Do Families Come First in Concord?

CONCORD, CA (Apr. 4, 2025) — Under pressure from the California Apartment Association (CAA) and corporate landlords, such as Vasona Management, the Concord City Council voted 3-2 on March 25 to rescind important parts of its recently passed tenant protection ordinance.

At this meeting, the CAA and corporate landlords stooped to a new low of depravity. Dozens of paid agitators showed up at the City Council meeting holding signs with a sticker from the CAA thanking them for showing up. I personally observed Rhovy Antonio, a CAA vice president, paying for food delivered to them. City police favored the group over protesters the ordinance, allowing them to pack the meeting, even though a few members of this group shouted threats at tenants rights activists and tried to provoke physical fights.

Concord’s city slogan is “Where Families Come First.” The CAA is not a family. Local governments should be doing everything they can to keep their residents as safe and secure as possible in the face of the federal onslaught against all that our most vulnerable families need to survive.

Rev. Millie Phillips, Oakland

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