Yes, My Friends, Proposition 98 went down, but not without a fight.

For those of us who have been shackled with control of our property since 1979, Proposition 98 was a ray of hope. Prop 99 was nothing more than a sham, sponsored by the League of California Cities. Injustice, that’s a fact.

Many of us poured huge contributions into the Prop 98 campaign. But our adversaries with blatant lies and unlimited funds bested us-- almost 60% to 40%. We could not compete with the AARP full page ads in metropolitan newspapers and TV Spots in prime time in support of Prop 99 and the blatant lies. In Los Angeles alone, AARP ran not one, but two full page ads on Election Day, and constant spots in prime time.

(From conversations I have had with members in Santa Monica, Berkeley, and San Francisco, AARP has lost a goodly number of members. I say BRAVO!)

I can remember when my Mother took pride in attending meeting of the League of Women Voters for non-partisan discussions of issues. Not any more. Their support of Prop 99, and the spurious ads parroting the big lie that landlords are greedy ogres and tenants live in fear of being homeless, could not have been more partisan.

Yes, Prop 98 went down, but ACTION’s fight will continue!

This generation has taken up the battle of ACTION Army heroes Gordon Gitlin, Jim Baker, K.B. Huff, John Rodriguez, Elaine Dobrin, Wilho Miller, John Jurenka, George Nyerges, Chet Hoover, Al Kindt, Vern Perhall, Loraine Sklut, Wilma Morely and many, many more. And most recently, Joel Goldberg. They are all at peace.

Things have definitely changed. We don’t hire tanks to circle City Hall. We don’t carry picket signs. We don’t crash the Rent Board’s parties celebrating rent control. We don’t stage protests. We don’t paint buildings black. We don’t unnerve the rent board commissars with sheer numbers of protesting activists at their meetings. We don’t inundate legislators with photos of out buildings suffering from deferred maintenance.

Perhaps we should.