Doug Quattrochi: The Voice for Landlords in Massachusetts Media
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Left: Doug on Greater Boston with Jim Braude. Right: Doug on WCVB talking about recreational marijuana.
By: Alexis Gee, Manager of Marketing and Events
This past December brought more than cold weather and sleigh bells, it brought legal marijuana and ‘Just Cause Eviction’.
Executive Director Doug Quattrochi always has a packed schedule, but it was especially full in December. Between running meetings in several locations, writing informational pieces for our newsletters and training a new employee, Doug also somehow found the time to represent landlords in two TV interviews.
Early in December, Mayor Walsh filed a proposal for ‘Just Cause Eviction’; a catchy title for what is in fact a form of rent control. There are a multitude of variations around the country, but the general idea is that it should be difficult or impossible to evict tenants who refuse to pay a rent increase. Tenant advocacy groups have been pushing for JCE for some time. Now we are faced with the possibility of an even worse eviction process and the domino effect it will ultimately have. A few days after the Mayor submitted his proposal, Doug was asked to weigh in on Greater Boston with Jim Braude. In his time on air, Doug addressed that the central problem all parties are trying to solve is the housing deficit. He said passing new laws that will make it more difficult to remove tenants from a rental will not solve the problem.
A week after Doug’s Greater Boston appearance, recreational marijuana became legal in Massachusetts. A day before the law went into effect, WCVB reached out to Doug to get the landlord perspective. Although his piece was brief, his statement summarized how most of our members feel about smoking marijuana in their properties: “Overall, it [the new law] does give landlords the absolute right to prevent smoking and growing for recreational purposes in their apartment, so that’s good.”
As the recreational marijuana situation and ‘Just Cause Eviction’ play out, we plan on fairly representing our members and all Massachusetts landlords in the media. We’re so proud to see that Doug is becoming the go-to for getting the landlord perspective on local issues. Being an experienced landlord himself and running MassLandlords day-in and day-out, has perfectly prepared Doug to be the sharp and resounding voice of landlords who otherwise would not have been heard.
Follow these links to watch Doug’s TV interviews: Greater Boston. WCVB.
