Airbnb: Major Donor to NO on Measure B

Measure B – NO Campaign Reveals Airbnb a Major Donor

CATHEDRAL CITY — With contributions of more than $75,000 from Airbnb to defeat Measure B in this community, the campaign resembles a beloved Bible story, according to some supporters,

“We are seeing a battle of David versus Goliath proportions, with most of the funding coming from outside the city, and sometimes from outside the state,” said Doug Evans, press liaison for Yes on Measure B.

Measure B is a Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulation Measure, which will appear on a March 2, 2021 Special Election ballot.

Many of those supporting YES on Measure B live in Cathedral City. Many are retired and even unemployed. Mayor Raymond Gregory and Councilmembers Nancy Ross, Rita Lamb and Ernesto Gutierrez have donated to the campaign. The Committee to Re-elect Mark Carnevale also contributed.

“There is mounting evidence of the involvement of large businesses with major financial interests in overturning the restrictions the Cathedral City City Council put in place,” Evans said. If they can force a NO vote, they will be free to expand their real estate investments and party rentals throughout the city, disrupting local neighborhoods.”

Major contributors to the NO campaign:

• Airbnb — $76,000
• Palm Luxury Properties, a Palm Springs-based company — $38,725
• I Love Cathedral City (ILCC) — $35,000

Other significant donations were made by companies and individuals in Washington State, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The National Association of Realtors, ignoring protests from their members locally, have been sending misleading mailers to homes throughout the city, Evans said.

“They falsely claim that Cathedral City is instituting a ban on Short-Term Vacation Rentals – which is provably untrue,” Evans said. “They imply the city will lose annual tax revenues of $756,000 a year – also a lie.”

In November, Cathedral City residents overwhelmingly elected two members to the City Council for four-year terms each – Nancy Ross and Rita Lamb. Both support Measure B. The two failed candidates – Alan Carvalho and JR Corrales – are both campaigning to undermine those successfully elected representatives and are supporting the NO campaign.

“The large corporations are flooding local media with lies and misleading statistics,”” Evans said. “On Spanish language radio they are lying about the city taking away rental accommodation from full-time residents. Like all fake news, the opposite is true. If Measure B passes, it will help to INCREASE the amount of affordable accommodation in the city, making our city safer, more peaceful, and with more access to affordable housing.”