Judge Edits Pro, Con Arguments for Rent Control in Escondido

A war of words in a Vista Superior Court courtroom Thursday led to the deletion of some arguments for and against a controversial Escondido ballot initiative on mobile home rent control.

Portions of arguments by backers of rent control for mobile home parks were ordered removed from the ballot by Judge Jeffrey T. Miller after a brief hearing late Thursday. The judge struck statements referring to the rent-control proposal as “court-tested” and arguing that 6,000 mobile home tenants, mostly senior citizens, “face economic eviction” if rent control does not pass.

Miller also ordered stricken from the rent-control proponents’ arguments statements that an opposing measure, the Fair Property Rights measure, would cause the city “now and forever” to give up its rights to protect its citizens and could cost taxpayers up to $350,000 to make sure that mobile home owners were not left homeless.

Rejected Request

Miller also rejected a request by Escondido Mobilehome Political Action Committee, the park tenants’ group backing the rent-control measure, to have the word “fair” removed from their opponents’ Fair Property Rights measure.

The judge allowed to stand a statement in the EMPAC argument for rent controls that the Escondido League of Women Voters had endorsed the measure. League spokeswoman Helen Polatchek said that the group’s executive board had not taken a formal vote supporting the measure when the ballot arguments were submitted March 25, but did so Tuesday.

Carla DeDominicis, attorney for tenants of the mobile home park, cited a San Diego Assn. of Governments study that showed that 75% of county mobile home park tenants are 62 or older and that 100% are “in need of some kind of income subsidy,” but Miller rejected her arguments and her appeal to replace the deleted statements with amended wording.

After the hearing, DeDominicis said her clients were considering appealing Miller’s ruling, an action she said might interfere with the printing of voter pamphlets for the June 7 election.

She charged that Miller had made a judicial error in his ruling against the mobile home tenants.

Charles (Buzz) Dupont, spokesman for the Fair Property Rights backers, said his group had challenged the rent control proponents’ ballot statements because they “misled the community with false information” that could unfairly influence the election.

The Fair Property Rights measure would bar the Escondido City Council from imposing any restrictions on the sale, rental or lease of private property except in specified cases such as redevelopment projects or low- and moderate-income housing programs. In effect, the measure would prevent the city from imposing any sort of rent controls on private property.

Escondido City Clerk Jeanne Bunche was ordered by the judge to make the wording changes before she submits the election materials to the registrar of voters.