Protect our rent-controlled stock
Our rent-controlled homes keep Santa Monica diverse, and once lost, they're rarely replaced. I'll guard them from demolition and conversion, and bring units back under rent control if they are illegally re-rented.
I know how valuable rent control is, because I know what it's like without it.
In my 16 years as a renter I experienced steep rent increases in non-rent-controlled housing. After being displaced, I sought out a rent-controlled unit and found stability in it. I'm now a mother, a homeowner in Sunset Park and SMRR tenant assistance hotline volunteer, running to defend rent-controlled housing and the stability it gives our neighbors and our city.
Screenwriter · Member of the Writers Guild of America · SMRR tenant assistance hotline volunteer
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Why I'm running
Before I moved to Sunset Park, I was a renter for 16 years.
During those years, rent control changed my life. My husband, Michael, and I lived in market rate apartments, where our rent increased wildly at times. One year our rent was raised by 50% because the market supported that.
We finally sought out a rent-controlled apartment, and were able to stay for eight years because of the greatest gift that rent control provides: predictable rent price. We found the stability we needed to start a family, save money, and eventually buy a home in Santa Monica.
Rent control, fought for and won in Santa Monica in 1979, enables the vast majority of the socioeconomic diversity that remains in Santa Monica. It is a bedrock principle of our city that protects over 27,000 of our housing units. But it is constantly under threat, most recently from overreaching state laws. I want to help protect rent control laws, our historic rent-controlled stock, our most vulnerable tenants (and all tenants!), and I want to have a louder voice from within the Board.
More about Heather →
My approach
Balanced growth protects rent control.
Unchecked zoning deregulation destroys existing rent-controlled stock to build luxury towers. Balanced growth protects our current residents, while focusing new affordable development where it makes sense.
Read Heather's priorities →Over 27,000rent-controlled units in Santa Monica today SM Rent Control Annual Report 2025
Over 2,000rent-controlled units lost to demolition, withdrawal, or conversion to non-rental uses since 1986 SM Rent Control Annual Report 2025
~70%of Santa Monica households rent their home U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024
On the Board, I will
Push back on Sacramento overreach
State housing laws, like SB79, increasingly threaten the rent-controlled units Santa Monica depends on. The Board should be the first line of defense, not a bystander.
Advocate to keep neighborhoods livable for the long run
Stability is the point. I will advocate for policies that let residents of rent-controlled housing make Santa Monica their home for decades. Habitability and maintenance held to the highest standards.
Endorsements
Supported by the people who've built and protected rent control here
Hon. Ben Allen
CA State Senator, representing Santa Monica
Denny Zane
Former Mayor and co-founder of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights
Michael Soloff
Co-chair of SMRR and Vice President of the Santa Monica Democratic Club
Tracy Condon
Executive Director of the Rent Control Agency for 17 years
Leslie Lambert
First ever elected Rent Control Board member
Kurt Gonska
Current Rent Control Board Commissioner and former Chair of the RCB
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