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Board President’s Message
BOARD PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Fighting to Save Our Rental Businesses
and Investments in Real Estate
Let’s get ready to be active together!
By Cheryl Turner, President of the Board of Directors
y the time you get this magazine issue, we will be pretty close to knowing the results of the June 7th primary election...or perhaps, you are picking up this issue a bit late and the results are already in.
As City Halls and Halls of Administration throughout the Southland, and at hallways at our State Capitol all begin to re-open, it
is time to once again consider going back to pre-pandemic “normal” and embark on a strategy for in-person meetings with our elected officials. One of the activities that many of us used to be involved in and had enjoyed over the years as members of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles prior to the pandemic was organizing our members to attend City Council and City Housing Committee meetings to advocate on issues affecting rental housing providers. Some of us would also meet with Council Members and their staff in council offices.
We did the same by making the trip up to Sacramento to spend a couple of days meeting directly with members of the legislature and their staff, and on occasion the Governor and his staff, to discuss a multitude of state housing issues. Many of us also experienced travel to Washington, D.C. on behalf of the National Apartment Association where we met members of Congress and the U.S. Senate to discuss how the Federal Government could provide funding and assistance on a few housing-related issues such as funding and policies concerning Section 8. We look forward to getting back to
these important lobbying activities very soon.
Our organization has always been very active and on the forefront of legislative matters that directly impact our members and that could potentially impact our collective investments in rental property. We have assembled a strong team of advocates, who are the “best of the best” in the industry led locally by our Director of Government Affairs, Danielle Leidner-Peretz, who along with her team covers more than 150 local jurisdictions within our chartered territory. Leading our efforts in Sacramento we have retained the services of Kate Bell and her team at Kate Bell Strategies, which has consistently ranked among California’s top lobbying firms. Our lobbyists are extremely well-qualified, hardworking and they understand the issues we face extremely well.
But it is time, and long overdue, for us to consider again getting active and organized to add our political clout as rental property owners to create strong advocacy efforts since we have been, more and more, fighting to save our rental businesses and investments in real estate, and along with that, our legacies of apartment ownership for our families. Who better knows the “ins-and-outs” of owning and operating rental housing than those of us who are involved in the day- to-day business of being rental housing providers? So, let’s get ready to be active together. Be sure to look for our next call to action – count on it...soon we will be asking you for your help. If we show up in numbers, we can and will prevail. I assure you of that!
Sullivan-Dituri Realtors
Residential Income Commercial
Call...
Joseph E. Fitzsimons William T. Dawson
310-453-3341
www.Sullivan-Dituri.com
Member of the Apartment Association
sullivandituri
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SALES LEASES EXCHANGES
2111 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica, California 90403
Serving The Apartment Industry Since 1962
APARTMENT AGE • JUNE 2022 11