NEW YORK, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The New York man who ran for governor on the "Rent is Too Damn High" platform says his landlord company is trying to have him evicted so it can raise the rent.

Jimmy McMillan said he paid about $275 a month for his rent-controlled ground-floor apartment on St. Marks Place in the East Village during the 1970s, and rent has since increased to $872.96, but his landlord, Lisco Holdings, wants to get rid of him so the monthly price can be drastically increased, the New York Post reported Friday.

"I've been here since 1977, and they want more money," McMillan said. "It's about 'My Rent is Too Damn Low.'"

"Maybe the landlord doesn't know, but he can't bulldog me because I know the law," McMillan said.

McMillan, who said he is planning a 2012 presidential bid, said he has instructed his lawyer to file a $70,000 counter-claim in Housing Court.

Lisco Holdings said McMillan is being evicted because he violated his lease by spending most of his time living at another residence elsewhere in the city.

"This is a case where the landlord alleges that it's not the tenant's primary residence," said Robert Goldstein, an attorney representing Lisco Holdings.

However, McMillan said the East Village apartment is his permanent home.

"That's my apartment. It is my residence. My name is on the lease," he said.