Sam Schmidt

Sam Schmidt wearing DSA Shirt

Sam Schmidt with keffiyeh scarf

Sam Schmidt Post Dated March 5 2024

Sam Schmidt Post Dated Oct 18 2023

Sam Schmidt ran for election to the Allegheny County Council to represent District 13 in Pennsylvania. Schmidt lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Sam Schmidt is a member of Pittsburgh DSA., She is an anti-Israel activist.

About

Excerpt from Sam Schmidt's campaign website:

"Since leaving the Army, I have become an activist for environmental causes, women's rights, mental health advocacy, and food and housing justice. I work with mutual aid and non-profit groups across Western Pennsylvania and beyond to build coalitions and render aid that meets the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors.

I do this work because it is right, and because I know our frayed social support systems inside and out. I lived much of childhood and adult life in poverty. I’ve spent years in the food service industry, making as little as $2.83 per hour in PA, depending on the kindness of shitty customers for tips to make ends meet. I’ve been homeless. I’ve recovered from addiction. Now that I’ve found stability — in no small part thanks to my V.A. benefits — I pay it forward through mutual aid.

"...I am also an active volunteer with JFCS, where I support refugee reestablishment throughout the county. I do political and community outreach work with the Pittsburgh DSA, and volunteer in service of seniors and others with North Hills Community Outreach. I also occasionally do tabling events for the ACLU locally, and support the political campaigns of progressive candidates locally and nationally.

"I was first drawn to activism during my time in the Army, where I was a whistleblower for environmental violations and fraud, waste, and abuse. I left the Army as an activist for mental health support and medical marijuana access for soldiers, who die about twice as often from suicide as from combat. I march for environmental causes, and my daughter has marched by my side since she was in kindergarten. We also organize for reproductive access for all women and feminine-presenting folks, as well as for legislation that would easily curtail America's now-daily mass casualty events.

"I started to become more politically aware and interested in our socio-economic failures during my undergraduate studies. I went on to complete a master's program, where I became completely infatuated with studies in the relationships between capitalism, patriarchy, systemic racism, sexism, and most importantly, climate change. After years of study while witnessing first hand the extreme waste and misappropriation of funds in the Department of Defense, it became clear that the military industrial complex and capitalism were not something that I could ethically align myself with. I became a DSA member last year and have since continued my studies in alternatives to capitalism. In 2021, I founded America's first socialist, employee-owned and directed personal training business. There, only my 'employees' profit (and make a living wage), and I happily support them.

Anti-Israel

Sam Schmidt is anti-Israel.,,

Decision to Run for Office

"Her involvement in the Pittsburgh chapter of Democratic Socialists of America sparked her interest in politics. She became a member last year and attended a DSA leadership school. It was then that she learned of a potential opening on County Council — Bennett had by then joined the race to become the Democratic nominee for Allegheny County executive."

Allegheny County Council Socialists

Two independent candidates vying for seats on Allegheny County Council and identifying as socialists have announced that they are endorsing each other and will partner in their campaigns.

Carl Redwood and Sam Schmidt plan to work together to offer a “shared vision of putting people over profits in Allegheny County,” the two announced in a news release on Thursday. Redwood is running in District 10, Schmidt in District 13.

Both candidates are endorsed by the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America.

Redwood and Schmidt say the multiple problems facing Allegheny County in housing, food access, union busting, pollution and climate change, are the result of a system that puts basic needs out of the reach of those who can’t afford them. The county, they say, prioritizes the needs of corporations and those who profit from them.

“As we join County Council, we will continue to advance an agenda to change our county for the better as we advocate and fight for reprioritizing our government around socialist principles,” says Redwood of what he sees as the outcome of he and Schmidt working together during both of their candidacies.

“As I announce my collaboration with Carl Redwood, a stalwart advocate for social justice and fellow independent socialist on the ballot, I’m proud to continue and join in his ingenuity by partnering in a collective movement to transform the way we govern and the way we meet the needs of our communities. I am honored to share this moment with such a proven, insightful community leader,” says Schmidt.