tell traci park to support sanctuary and tenant protections

SUBJECT: Stand With Renters & Immigrants, Not Corporate Landlords 

TO: councilmember.park@lacity.org, star.parsamyan@lacity.org, jacob.burman@lacity.org

CC: councilmember.hernandez@lacity.org, councilmember.lee@lacity.org, councilmember.soto-martinez@lacity.org, councilmember.jurado@lacity.org, Councilmember.McOsker@lacity.org, councilmember.nazarian@lacity.org, councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org, contactCD4@lacity.org, councilmember.yaroslavsky@lacity.org, councilmember.padilla@lacity.org, councilmember.rodriguez@lacity.org, councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org, councilmember.price@lacity.org, cd10@lacity.org, mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org

Dear Councilmember Park,  

I am writing to express my deep frustration with your failure to represent the majority of your constituents—renters, working families, and immigrant communities. Your policies overwhelmingly favor corporate landlords and wealthy homeowners while disregarding the needs of the people who make this district their home.  

Los Angeles is in the midst of a severe housing and homelessness crisis. Rents are skyrocketing, evictions are increasing, and more Angelenos are being pushed into homelessness every day. Yet, instead of standing up for tenants, you have consistently sided with corporate real estate interests. Seventy-five percent of LA renters live in buildings owned by investment firms and corporate landlords—entities that prioritize profits over people. These same corporate landlords bankrolled your campaign to the tune of over $1.2 million, and your voting record makes it clear that their interests come first.  

Your failure to act was especially devastating for the tenants of Barrington Plaza, where Douglas Emmett—a major donor to your campaign—pushed forward one of the largest mass evictions in LA history. Instead of fighting for your constituents, you stood by while hundreds of people were forced out of their homes. Your only action was to request a report on the status of the Ellis Act process—ignoring the fact that these evictions were an abuse of that law. You had the power to intervene. You chose not to.  

At the same time, your actions on homelessness have been equally harmful. While campaigning, you claimed to want solutions to the crisis, but in practice, you have fought against nearly every effort to expand transitional and permanent supportive housing in the district. You opposed the conversion of the Ramada Inn in Venice into temporary housing, opposed the “A Bridge Home” shelter in Venice, and have worked to block 140 units of affordable housing at Venice Dell. 

Your stance on sanctuary city protections is equally alarming. In November 2024, when the City Council voted 12-0 to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance, you were absent for the vote. You later criticized the policy, citing vague concerns about federal funding and public safety. Meanwhile, millions of undocumented Angelenos live in fear of deportation and family separation. You had an opportunity to take a stand for immigrant communities, and you refused.  

Los Angeles thrives because of its renters and immigrants. Nearly two-thirds of Angelenos are renters, and 35% of our population is made up of immigrants. Yet, you continue to align yourself with corporate interests that profit from displacement and exploit vulnerable communities. Your policies are making this district—and this city—less stable, less safe, and less just.  

I urge you to take real action:  

• Support stronger rent stabilization policies, including capping annual rent increases at 3% or 60% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower.  

• Defend and expand LA’s sanctuary city protections, publicly opposing any collaboration with ICE and ensuring city resources are used to protect, not endanger, immigrant families. 

• End your opposition to affordable housing and homelessness solutions by supporting both interim shelter and permanent supportive housing projects in CD11.  

• Stop prioritizing corporate landlords and wealthy homeowners over the majority of your constituents.  

Councilmember Park, your record so far has made it clear where your priorities lie. But as a resident of this district, I am calling on you to change course and stand with the people you were elected to represent.  

Sincerely,