Kimberly Wipfler photos
Hannah Srajer and Emmett Santisi (right) make their rent-cap-bill pitch to Hill resident Johnna Davis during Saturday's canvass.
Hitting the doors in the Hill.
Tenants rights advocates from across Connecticut descended on the Hill to knock on nearly 100 doors in their bid to win local renter support for a new rent-hike-stifling legislative campaign.
The winter air was frigid as volunteers gathered Saturday afternoon in Trowbridge Square Park to meet up for the first door-knocking effort of the “Cap the Rent CT” campaign.
“This campaign for rent caps requires mass mobilization of New Haven residents and residents around the state,” said Alex Speiser, a New Haven resident and Darien high school English teacher who took the lead in welcoming the nine volunteer doorknockers to their Hill assignment. “Canvassing our neighborhoods is the first step to put pressure on our elected officials to pass rent caps, and good cause eviction protections now.”
Cap the Rent canvassers starting at Trowbridge Square Park.
The weekend canvass effort took place two days after the campaign’s official launch during a Thursday night Zoom meeting that was hosted by the Connecticut Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and partnering organizations and that turned out over 200 attendees from across the state.
Thursday’s Zoom meeting and Saturday’s Hill-focused doorknocking were in support of Proposed Senate Bill 138: “An Act Concerning Rent Stability and No-Fault Evictions,” a proposed law that is co-sponsored by New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield and State Rep. Robyn Porter among others and that, if passed, would limit rent increases in Connecticut to no more than 2.5 percent per year. It would also restrict “no-fault” evictions related to, for example, expired or invalid leases. Click here to read the text of the proposed bill itself. Click here to read more about the launch meeting.
The main goal of Saturday’s canvassing effort — the first several planned across Connecticut — was to generate support for the bill by having canvassers talk with Hill tenants about rent hikes and then ask those same renters to reach out to their state representatives to back the proposed bill.
The canvassers specifically targeted those tenants who live in districts represented by New Haven state lawmakers who have yet to sign on to the proposed legislation, like State Reps. Juan Candelaria, Roland Lemar, and Pat Dillon.
Srajer and Alex Speiser leading volunteers through a doorknocking demonstration.
Speiser welcomed volunteers and provided background on the key ideas and goals of the campaign.
Unstable and unpredictable rent increases disproportionately burden Black communities, seniors, and people with disabilities, he said, and lead to higher rates of homelessness and eviction.
In Oregon, California, and 200 other municipalities across the country, rent stabilization is working, Speiser said. He then detailed the proposed rent cap bill currently before the state legislature in Connecticut.
Volunteers, including Melinda Tuhus (left), in the Hill Saturday.
The nine volunteers then split off into smaller groups to knock doors on various routes across the Hill neighborhood. Each group received a clipboard with informational brochures and pages to record contact details for supportive constituents.
Between houses on their route list, canvassers Hannah Srajer and Emmett Santisi spoke with a man named Gregory who had been standing on the sidewalk outside of a friend’s house.
He said that due to rising rents, he was in between places and staying with friends while trying to find an affordable apartment. Gregory remarked that he was more than happy to call his state representative because, by helping the bill, he was “helping himself.”
Srajer and Santisi speak with North Haven resident Pedro Mojica.
The two canvassers also found support on Saturday from Hill resident Johnna Davis, who said that it was far too cold to be evicting folks for no reason.
And they talked to Pedro Mojica, a North Haven resident who called steep rent hikes “ridiculous” and asked for further information on how to contact his representatives.
Srajer and Santisi even spoke with a landlord who said she knew very well that the rent was going “up and up” and agreed to call, saying that she would include her status as a homeowner when describing her support of the bill.
Srajer and Santisi, hitting still another door.
A flurry of snow began to fall about an hour into the canvass. That didn’t slow the doorknockers down in their mission to talk to renters. At around 3 p.m., volunteers met back at Trowbridge Square Park to debrief.
Across the board, those canvassed seemed enthusiastic about the cause and energized to take action to help the bill get passed. One volunteer described Saturday’s outing as the “easiest canvassing” of their life thanks to the unanimous support for the cause they heard at the doors..
It's about time for this. The landlords have asked for it with their abusive rent increases and other tactics and with many keeping their properties in poor condition making tenants suffer for months on end. Time for the State and city to step in and put an end to this. Fines need to be raised much higher, rents need to be confiscated to be used for all repairs ASAP. They do it when heating fails and they ought to do it for everything else. Sen. Looney, Mayor Elicker WHERE ARE YOU!