All residents are entitled to stability, safety, privacy, dignity and peace in their homes. I support:

• Defending and enhancing tenant protections and rent control, so that tenants remain secure in their homes, while ensuring safe neighborhoods, so all residents feel safe where they live.

On the City Council, I successfully sponsored Proposition 1, a 1999 City Charter Amendment Prop protecting against unfair evictions, which was approved by Santa Monica voters with 71.8% of the vote, that established that "a tenant in a controlled rental unit cannot be evicted unless the tenant has committed a material and substantial violation of the lease which the landlord has not waived or otherwise lost the legal right to use as the basis for an eviction." I also helped lead the creation of relocation funds for tenants during substantial building remodels.

• Directing the bulk of new residential development outside of existing neighborhoods, so as not to encourage the displacement of existing residents and affordable rents.

Why new housing? The 'jobs heavy' jobs/housing balance in Santa Monica has created significant traffic and congestion. Why new affordable housing? The 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act by the State Legislature decimated Santa Monica's affordable housing stock, causing over 20,000 previously rent-controlled units to rise to market rates. Today people are paying greater percentages of their income to live here. Standard urban planning doctrine says it should be 1/3. But many pay 1/2 or more. I support:

Producing new affordable and work force housing, as well as purchasing / rehabbing / deed-restricting existing affordable housing, so people can live closer to work and we can enjoy a diverse community of people from all income levels. New housing should be focused in our downtown, as well as along our major commercial boulevards -- and in those cases, scaled to fit nearby neighborhoods.

We also need to emphasize the creation of more two and three-bedroom units as part of this production, so that families can find a home in our community - as well as affordable starter units, including for young people raised here who want to remain in the community after they move out of their parent's homes.