We reached out to local landlord, Alysia Mowad, regarding the lawsuit that Meadville Landlords United has filed against the city of Meadville. We did so, as her name appeared on the verification page in the lawsuit against the city. While she stated she couldn't divulge too many details beyond what is actually in the lawsuit, she did give us some insight into the battle that has been brewing.
We asked when landlords became so interested in city council and why. She recalled that this began back when the My Meadville project was happening. Various landlords had attended those meetings to help guide the city into something that benefited all. Mowad stated that on numerous occasions, she or others she knew would make a recommendation, to then have their words twisted. The go-to phrase was "What I think I hear you saying is..." and then what followed was not at all what was stated by the participants. Mowad said she soon realized they already had their plan in place, and she felt her input wasn't actually welcomed.
After such, Mowad discovered Vogel would be running for city council. She admits that she initially supported this venture, even after the My Meadville group meetings where she felt her input was not considered whole-heartedly.
Mowad stated that when some local landlords started meeting, Joe Tompkins was originally on the email list and was regularly invited to attend. He claimed to the group that he didn't know Autumn that well, that he was a landlord and that he was against some of the ideas as well, and that he was not involved with Vogel's campaign. The campaign platform centered on safe, affordable housing and community involvement. This sounded well and good to Mowad, until they started knocking on doors and tenants started reporting the slanderous accusations that came out of the campaign. Nevertheless, it was decided that the landlords would like to discuss ideas and concerns with Autumn and Larry, in the interest of doing what was best for their tenants and the city. Mowad stated that after Vogel had attended a meeting in March of 2020, it was clear Joe's real connection with her and their true intentions of him being involved with the meetings was to report back what they were discussing, in an effort to use this against the landlords later on.
We were able to find an instance of Joe using some of those meeting discussions with landlords in a Facebook post;
When we asked Mowad about the letter Joe mentions, she admits that a discussion and a draft letter did occur. However, to her knowledge, no landlord ever utilized the draft letter that she had created. She provided us with that letter, as well as evidence of her Google Drive activity log, to prove that she had not altered the letter in any way prior to sharing it with us.
After breaking communications with Joe Tompkins, the animosity and tension started to rise even more. Mowad said that it felt as though the entire city was turning on landlords, and true colors started to show when the pandemic went into full gear. Mowad said that an alleged covid-19 task force was proposed by Autumn's husband, Lee Scandinaro. This task force supposedly had the support of various community programs. What they didn't tell anyone, and what likely wouldn't have been figured out, was the true intentions behind the task force. Mowad mentioned that when listening to the proposal from the letter Lee sent, she never heard mention of covid at all. But, when Vogel presented it later on during the meeting, she mentioned covid as the reason for the task force.
We decided to go back to this time and verify the details mentioned by Mowad. While we did request the letter that was submitted, we also have the minutes of those meetings to reference;
From the May 20, 2020 meeting;
At the June 3, 2020 city council meeting, there was a lot of public comment and council discussion regarding this task force. In consideration of time, we'll simply provide a link to where you can find the full minutes of that meeting.
https://www.cityofmeadville.org/vertical/sites/%7B256E8AF9-2CF3-4525-A3F2-7B08979EFAAB%7D/uploads/06.03.2020_Regular_Meeting_Minutes(1).pdf
However, the noteworthy instance is that the motion to create a task force failed. Also, if you're wondering, we do see that Ms. Mowad was in attendance at this meeting and did make public comments.
Mowad feels this is whenever the largest shift in the dynamic occurred. She stated that not only was the failed task force a sour point for Autumn and Joe, and those involved with their group. But this is also the time when Joe was appointed to the Redevelopment Authority. Something that, in Mowad's opinion, gave him a big ego and a thirst for even more power.
Mowad stated that she thinks that Joe being ousted from the group, and his lack of control over the other landlords, led him to become so heavily involved in the Jaime, Gretchen, and Jack council campaign. Something that, in her opinion, led to division and breakdown in landlord-tenant relationships. What ensued from the campaign was nothing short of a landlord hate campaign, plagued with ridicule and slander, according to Mowad. She was constantly seeing posts from the Vote for Meadville campaign, stating "Hold slumlords accountable", something that Mowad feels is offensive to those who don't accurately fit that category. Mowad acknowledges there are bad landlords, but there are also bad tenants. She also stated that after making various comments in disagreement with the Vote for Meadville Facebook page, she found herself blocked from the page altogether. Upon discussing with other landlords, tenants, and community members, Mowad said she found she was not the only one to have met this fate.
A post reference by Ms. Mowad regarding the use of the term slumlord;
Mowad stated that even after the election, and with Jaime and Gretchen making their way onto city council, she and others still tried to show up and voice their concerns to council. Finally, when the rental registration and inspection program came to the front burner in 2022, Mowad says she and the other landlords became heavily involved in city council meetings. She stated that they asked for a discussion with council regarding the program, and after some back and forth with the city manager, Maryann, they were given the false idea that they would be afforded a round-table discussion. A major point of antipathy arose when the landlords discovered via a Meadville Tribune article that they would be given only 3 minutes each to speak at this meeting, and that council would not address any of their questions. After this meeting, Mowad recalled that she reached out to Dornish Law offices to gather insight into what steps they could take. This communication resulted in a letter being sent to city council, outlining the main concerns landlords had, as well as calling attention to the alleged discussion. Mowad provided us with a copy of this letter, which she stated was intended to highlight some of the problem areas with the program, as well as, a plea to stop the development of such a program to avoid issues with the areas that remained unaddressed;
All the while, Mowad said they continued to show up and attempt to be involved in the process that council continued with. Mowad even recalled hearing numerous tenants showing up to voice their concerns over bed bugs, fleas, and viruses being carried from unit to unit by the inspectors. Tenants also felt it was an intrusion into their homes and their private lives, something Mowad said she sympathized with. Showing up to these meetings Mowad said she now feels was a waste of time and energy.
Mowad also mentioned that when the Housing and Economic Development subcommittee was formed, many landlords and even some community agency members, tried to join the subcommittee. According to Mowad, she, as well as others, felt it was a slap in the face for Joe to be the only individual regularly permitted to be at the table developing and discussing the program, with no time restrictions, and full freedom of speech. While others impacted by the program were limited to only making public comments, and not able to discuss and engage in conversations openly.
This, according to Mowad, brings us to the present timeframe in which the problem has boiled to the top and is now spilling over. All of which she feels could have been avoided, had city council been willing to involve even one landlord, aside from Joe Tompkins, in the development process. However, Mowad remarked that after reading various Facebook and blog posts containing some of the communication Joe was having with city staff, it became abundantly clear who was calling the shots on the entire development process.
Mowad refused to comment on the current lawsuit against the city. She did mention that this was not a decision that was taken lightly and that it was never actually the goal or the intention to sue the city. The intention behind the mention of a lawsuit in the September 2022 letter, according to Mowad, was an attempt to halt the train, and have council reconsider its approach. Mowad said they felt that if council refused to hear them and work with them on the matter, maybe council would pay more attention to a letter from an attorney. Ultimately, city council pushed forward, and as we see from the lawsuit, so did the landlords.
Mowad commented that when it comes to inequality in policy and protections, she feels strongly that balance is necessary. When asked to elaborate, she stated that council needs to evaluate the good, the bad, and the ugly of each situation. In this instance, she said it is good to want to protect the housing stock, it's bad they went about it in a way that isolated and targeted individuals who wanted to be a part of developing something agreeable and functional, and it's ugly the way they act towards landlords. Her hope is that people become enlightened to the shady politics of the Vote for Meadville, Crawford County United, and PA United campaigns and that some middle ground can be found on this issue and those that may arise in the future. She also desires to see the city balance a budget without raising taxes, which, in turn, raises rents. Something that she, nor the other landlords she speaks with, really desires to do.
And, without further delay, we provide you with the full details of the lawsuit;
And that, dear reader, summarizes the landlord, and the lawsuit.
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