very challenging “legislative wise” for all of us, and particularly those who have been impacted by moratoriums on evictions and rent increases. However, the best way we know to overcome destructive regulatory impediments is to fight back with strong political advocacy strategies and when all else fails, through litigation. It is truly unfortunate that we are left with no other choice but to divert funding from other programs and services to lobbying and legal efforts to defeat a constant barrage of overzealous regulations, but that is the world we live in.
It is always us against the world. It is we the rental property owners versus government tyranny. It is freeloading renters in search of a reason to not pay rent or comply with a lease agreement, all backed by government regulation and its unending police powers. At some point, when the music stops, there won’t be a chair for the rental housing industry... unless we wage war and fight back!
WhatisAAGLAPAC? LegalFund?
The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles’ two Political Action Committees, the AAGLA PAC and AAGLA
12 MAY 2022 • WWW.AAGLA.ORG
Issues PAC, which are non-partisan political entities of AAGLA. The AAGLA PAC and AAGLA Issues PAC are dedicated to advocacy efforts to ensure the protection, preservation, and advancement of the interests of rental housing providers throughout California. Contributions to the AAGLA PAC or AAGLA Issues PAC allow us to support and influence lawmakers who can be persuaded to positions of importance we rental housing providers have and who keep our best interests in mind, and our PACs also allow us to defeat ballot initiatives that may strip you of your property rights, and also provide funding for legal challenges as we continue to fight to protect the rights of all rental property owners in the greater Los Angeles area. (See: www. AAGLA/Contribute)
We also have the AAGLA Legal Fund. Contributions to the AAGLA Legal Fund help protect YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS and the rights of all rental property owners suffering under draconian regulations by standing up to overzealous bureaucrats. Your contributions help us to engage in litigation enabling us to fight back and win, and by securing justice and safeguarding Constitutional rights for all rentalpropertyowners. (See:www.AAGLA.org/LegalFund)
Litigation Update
Absent meaningful progress through normal channels of détente, we have embarked on a strategy to “go for the throat” and “sue the bastards” when no other alternatives exist. As a result, during the past twelve months, we have made significant progress in our litigation efforts.
• During March, we announced a new lawsuit filed against the County of Los Angeles in State Court seeking to overturn the moratorium on evictions, which the County has extended until June 2023. Our arguments are focused on the “self-certification” aspect of the County’s moratorium, which we believe are well supported by existing case law.
• We have 3 additional outstanding lawsuits seeking to overturn the City of Los Angeles’ RecycLA trash hauling monopoly, and one each against the City of Los Angeles and City of Beverly Hills seeking to overturn rental registration requirements.
• We have also been a major contributor to our statewide association, CalRHA’s case against the
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