For more coverage - including video - visit Bay Area Indymedia.

“Don’t Sell To Zell!” shouted East Palo Alto tenants and supporters, as they rallied on August 22nd in front of a Wells Fargo branch in downtown Palo Alto. The demonstrators protested Wells Fargo’s pending arrangement with investment group Equity Residential, of which Sam Zell is the founder and chairman. The proposed sale would transfer ownership of more than half of the rent-controlled housing in East Palo Alto.

East Palo Alto is one of the few affordable communities on the San Francisco Peninsula and is home to many people of color. Sam Zell is a well-known opponent of rent control, and has jokingly called himself a "vulture capitalist". His company, Equity LifeStyle, has sued multiple California cities to invalidate local rent control laws, and funded a statewide ballot measure to end rent control in California.

Wells Fargo made a stated commitment to involve the community in transitioning the property to new ownership. Protesters accused the bank of breaking their promise to East Palo Alto tenants.

FAIR USE NOTICE. Tenants Together is not the author of this article and the posting of this document does not imply any endorsement of the content by Tenants Together.  This document may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.