Akron voters on Tuesday approved a pair of ballot measures that will make it easier for people to access housing. The opponents of the measures, Issues 11 and 12, said previously they planned to sue to stop them from going into effect.
With all precincts reporting, Issue 11 — which would eliminate application fees for renters and allow them to pay security deposits in installments of three or six months — led by a 58-42 percent margin, according to unofficial tallies.
Issue 12, which would treat criminal history as a protected class when it comes to housing, won by a more narrow 51-49 percent margin in unofficial results.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Raymond Greene Jr., the executive director of Freedom BLOC, which collected signatures to put both measures on the ballot. “We won. That’s the only thing to say. The people won.”
At a watch party Tuesday, Greene said the ballot measures were helping Akron build democracy.
While real estate associations, the Greater Akron Chamber and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik all opposed the housing issues, Greene said it wasn’t application fees or security deposits they were mad about in asking people to vote against the measures.
“They’re mad because the people said, ‘We are going to do this ourselves,’” Greene said. “I am beside myself with excitement.”
Young would-be renter thinks security deposit change will help her
Denia Martin and her daughter, Ariana Rush, both voted in favor of the issues. The Highland Square residents said they thought a measure that would eliminate application fees and allow renters to pay their security deposits over as many as six months would make a difference for people.
“It makes the deposit affordable for young ones and even those who fall on hard times,” Martin said. “I’m glad individuals did the groundwork to get it on the ballot because it’s necessary.”
Rush, who is 21 and lives with Martin, said she’d like to get her own place, but with rents of $1,200 a month for a “decent apartment,” it’s hard for her to come up with twice that in order to be able to move out.
Both also voted in favor of Issue 12, which treats criminal history as a protected class when it comes to housing. Martin said she knew someone who took the fall for older siblings when she was a juvenile who now, as an adult, has had trouble finding housing because of her criminal record.
“I believe in leveling the playing field for everybody,” she said.
Zara Scaccio, who voted Tuesday, said she heard a lot from both supporters and opponents of the ballot measures. She said she could see both sides of the argument.
“A lot of people feel very strongly,” she said. “Regardless of what happens, I hope Akron is better for it. I hope people who need help and need a leg up can get that leg up.”
Next steps include writing legislation
Steve Millard, the president and CEO of the GAC, said he believed the issues Freedom BLOC was trying to address when they collected signatures to put the issues on the ballot were legitimate. But he didn’t think amending the charter amendment, Akron’s governing document, was the appropriate way to make those changes.
Now, Millard said Tuesday, he hopes City Council will convene stakeholders to get the best language possible as it writes the legislation that voters approved.
“It doesn’t give us a lot of space to make changes,” Millard said of the charter amendment process. “We’re just going to see how it goes.”
Millard said landlords had concerns about Issue 12 in particular.
“Who knows who may challenge it,” he said. “We’ve got to see where this thing ends up and go from here.”
Gail Pickett, a landlord who voted against both proposals, said she didn’t think it was fair that renters could potentially access her housing and then not pay the entire security deposit.
She said she could see ways to improve the costs for renters, including by possibly allowing a background check that was good for a year, so potential renters wouldn’t have to pay application fees over and over again — something Gabrielle Trammell-Green, who voted for Issue 11 equated to taking a loss on an apartment she might not even get.
“It shouldn’t be a thing, we have to pay you on a guess,” Trammell-Green said.
Denise Simmons-Bolden, a former Realtor who also voted against Issues 11 and 12, rents to her grandson. She said she worried that the measures will pushed out smaller landlords.
“Unfortunately, sometimes, people take your kindness for weakness,” she said.
Pickett said she knows that, even with a background check, there’s no guarantee of what tenants will be like. But she didn’t want to give up any potential pieces of information.
“I can see where things need to change,” Pickett said. “I’m not against the change, but that’s not the way to change.”
City Council will turn ballot measures into legislation
Greene, with Freedom BLOC, said the measures are now in City Council’s hands to write the legislation that will put the ballot measures into action.
He said he expects backlash, including higher rents for renters to make up for some of the potential early losses of a full, up-front security deposit for some.
But Greene said he’s already thinking about what the next steps will be for the organization. Wednesday is a day to rest, he said, then the work begins again.
“No matter what the developer said, this community is ready for change,” Greene said.
