Maria Lopez didn’t set out to become a housing rights advocate. But after receiving a 300% rent increase and then facing the threat of eviction, she joined the Long Beach Tenants Union — and found her voice.
“We have been fighting as tenants and workers for better wages and better living conditions for a while,” Lopez said during a May 1 rally at Lincoln Park. “Raise wages. Lower the rent — that’s our message.”
More than 100 demonstrators gathered Downtown, urging city officials to adopt a rent stabilization policy, increase investment in legal aid for immigrants and tenants, and create a livable wage for the city’s working-class residents. The demonstration, led by several grassroots groups, included speeches, music and a march through Councilmember Cindy Allen’s neighborhood, where protestors stopped in front of properties they said Allen operates as Airbnbs…