Nancy Lieber

Nancy Lieber

DEMOCRACY '76

The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee organized a DEMOCRACY '76 conference within the Democratic Party conference in Los Angeles in 1976.

Are there concrete programs that progressives can work for in this election year which could begin to democratize our social and economic institutions? D.S~O.C. thinks that there are . . . and has initiated a nationwide series of conferences to discuss the DEMOCRACY '76 program.

Already endorsed by political and union leaders - including George McGovern - DEMOCRACY '76 calls for a greater reliance on the public sector in creating genuine full employment - for a more progressive tax system - for increased social control of the corporate structures which increasingly control our lives - for democratic and public, rather than corporate, planning of our national future.

Workshop panellists included (Partial List): Jim Berland, Public Affairs Director, KPFK; Tim Brick, Coordinator, CAUSE; Paul Bullock, Director of Research, Institute of industrial Relations, UCLA; Rev. Peter Christiansen; Art Forcier ,Political Director, So. Calif. ADA; Jim Gallagher, Coordinator, Labor Studies, UCLA; Otis Graham, Prof. of History, UCSB; Jonathan Lewis, Director, California Tax Reform Association; Nancy Lieber, Prof: of Political Science ~ UCD; Jim Lowery, Director, Citizens' Committee Against Redlining; Jim Pino, Friends Committee on Legislation; Derek Shearer, economist/writer, West Coast Editor, Working Papers; Tom Thompson, author/publisher.

Democratic Agenda

More than 1,200 people attended the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee initiated Democratic Agenda Conference held November 16-18, 1979, at the International Inn and Metropolitan AM Church in Washington 1 DC. The conference focused on "corporate power'; as the key barrier to "economic and political democracy," concepts many Democratic Agenda participants defined as "socialism.'

The Democratic Agenda meetings attempted to develop anti-corporate alternatives" through influencing the direction of the Democratic Party during the period leading to the July 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York.

Workshops included "The Multinational Octopus" - Nancy Lieber, moderator; Lesley Nulty, Nat Weinberg.

DSOC national officers

Following a convention decision to expand the number of at-large seats on the national board and to elect eight men and eight women to those seats, a serious political campaign to win those seats took place. Harrington termed this development .. a sign of the growing political strength of Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee. The at-large members of the new board will form its executive committee, which also includes DSOC's national officers.

Elected to at-large seats were: (men) Greg Akili (San Diego), Harry Boyte (Minneapolis), Jim Chapin, Jack Clark and Frank Lugovina (New York City), Roger Robinson (Detroit), Jim Wallace (Washington, D.C.), and George Wood (Champaign-Urbana); (women) Jeanne Kettelson and Mary Roodkowsky (Boston), Nancy Kleniewski (Philadelphia), Nancy Lieber (Sacramento-Davis), Marjorie Phyfe (New York City), Trudy Robideau (San Diego), Nancy Shier (Chicago) and Cynthia Ward (Stony Brook, Long Island) .

"Knows about" DSOC"

Nancy Lieber, International Committee chair of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, wrote a June 30, 1981 letter to Danielle Page, a staffer for Canadian Member of Parliament Ian Waddell.

Dear Danielle Page,

I'm sending along a list of Congresspeople and senators who know about us, democratic socialism, and -- perhaps Canada.

Only the first one is an open socialist, but the others are sympathetic in varying degrees.

The list was;

• Congressman Ron Dellums
• Congressman Byron Dorgan (North Dakota)
• Congressman Steven Solarz
• Congressman Ted Weiss
• Congressman Barney Frank
• Congressman Gerry Studds
• Congressman Robert Kastenmeier
• Congressman John Conyers
• Congressman Harold Washington
• Congressman David Obey
• Congressman Les Aspin
• Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski
• Senator Ted Kennedy

Hope this is of help and you recruit them to the cause!

In Solidarity,

Nancy Lieber

Chair, Intl. Committee