Guest Opinion | Simon Gibbons: Rental Board ‘Unelected and Unaccountable’

Last month, Pasadena City Hall saw the naked use of political intimidation to create an unelected and unaccountable group to control Pasadena’s housing. 

The laudable aims of ensuring affordable housing and resolving disputes have been overshadowed by the assault on constitutional norms.

As a new US citizen, it’s been an amazing experience to take part in civic life by applying to be a member of the Rental Housing Board. 

I got to meet some interesting people as I went door-to-door to collect the 25 signatures I needed to apply. Many of them were neighbors I’d only know as someone to nod to in the street.  

Others were entirely new to me, and I met long-term Pasadena residents, new arrivals from across town or across the country, immigrants like me, students, musicians, classic car buffs, and many other people with stories that resonated with me.

Attending the City Council meeting to appoint the Rental Housing Board was also an exceptional experience.  

There were moments of emotion, like when the Council started to talk about the importance of including Spanish-speakers and immigrants on the Board. 

Although my own immigrant experience was not the same as some of those speaking, I still felt proud that the USA continues to celebrate the new people who come to this country every year.  There were moments of drama, such as the experiences some tenants described of being poorly treated by landlords.  

There were moments of comedy, such as the sight of Council Member and trial lawyer Steve Madison asking the same legal question of the City Attorney three times, in a desperate attempt to avoid making a political decision.  

And then there were moments of pure political menace. 

One part of my journey to becoming an American in 2021 was preparing for my citizenship test.  A lot of the questions concerned the ways in which a citizen can participate in our democracy.  

As I told my examiner, we can publicly support or oppose an issue, we can give elected officials our views, we can write to newspapers, and many other things.

Sadly, not everyone at last Wednesday’s meeting felt that it was acceptable to exercise the right to publicly oppose certain issues.  Instead, activists lined up to say that only those who agreed with them should be considered for the Rental Housing Board.  

The three Pasadena landlords who had had the temerity to challenge their quest for power in court?  Well, clearly we should be disbarred from these positions for daring to exercise our legal right to challenge an unelected group with no oversight and no budget control from taking over all rental regulation in Pasadena. 

That’s disappointing, and it was frustrating to be disparaged by activist after activist, none of whom have ever met me.

I really think there is value to having a Rental Board that can resolve disputes between landlords and tenants without spending months or years in court. I had genuinely wanted to help drive fast and fair outcomes for tenants as a member of the Rental Housing Board.

My concern, and my reason for adding my name to the legal action against Measure H, is that it’s just not right or constitutionally valid to create an uncontrolled one-sided Board to choose what happens to the property I spent my life savings on.

I wish the members of the Board well. I’ve had a chance to meet some of them and I’ve been impressed by the commitment to fairness and civic values I’ve seen from them.  But in the end, Pasadena deserves better than this – the naked exercise of political force from a single-issue group of activists, and a chilling effect on those of us who stand up for our rights.  

Simon Gibbons

Simon Gibbons co-owns and manages 12 apartments in Pasadena, and applied for a position on the Rental Housing Board on April 19th.  He is also one of five Pasadena landlords who filed an unsuccessful suit against the City to overturn Measure H