First, the article gives the impression that the eviction proceedings that are presently taking place in the Robinson Rancheria Tribal Court are related to the disenrollment of tribal members that occurred at the end of last year. That is not true. The eviction actions have been brought against eight tenants of Tribal Housing because they violated the terms of their lease agreements with the Tribe’s Housing Commission. Those violations include failure to pay rent, the storage of broken down cars and other junk on the rented property, and disturbing the peace. The eviction proceedings were begun only after repeated requests that the tenants pay their mortgage/rent and stop behaving in ways that were disturbing to the community.
Second, all of the tenants who are being evicted were given notice of the eviction proceedings and an opportunity to present their side of the story to the Housing Commission at hearings scheduled last week. Not one showed up to present arguments for why he/she should not be evicted. Instead the tenants skipped the hearing and attempted to interfere with the business operations of the Tribe’s casino, the source of the revenue that the Tribe uses to fund tribal programs the tenants have benefited from for years.
Third, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a report citing to deficiencies in the Housing Commission’s compliance with certain federal grant program requirements, those compliance issues relate to matters of procedure and record keeping. They have been addressed and are being resolved. More important, those compliance issues have nothing to do with the evictions.
As anyone who has ever been a landlord, tenant, or home buyer knows, making your rental or mortgage payments is required if you want to rent or buy a home. The tenants being evicted by the Tribe have failed and refused to pay rent for years. The article cited the case of a tenant who owed $4,000 back mortgage payments, which would represent over two years of payments.
Furthermore, as anyone who has ever been kept awake by the noisy and obnoxious behavior of a neighbor knows, and as everyone who has ever had a pleasant neighborhood turned into a junk yard by thoughtless neighbors knows, a person’s refusal to meet basic community standards can make life miserable for the entire community. If these people were not tribal members taking advantage of tribal housing, they would have been evicted long ago. No one would be writing articles about the
unfairness of the process.
It is unfortunate that the Lake County News has chosen to allow the tenants to portray themselves as victims without investigating the facts of the situation. It is also unfortunate that the Lake County News has decided to portray a landlord tenant dispute as a political purge. Both the tribal community and the greater Lake County community would be better served by more thorough and accurate reporting of local issues.
Nicholas Medina is secretary-treasurer of the Robinson Rancheria Citizens Business Council in Nice.
Editor's note: As with all issues we cover, Lake County News has made the effort to be fair and accurate in its reporting of stories relating to Robinson Rancheria. The information in the article referenced above represents the situation as it was related to us by those willing to speak on the record, coupled with information from federal and tribal documents. It is strange that after months of having our requests for response on these and other issues ignored by tribal leaders – Mr. Medina, in particular, has never acknowledged, much less responded to, our requests for comment – that they complain their side hasn't been fairly represented. We stand by our report.
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