Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief, Caitlin Rockett Senior Editor, Emma Athena News Editor, Will Brendza Food Editor, John Lehndorff Contributing Writers: Dave Anderson, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Shay Castle, Angela K. Evans, Mark Fearer, Jodi Hausen, Karlie Huckels, Dave Kirby, Matt Maenpaa, Sara McCrea, Rico Moore, Adam Perry, Katie Rhodes, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Tom Winter SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Carter Ferryman Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman CIRCULATION TEAM Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer May 19, 2022 Volume XXIX, Number 37 Cover photo, Nate Larsen As Boulder County's only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism, and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county's most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you're interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper. 690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO, 80305 p 303.494.5511 f 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2022 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.
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The hidden history of tenant activism in Boulder, part 1 by Mark Fearer
I
’m now going to switch focus from rent control to the broader issue of tenant issues. Tenant protection receives relatively little media coverage, even though more than half of the city of Boulder’s population rents. So, it’s no surprise that tenants know neither their history, nor their rights. My first column (see The Unrepentant Tenant, “Boiling frogs,” March 10, 2022) went into a history of Boulder rent control. Let’s expand on the broader tenant history. There’s always been concern over high rental prices and poor conditions in Boulder. At least as far back as 1922, CU President George Norlin “lashed out at profiteering landlords, sensing students were being raked over
BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
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the coals,” according to the Daily Camera. Boulder had rent control at least from 1947-1953 and there have always been housing shortages and complaints about housing conditions. In 1968, Boulder was the fourth Colorado city to adopt a housing code for all housing, but it wasn’t well enforced for rental housing. Organized tenant activism didn’t arrive in Boulder until the following year, in the midst of nationwide student activism on a variety of issues (women’s liberation, gay rights, civil rights, anti-war movement, student empowerment, environmentalism, cultural expectations, etc.). The first call for action to the newly formed Boulder Tenants Union (BTU) in the fall of 1969 was a city-wide rent strike against unfair landlords—more than 1,000 student renters voted for it at a meeting at CU. A few weeks later, BTU focused on one apartment building on the Hill see UNREPENTANT TENANT Page 8
MAY 19, 2022
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