The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Institute is a California-based  501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes left-of-center, redistributive policies such as government-controlled healthcare, rent control, increased taxation on businesses and wealthy individuals, decreased privatization of public services, and opposition to charter schools. ¹

It is closely allied with California’s labor unions and regularly promotes policies that advance their interests. In 2012, the head of the California Federation of Teachers called the ACCE Institute a “key community partner.” ²

History and Mission

The ACCE Institute was founded in 2010 to train activists across California to organize low-income and minority communities in California in support of left-leaning policies. ^{3 4}

Policy Priorities

Limiting Property Rights

The ACCE Institute advocates for increased government restrictions on property owners’ rights to charge market-rate rents and evict tenants who do not pay their rent. ⁵ In 2018, ACCE led the campaign for Proposition 10, a failed ballot initiative that would have allowed California’s cities to expand rent control. ⁶ Voters rejected the initiative by a 59-41 margin. ⁷

The organization has also advocated for increasing taxes on profits earned by real estate investors. ⁸ It blames “billionaire corporate landlords” for California’s high housing costs, rather than the state’s highly restrictive legal and regulatory climate that has been blamed for making California’s cities some of the most expensive places in the world to build new housing. ⁹

“ReFund California” Pro-Union Advocacy

The ACCE Institute is the public organizer of the “ReFund California” coalition, which advances labor union interests in the state. The coalition’s messaging blames corporations and wealthy individuals for foreclosures, student debt and other societal problems. ^{10 11}

It supported what the head of the California Federation of Teachers called “the largest single tax increase on the rich in California history” with Proposition 30 in 2012, ¹² and claims to have succeeded in advocating for several local real-estate tax increases in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It also supports reforming lending laws and renegotiating interest rates on public debt. ¹³ The ReFund California campaign to raise taxes on oil production in California and direct revenues to the state’s public colleges and universities was coordinated with the national “Higher Ed, Not Debt” policy campaign by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and the American Federation of Teachers to increase spending on government-run higher education. ¹⁴ ACCE Institute is an official partner in that campaign. ¹⁵

Wage and Benefits Mandates

The ACCE Institute supports increased government mandates for higher minimum wages, increased overtime, and government-mandated sick days. ¹⁶ Its tactics are consistent with the “Fight for $15” campaign principally orchestrated and funded by the Service Employees International Union, which is a strategic partner of the ACCE. ¹⁷

The organization was involved in successful campaigns in Oakland , San Francisco , and Los Angeles to pass local minimum wage increases.

Left-Leaning Voter Turnout

The ACCE Institute works to increase voter turnout to support its political goals, especially among minority voters and other demographics traditionally affiliated with the Democratic Party in California. It claims to have 66,000 affiliated voters. ¹⁸

Increased Government Spending

The ACCE Institute works to increase spending on government programs that benefit traditionally left-leaning constituencies such as low-income communities, ethnic minorities, and illegal immigrants. ¹⁹

These include government-funded job programs, health care, and housing as well as increased public school funding and “community policing.”

ACCE Institute has estimated its proposals would increase the size of California’s state budget by more than $5 billion per year. ²⁰Role in the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement

In the wake of the 2008 mortgage crisis, many states began legal actions against lenders they claimed had engaged in illegal or predatory lending activities. In 2010, five of the largest lenders (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Bank) began negotiating a settlement with a joint legal task force representing the federal government and 49 states. ²¹ Representing California on the task force was Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and was a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President during the 2020 election cycle. ²²

In 2011, the ACCE Institute formed a front organization, Californians for a Fair Settlement, to pressure Harris into maximizing California’s share of any potential settlement. ^{23 24} She briefly removed California from the negotiations, but eventually returned and the state was part of the final settlement agreement.

While ACCE claimed victory in its work to pressure Harris and she herself claimed that her tactics increased the benefits to Californians impacted by the housing crisis, independent observers disagreed. The left-wing media site The Intercept noted that the payouts Harris negotiated for foreclosure victims were roughly equal to an average month’s rent payment. ^{25 26}

1. “ACCE Institute (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment).” The Center for Popular Democracy, February 4, 2016. https://populardemocracy.org/our-partners/acce-institute-alliance-californians-community-empowerment.
2. Pechthalt, Joshua. “State of the Union: Merged Measure Calls for the Largest Single Tax Increase on the Rich in California History.” California Federation of Teachers, May 1, 2012. https://www.cft.org/california-teacher/state-union-merged-measure-calls-largest-single-tax-increase-rich-california.
3. “About.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/about.
4. “Racial and Economic Justice.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/rej.
5. “Housing Justice.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/housing_justice.
6. Brinklow, Adam, and Jenna Chandler. “November 2018 Election: California’s Rent Control Expansion, Explained.” Curbed SF. Curbed SF, October 24, 2018. https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/18/17851082/proposition-ten-california-election-costa-hawkins-rent-control.
7. “California Proposition 10, Local Rent Control Initiative (2018).” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 23, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_10,_Local_Rent_Control_Initiative_(2018).
8. “HEDGE PAPERS NO. 69: BILLIONAIRE CORPORATE LANDLORDS ARE EXACERBATING CALIFORNIA’S HOUSING CRISIS.” Hedge Clippers. ACCE Institute, August 27, 2019. http://hedgeclippers.org/hedge-papers-no-69-billionaire-corporate-landlords-are-exacerbating-californias-housing-crisis/.
9. Li, Roland. “SF Is One of the Most Expensive Places in the World to Build Housing. Here’s Why.” SFChronicle.com. San Francisco Chronicle, December 8, 2019. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-is-one-of-the-most-expensive-places-in-the-14888205.php.
10. “Support ReFund California Actions on 11/9 and 11/16.” UAW Local 5810 | The Union of over 6,500 Postdoctoral Researchers at UC, November 9, 2011. http://uaw5810.org/support-refund-california-actions-on-119-and-1116/.
11. Ewbank, Anne. “Student Protestors Work to Hold Banks Accountable.” The Occidental. Occidental College, January 1, 2016. https://www.theoccidentalnews.com/news/2016/01/01/student-protestors-work-to-hold-banks-accountable/2880849.
12. Pechthalt, Joshua. “State of the Union: Merged Measure Calls for the Largest Single Tax Increase on the Rich in California History.” California Federation of Teachers, May 1, 2012. https://www.cft.org/california-teacher/state-union-merged-measure-calls-largest-single-tax-increase-rich-california.
13. “Refund California.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/refund_california.
14. “TODAY: Rallies in LA and SF Demand Big Oil Stop Blocking Education Funding in CA, National ‘Higher Ed, Not Debt’ Campaign Launches.” Courage California, June 26, 2015. https://couragecampaign.org/press-releases/today-rallies-la-and-sf-demand-big-oil-stop-blocking-education-funding-ca-national-.
15. “Partners Archives.” Higher Ed, Not Debt. Accessed January 23, 2020. https://higherednotdebt.org/partners.
16. “Worker Justice.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/worker_justice.
17. “Strategic: Alliances.” ACCE Institute. Accessed January 23, 2020. http://www.acceinstitute.org/strategic_alliances.
18. “Civic Engagement.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/civic_engagement.
19. “Sustainable Communities.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/sustainable_communities.
20. “ACCE Institute (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment).” The Center for Popular Democracy, February 4, 2016. https://populardemocracy.org/our-partners/acce-institute-alliance-californians-community-empowerment.
21. “What was the National Mortgage Settlement.” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Accessed December 12, 2019. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-was-the-national-mortgage-settlement-en-2071/.
22. “’One of hardest decisions of my life’: Kamala Harris ends once-promising campaign.” Politco. Accessed December 12, 2019. https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/03/kamala-harris-drops-out-out-of-presidential-race-074902.
23. “Housing Justice.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/housing_justice.
24. “Kamala Harris pressured to reject bank foreclosure settlement.” Los Angeles Times. Accessed December 12, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-sep-30-la-fi-foreclosure-settlement-20110930-story.html.
25. “Kamala Harris Celebrates Her Role in the Mortgage Crisis Settlement. The Reality is Quite Different.” The Intercept. Accessed December 12, 2019. https://theintercept.com/2019/03/13/kamala-harris-mortage-crisis/.
26. “Housing Justice.” ACCE Institute. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://www.acceinstitute.org/housing_justice.