Stand against Landlord Greed: Demand Cheaper Rent now!
TJ for Multnomah County Commissioner District 3
The cost of living is too high. We can change that. Let's cap rent & utilities, end evictions, and house every person.
Our Goals
Lower the Rent
This is the most important outcome we must fight for because it directly addresses affordability, prevents displacement, and decreases houselessness.
Build Tenant Power
The "free market" is stacked against us. Real estate groups and landlords are organized, so we must be organized better. Only a mass coalition of tenants can sustain the housing revolution we desperately need.
End Evictions
Upwards of 90% of evictions filed in Multnomah county are because the rent is unaffordable to the tenant. Every eviction risks houselessness.
We must protect those already housed.
Decommodify Housing
We can only guarantee our futures by developing housing outside of the exploitive private market designed to enrich landlords. We must build publicly funded tenant-owned social housing for all.
A home for every unhoused person
Our county has the funding and the power to provide safe, dignified, and secure stable housing to every person that needs it. We cannot make any more excuses.
Lower the Rent
Demand the repeal of ORegon's Ban on Local Rent Control
Currently, there is a statewide allowable annual rent increase of 10%, and all localities are banned from implementing a lower limit. Meanwhile, rent is already unaffordable for half of all tenants.We must demand that the state legislature allow us to implement more aggressive local rent control so that we can freeze rent during this affordability crisis.San Francisco has capped annual increases at 1.7% – why can't we?
Lower the Rent
Stop Runaway utility price surges
The Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) has allowed Portland General Electric to raise their rates by 40% since 2022, increasing profits despite objections from Oregon's Citizen Utility Board.Rent control must be extended to our utilities and OPUC's negligence must be answered for.
Lower the Rent
Permanently tie rent limits to minimum wage
We cannot maintain a society where the majority of workers cannot afford to live. Upwards of 90% of evictions filed in Multnomah county are because the rent is unaffordable to the tenant.Businesses are expected to subsidize landlord greed, but fail to keep up – leaving their employees in increasingly impossible situations.We must secure rent caps such that anyone working full time on minimum wage can afford a standard apartment with 30% of their income.
Build Tenant Power
Adopt the successful Tacoma Tenant Bill of Rights
Last November voters in Tacoma, WA passed a progressive Tenant Bill of Rights adding 6 critical protections for renters (pictured).We must pass these same essential rights here in Multnomah county to create stability for renters and level the playing field between tenants and landlords.
End Evictions
Provide a lawyer to every tenant facing eviction
Multnomah county has the highest per-rental eviction filing rate in Oregon. Meanwhile, only 7% of tenants have representation in court compared to 82% of landlords.NYC's right to council program found that when represented, 84% of tenants stayed in their homes and as a result overall eviction filings decreased by 30%.
Decommodify Housing
Create a Public Social Housing Developer
We know that the vast majority of the housing gap in the Metro area is for people making 0-50% of the area median income, but our affordable housing mandate for new construction only targets incomes of 60-80%.Worse, new builds like the Ritz-Carlton's condos just ignore the mandate altogether and choose to pay a fine."Incentivizing" private development will never solve our housing needs. We must follow the examples of Seattle and Montgomery County in creating a public social housing developer to meet our greatest needs.
A home for every unhoused person
Convert Vacant Office & Retail spaces into housing
Currently in the Portland metro area, 26% of retail spaces and 16% of offices are sitting completely vacant. Meanwhile, Oregon has the second highest rate of unsheltered houselessness in the US.While Multnomah receives more money than projected every single year from Metro's Supportive Housing Services tax, a portion of those funds must be used to acquire quickly developable housing for those currently living outside and in temporary congregate shelters.
TJ Noddings
District 3 Candidate
Hey Neighbor! I’m TJ, a third-generation Japanese American and housing organizer with a deep-rooted commitment to social justice, community empowerment, and affordable living. I work as a housing navigator for a local nonprofit that provides supportive services to folks living with HIV, helping unhoused folks get into permanent housing. I’m a proud union member of SEIU Local 503, and a staunch supporter of all organized labor.Outside of work I organize with the Democratic Socialists of America’s Portland chapter, co-chairing their housing working group. We spend our evenings and weekends talking to renters, supporting tenant unions in bargaining with their landlords, and promoting working class advancements for all.I’m running for County Commissioner because I believe in the power of community to quickly enact meaningful, material change. Remember: we far outnumber them. Workers, when organized, hold more power than their managers and bosses. The same is true for renters, which make up half of our county – we far outstrip the relatively small number of landlords that hold disproportionate power over our lives. They have big money and groups like the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly known as the Portland Business Alliance) behind them, but as we organize and claim seats in local government we can rebalance the scales.I’m asking for your vote so that we can work together at the county level to enact a sweeping and immediate housing revolution. But regardless of whether you vote for me, or if you live in a different district, there are even more important actions you can take: form or join a tenant union, run for elected office, demand cheaper rent now!