San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America

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San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America is affiliated to Democratic Socialists of America. They work closely with the San Francisco Berniecrat group and the Northern California branch of the International Socialist Organization.

=Leadership, 2023

East Bay DSA Steering Committee Meeting Agenda, Monday, October 2, 2023.

Attendees: Caitlin J, Max M, Laura C, Ella Teevan, Casey B, Yari Gonzalez, Maura M, Liv, Ethan L, Dani T, Riley B, Brad M.[1]

Red Star favorites

In 2021 the Red Star Caucus was "excited" about these candidates for San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America delegates to DSA national convention.

A Better DSA SF is Possible

"A Better DSA SF is Possible" was published in 2022. Signatories were:

Role in Proposition C in San Francisco

Jason Barrett Prado and San Francisco DSA's Role in Proposition C in San Francisco

San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America member Jeff Benzos claimed on Twitter[4] that Proposition C in San Francisco "was created, drafted, and put on the ballot" by the San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America. Proposition C, "which will tax the city's biggest businesses to raise funds to combat homelessness" passed on November 6 2018.[5]

Jeff Benzos further claimed that "[Marc] Benioff sponsored it after being convinced to by DSA SF member Jason Barrett Prado."[6]

Leadership

Steering Committee Minutes, San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America, August 8, 2018:

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Present: Shanti Singh, Faiq Raza, Mia Lehrer, Elizabeth Morgan, Jennifer Bolen Absent: None.

Comrades

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Democratic Socialists of America: San Francisco June 5, 2017

With Jack Coughlin, Teresa Pratt, Graham Lewis, Charles Davis, Shannon Molotov and Jennifer Snyder.

DSA SF Asian Caucus

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DSA SF Asian Caucus goes to the Asian Art Museum Public · Hosted by Democratic Socialists of America: San Francisco

Thursday, September 14 at 8 PM - 9 PM PDT

Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St, San Francisco, California 94102[7]

Interested

Went

Municipalism: Building a Socialist Movement to Create People Power

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On July 28 2017, the San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America teamed with the San Francisco Berniecrat group and the Northern California branch of the International Socialist Organization and other groups (see below) for a discussion of "Municipalism," which is described as a socialist-building locally-driven movement to "transform local politics."[8]

Flyer describing "Municipalism"
"Part of the Winning San Francisco panel series!
"What would it mean to win back San Francisco for the people? What is our collective vision for a socialist San Francisco, and how can we get there? This series of panels will explore issues and ideas for winning back San Francisco, street by street. Let’s build a new San Francisco for the many, not the few!
"Panel 1:
"Municipalism: Building A Socialist Movement to Create People Power
"How can we create this model in San Francisco? Join the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Bay Resistance, San Francisco Rising Alliance, International Socialist Organization (ISO) and the San Francisco Berniecrats with an introduction from Jovanka Beckles of the Richmond Progressive Alliance.
"Municipalism calls for a radical, participatory democracy to reclaim the commons in the name of economic equality, racial justice, queer liberation and feminist movement. It has been used successfully in cities across Spain, and more recently in Richmond, California and Jackson, Mississippi. By building a neighborhood- and community-based network of people, engaged in democratic and direct action to transform local politics, we can take back our city.
Municipalism Flyer

Fearless Cities

In June 2017, a delegation of five members of San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America, including Judy Tuan, Jennifer Bolen and Jack Coughlin joined government officials, journalists, and activists from over 180 cities across five continents at the inaugural Fearless Cities summit in Barcelona, Spain.

According to Bolen and Coughlin;

Cities today have a choice between becoming active forces for social change or quietly acquiescing to the whims of global capital. Our own city, San Francisco, stands at a particular crossroads, torn between the progressive ideals of its people and the power of its wealthy, entrenched, corporate elite.
But how do we as individuals help push our cities in one direction or another...?
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In our search for examples of how cities can move beyond the same old same old politics, we were heartened to learn of the recent municipalist movements in Spain and elsewhere, where, in multiple cities, coalitions of ordinary people were able to take control of their local governments and take back power from political elites. We believe such a movement is exactly what San Francisco needs and, to learn more, we, along with other members of our DSA chapter, attended the Fearless Cities summit in Barcelona, Spain, to hear from those who have blazed this path: the people’s movement Barcelona en Comú (BComú). BComú, though only formed in early 2014, now holds control of the city government of Barcelona, the second-largest city in Spain. The Fearless Cities summit was the culmination of two years of organizing to educate activists around the world on how to take control over local governments and to win back power in their cities, as BComú had done in May 2015.
By 2014, left-wing activists were ready to build on their organizing work and try another tactic. In Barcelona, local activists formed BComú (originally known as Guanyem Barcelona, or “Let’s Win Barcelona”), not as a political party, but as a coalition of leftist political groups solidified into a social movement by their unified vision for the future of the city. These groups put forth a shared, consistent platform, the goals of which included providing direct democracy to the people, protecting human rights, and, critically, combatting austerity politics. BComú created new channels for people’s voices to be heard — primarily through the use of assemblies and online platforms — and these, along with a unifying, public code of ethics for the coalition, allowed the people of Barcelona to build a more transparent, democratic, and responsive form of local government.
At the same time, on a national level, the grassroots movement led to the formation of a new political party called Podemos (“We Can”), which first sought to place leftist candidates in the European Parliament during the May 2014 elections. While Podemos obtained only 8% of the vote and five seats in the European Parliament during those elections, this initial activity set the stage for greater achievements. During Spain’s municipal elections in May 2015, Podemos supported select leftist candidates, including Ada Colau, a member of BComú. Colau was not a career politician, but was a housing activist who helped form the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) in 2009, after the global financial crisis caused mass foreclosures and evictions. Using people power, PAH led direct-action campaigns against mortgage lenders in attempts to stop evictions, campaigns that included such tactics as the physical occupation of banks. BComú and other Podemos-backed municipal candidates saw success in the 2015 elections, with eight Spanish cities uprooting their established parties and replacing them with people-backed leftist candidates, including Colau, who now sits as Barcelona’s first female mayor. Podemos went on to win over 20% of the vote in the national elections of December 2015, less than two years after its formation, becoming the third-largest party in Spain and nearly as large as the previously dominant center-left PSOE.
Can a similar movement emerge in San Francisco, where unemployment is low, median incomes are high, and much of the population and political leadership already identifies as progressive...?
We can learn from other cities’ examples. In New York City, regulators have imposed fines on illegal short-term rentals, demonstrating the fearlessness necessary to oppose those who stand to profit from the commodification of housing. In Jackson, Mississippi, organizers with Cooperation Jackson have once again taken power despite facing high municipal debt levels and a hostile state government. And we can look to a multitude of cities in Spain where municipalist movements have taken power — Castelldefels, Madrid, and Zaragoza — overturning the corporate political establishment by proposing a comprehensive vision for the people’s city.
A fearless San Francisco will be bold enough to imagine policies that seem impossible. We assert that the right amount of required affordable housing is 100%, no less, and that our Right to the City requires the total decommodification of housing. We demand that San Francisco’s entire homeless population be housed as soon as possible. If necessary, we should seize all of the vacant investment properties in the city to do it. We demand not only that the SFPD not be issued tasers; the SFPD should be disarmed. Twenty-six police homicides in the last decade is a horrific record of violence.
A fearless San Francisco will be a city that has the confidence and clarity of vision to stand up to these institutions, to the police, to housing developers, to investors, and say, this is our city, and we will make it into a paradise for ourselves, for our families and communities. Until the city is controlled by those who live here and not by those who move their money here, it will continue to be in thrall to global capital, a playground for the 1%. Ultimately, a fearless San Francisco is one that is for the people, by the people.[9]

May Day - March With Socialists!

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May Day - March With Socialists! Hosted by Democratic Socialists of America: San Francisco and International Socialist Organization - Northern California

Monday, May 1 at 10:30 AM - 2 PM PDT

Justin Herman Plaza Embarcadero Center,, San Francisco, California 94111

March with the socialists for International Workers Day!

Democratic Socialists of America SF and the International Socialist Organization Northern California are joining A Day Without Immigrants' San Francisco May Day March.
WEAR RED and bring your instruments! We'll be playing and singing the internationale as we march to Civic Center.

Invited on Facebook

Interested

Going

2002 steering committee

According to the minutes of Jan 5, 2002 SF DSA Steering Committee. Present were:[10]

Backing Gonzalez

In 2004, local members worked on the mayoral election campaign of Matt Gonzalez, a "progressive Green running against a conservative Democrat". One DSAer’s opinion piece appeared in the leading local paper, several members worked on the campaign, and the local coordinated donations from DSAers around the country, raising over $1,100.

Gonzalez narrowly lost, though he remained president of the Board of Supervisors, and chose not to run for re-election.[11]

References

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ [2]
  3. ↑ [3]
  4. ↑ Tweet accessed Nov 8 2018
  5. ↑ The controversial San Francisco homeless tax that pitted tech billionaires Marc Benioff and Jack Dorsey against each other passes accessed Nov 8 2018
  6. ↑ Tweet accessed Nov 8 2018
  7. ↑ [%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22permalink%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22RHC%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A[%7D]%22%2C%22page_id_source%22%3A%22373653923016863%22%7D]
  8. ↑ [%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22main_list%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22page_id%5C%22%3A1778578222359055%2C%5C%22tour_id%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%7D%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D Municipalism: Building a Socialist Movement to Create People Power, accessed July 29 2017]
  9. ↑ San Francisco Phoenix, Becoming a Fearless CityBy Jennifer Bolen and Jack Coughlin Jul 19 2017
  10. ↑ Minutes of Jan 5, 2002 SF DSA Steering Committee
  11. ↑ Democratic Left • Summer 2004
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