Breaking from the Boss - What two Elk Grove councilmen did not join Singh-Allen opposing rent control Proposition 33?

In a rare case where her political protegees are exerting independence, two of Bobbie Singh-Allen's Elk Grove city councilmen are not joining her in opposing a statewide rent control measure.



If approved, Proposition 33 would allow local California governments to limit rent increases and repeal the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995, which limited local government authority over rent control.

The proposition has attracted strange bedfellows. While the California Democratic Party supports the measure, California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed it. 

This CalMatters story sorts out the numerous claims by both sides. The No side has received significant funding from the California Apartment Association, while the Yes has many progressive organizations in support.  

Locally, two Elk Grove City Council members, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and Councilman Darren Suen, who are currently or have been landlords, opposed the measure quite possibly for personal economic reasons. Singh-Allen and Suen's city council Democratic colleagues, Rod Brewer and Sergio Robles, neither of which have declared rental properties on their economic interest statements, did not add their names to the No list.

For Brewer and Robles, this is a departure from their typical compliance with the mayor's dictates. Since joining the city council in 2022, both councilmen have obediently followed the instructions of their mentor and political svengali, Mayor Singh-Allen. 

Given that Brewer, Robles, and Suen followed Singh-Allen's lead and endorsed Proposition 36 along with Republicans and conservative causes, it is noteworthy that they did not add their names to the No on Proposition 33 list. While Singh-Allen's proteges did not add their names, they did not entirely buck their mentor and support a Yes vote on the proposition.    

While the mayor is likely to be angry with the behavior of her two minions for not joining the No on 33, Brewer and Robles knew better than to be wholly disobedient and add their names to the Yes list. Like schoolboys who know they disobeyed their superior, even Brewer and Robles understand that would be a bridge too far for the Boss.    

Image by Luisella Planeta LOVE PEACE 💛💙 from Pixabay


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