On Monday, Causa Justa launched a $10,000 fundraising campaign to fight gentrification. Anonymous donors offered up the first $10,000 in the hopes that the public would match that donation level. When Causa Justa surpassed that goal by raising $17,087 in just three days, the original donors provided an additional $10,000 on the condition that public donors again match their donation. According to their Facebook page, Causa Justa is only $4,000 away from reaching that goal. The money will be used to support two local policies.
The first is an anti-speculation tax in San Francisco intended to protect over 160,000 low-income tenants from being evicted.
The “antispeculation” tax, which would apply solely to smaller, rent-controlled, multiunit buildings, will join several other housing measures on an already crowded November ballot. It asks voters to approve a graduated tax that decreases the longer an owner holds onto a property – starting at 24 percent of the selling price if a building is sold within a year of purchase, falling to 14 percent at five years and disappearing in the sixth year. Read more.
The second is a Healthy Homes Ordinance in Oakland intended to protect 180,000 low-income renters in Oakland from landlords who neglect to make repairs. The ordinance will fine landlords who do not comply with the city code to maintain a safe living environment free of mold, asbestos, lead paint and other harmful materials.
To celebrate the success of the campaign, Causa Justa will host a party on August 24th at El Rio’s Salsa Sundays party.
There is still time to donate, although the deadline is fast approaching. The campaign ends tonight at 8 p.m.
Protect 160,000? Don’t believe it.
A fund-raiser to fight the improvement of a neighborhood? Now there is a worthy causa.
Of course, that organization would have no relevance if the neighborhood actually did fully improve, so they have a vested interest in maintaining the current level of squalor and deprivation.
It’s a wonderful thing to dream of changing nothing. Very conservative.
Thank you Mission Local for promoting Causa Justa :: Just Cause’s fundraising campaign!