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A petition to impose additional rent control and just cause eviction limits in Redwood City did not meet the required number of signatures to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.
The petition, filed with the City Clerk on May 21, 2024, initially passed a preliminary count of signatures, prompting a detailed verification by the San Mateo County Elections Office. However, the review found that many signers were not registered voters within Redwood City’s jurisdiction.
In May, community leaders gathered in front of city hall to turn in signatures for the petition, which they said would lead to fair rent control measures.
The group stated that the measure, titled the “Fair and Affordable Housing Ordinance,” would help alleviate the city’s “skyrocketing” rents by implementing rent control and tenant protections that ensure a ‘fair return’ for small-scale landlords.
But on Monday, July 8, the Redwood City Clerk issued a notice of insufficiency to the petition’s proponents confirming that the city would take no further action.
Faith in Action, an advocacy group pushing for the measure, issued a statement following the city’s notice and dismissed the claim that the signatures were invalid.
“We were shocked and disappointed to receive the notice from the city last night, said Linda Goldman, Faith in Action member and Redwood City resident in an email. “At this point, I can tell you that this fight is not over because we are committed to continuing our work to protect the dignity of Redwood City renters and to keep families in their homes.”
Goldman added the group would be “consulting with our attorneys and will be requesting more information from the city and county so that we can explore all available options at our disposal to address the county’s findings.”
Goldman said grassroots leaders put in tremendous effort over the past few months to collect thousands of “valid signatures.”
“In collecting signatures, we asked each person if they were registered to vote in Redwood City. So, the findings of the San Mateo County Elections Office were a complete surprise, given that we turned in close to 150% of the signatures needed to get on the ballot. We’ll be seeking more information from the Elections office about the signatures that were found invalid,” she said.
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