Stop retaliation and evictions by Cornell and Associates in Sonoma County

Call to Action from Sonoma County Solidarity Network

EMERGENCY PHONE BLAST: Call Cornell and Associates to stop retaliation and eviction

When: All day Friday, Sept. 6th, from 9am to 5pm.

What: Phone and Email Blast on Cornell and Associates Property Manger Susana Manio

Call Susana's office and cell phone at 206 329 0085 ex 61 and 206 779 5996. Tell her that you are aware of her illegal retaliation against tenants for organizing, and that she and Cornell and Association should revoke their ten day notices against the tenants. Please see the call script below, if you need some more help.

In addition to calling Susana, we also think it could be extremely worthwhile to alert her two bosses, the co-presidents of Cornell and Associates, about her heinous behaviour. Their names are Blake Cornell and Bart Flora and their email adresses are bcornell@cornellandassociates.com and bflora@cornellandassociates.com. You should also feel free to call them if you are so inclined at the same number as Susana at extension 12 for Blake and extension 13 for Bart.

The idea with these emails is to tell them all about what Susana is doing, how totally unprofessional she is, and what you think about her behavior. I have pasted the text of the email I am going to send as an example below, but please feel free to get creative!

Why: Tenants at the Sterling Manor just off Aurora Ave have been living in horrible conditions. Leaks are so bad ceilings have collapsed, bedbugs infect common spaces like laundry rooms, and a pervasive mold problem has lead to respiratory problems for tenants and their children. Despite repeated requests to make necessary repairs, management has ignored all efforts to get something done, responding to each request with "ok, thanks."

Last month tenants organized a committee to address some of their concerns, primarily the mold, and delivered a letter with 25 Seasol members at their offices in Eastlake. Cornell and Associates quickly moved to retaliate against the tenants, and are now threatening two with beginning an eviction process. This is illegal retaliation.

To prevent these tenants from being evicted we need to fight back! Let Susana and her bosses know what you think of her deplorable action. Defend the Sterling Manor Tenants Committee!

Sample Call Script:

Hello Susana,

I'm a supporter of the Sterling Manor Tenants Committee and Seasol. I've been informed that you've taken illegal action by retaliating against tenants for seeking for repairs for their building. Obviously this behavior is morally reprehensible as well as being illegal. You should do the right thing by revoking the 10-day comply or vacate notices. The tenants deserve a healthy living space, as is required by law. Meet their request by providing mold remediation services for their building immediately.

Thank you.

Sample Email Text:

Hi,

I am writing to ask you to do something about the unprofessional behavior of your employee, Susana Manio, at Sterling Manor. She does much more than simply ignore tenant's requests for necessary repairs. As you surely know, her negligence is actually so extreme that it prompted almost thirty people to show up to your offices in person two weeks ago just to make sure she received a letter she couldn't ignore! What does that tell you about her as a property manager?

Tenant's have asked your company generally and Susana specifically for some simple repairs and so far they have been met only with retaliation.

She has now posted 10-day comply or vacate notices on at least two tenant's doors threatening to evict them. This is flagrant retaliation for daring to assert their rights as tenants by signing and delivering a letter to Susana ten days earlier and it is illegal under the Seattle Landlord-Tenant's Act. More importantly for Susana and your company, this sort of harassment won't work. Susana is a liability to you and I suggest you do your job by getting her under control. Tell her to stop harassing tenants and start cleaning up Sterling Manor. If not, it will be clear that Susana's retaliatory actions are not an isolated incident, but a systemic problem at Cornell and Associates. An escalating campaign of public pressure will continue with the Seattle Solidarity Network (seasol.net) until Sterling Manor is properly cleaned up.