Ahead of Special Meeting, Some Local Residents Say They Oppose Tornek, Landlords on Rental Board

In correspondence to the Mayor and the City Council, several local residents are asking that three landlords that sued the City and a former mayor not be appointed to the rental housing board.

The City Council will hold a special meeting to appoint members to the Pasadena Rental Housing Board at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The board will implement and enforce Measure H, a voter approved rent control measure that passed in November.

The new law required local landlords to roll back rents to May 2021 rates.

Measure H also limits local rent adjustments annually to 75% of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for multifamily rental units built before February 1, 1995, and prohibits evictions from rental units, except for just cause evictions based on 11 criteria.

Three landlords that have applied to sit on the board Ahni Dodge, Simon Gibbons, and Tyler Werrin teamed with the California Apartment Association and unsuccessfully attempted to sue the City to invalidate the rent control initiative.

“Ahni, Simon and Tyler are actively trying to destroy all parts of the law that they would be responsible for implementing as members of the rental board,” wrote Jane Panangaden. “If their lawsuit fails, and they are appointed, they will surely use their positions on the board to sabotage the implementation at every turn.”

Panangaden also said the board should not appoint former Mayor Terry Tornek.

“During his time as Mayor, Terry Tornek was adamant in his opposition to rent regulation,” she said. “He is part of the reason why we as a Tenants Union had to pursue a ballot initiative in the first place. The results of last November’s election revealed that a strong majority of the city disagrees with his position.”

Other notable residents that have applied to sit on the board include District 3 Candidate Brandon Lamar, rent control organizer and former District 6 City Council Candidate Ryan Bell, Occidental Professor Peter Dreier.

“Though it may currently seem litigation over voter approved Measure H has come to a close with the honorable Judge Mary Strobel’s ruling upholding the will of the people, the plaintiffs attorneys have issued a statement stating they are considering their options including an appeal of Judge Strobel’s decision,” wrote Robert Escobedo. “Ms. Dodge, Mr. Gibbons and Mr. Werrin are petitioners in this lawsuit and should not be seated on the board as they actively sue the city.”

Each Councilmember will nominate two tenant members and five at-large members.

At large nominees will be ranked based on the number of nominations the nominees would get, as agreed upon by the City Council.

“The City Council has a responsibility to choose appointees that will do a good job implementing the law that voters put in place,” wrote Ashay Patel. “This means it is fair game to exclude people who are clearly opposed to the law, as well as those who are literally suing the city to erase it. If Pasadenans see the City Council play political games with the Rental Board appointment process, the voters will remember, and it will harm tenants who are relying on this law to stay in their homes. Let’s avoid that problem altogether.”