Landlord group apologizes for bizarre email blast declaring Gov. Lamont needs his ‘ass kicked’

A press release blasted out Wednesday evening by a landlords group that wants to end the state’s eviction moratorium said that Gov. Ned Lamont “needs his ass kicked” and disparaged renters as trying to “live for free annually in CT.”

The group — the CT Coalition of Property Owners — quickly apologized for the apparent mistake, which was sent to dozens of journalists across the state.

The remarks were attributed to John Souza, president of the coalition, but they were not his words, said Anne Baldwin, a former television journalist who handles public relations for the group.

“These were never intended to be included in any press outreach,’' Baldwin said in a follow up email. “This is not the way that any of the landlords who are truly suffering would want to be portrayed.”

The bizarre comments were contained in a press release about a rally scheduled for Thursday opposing the state’s moratorium on evictions and expansion of rental assistance programs.

“The eviction moratorium is not needed and there has never been any tsunami of evictions in any state that reopened their eviction courts and none will occur in CT,’' the press release states.

The group also is opposed to Unite CT, a new state program that provides rental and utility assistance to Connecticut households that sustained a financial hit during the pandemic.

“The people that are not paying never intended to pay so there is no reason for them to apply for the funds, these tenants are most of the 19,000 that try to live for free annually in CT,’' the press release stated in comments attributed to Souza.

“The governor needs his ass-kicked and we set up a celebratory cage fight between Lamont & Zherka to raise funds for orphaned children,’' the statement reads, in an apparent reference to Jon Zherka, a well-known gamer and Twitch streamer.

In a revised press release sent later by Baldwin, the landlords said their goal is to “keep good people living in their homes.”

“If the eviction moratorium was a public benefit in hard times, then the Governor should fund it fully now. Property providers can’t continue to carry this burden alone any longer,’' Souza said in a revised statement.

“Because we can’t remove a tenant who is terrorizing other tenants, the normal checks and balances of a well-run apartment community have broken down and the most vulnerable residents are held hostage by the governor’s good intentions gone bad. End the moratorium and open the courts fully to allow good tenants to live in peace.”

Lamont, placed a moratorium on evictions early in the pandemic, although a provision allows landlords to begin proceedings in some instances. The order was extended numerous times and is now set to expire on July 20.

Max Reiss, a spokesman for Lamont, pointed to $400 million in federal COVID-19 relief money that will go toward helping landlords and tenants.

“Thousands of Connecticut residents saw their personal economies shattered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and that damage continues to be felt today,’' Reiss said. “The Lamont administration firmly believes that providing relief to renters, and a moratorium on evictions at this time, are good policies which provide housing security to those who need it and protect public health for everyone in the state.”

Baldwin said she hopes the controversy doesn’t overshadow the concerns raised by the landlords.

“They’ve been suffering financially because of all the things they’ve gone through and they want legislative action for lack of payment‚’’ Baldwin said. “For their voices not to be heard because of something went out from my firm...I don’t know what to say.”