The Buffalo Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America congratulates Adam Bojak on his victory in the Democratic primary election for the 149 NY Assembly district, and extends immense gratitude to everyone responsible for making his victory possible. 

So, what next? Why join DSA? For a decade, Buffalo DSA has fielded these specific yet important questions. Last Tuesday, with chapter co-founder Adam Bojak’s primary night victory, we received the resounding affirmation that when we fight, we win! 25,000 doors knocked. Thousands of phone calls. Six figures of fundraising from the average person, the worker, those who share the belief, “a better world is possible.”

What does this win mean? We hold the firm belief that electoralism isn’t “the answer,” no matter how exciting or gratifying it is to win, but rather another step along the way. It’s a catalyzing step, a way to draw people in and organize them, but winning an election is never the end goal. We don’t believe in the mentality that you should “just vote.” To be a serious organizer and Buffalonian interested in a more just and equitable society, controlled democratically by the working class, we must do more. An election result is only as good as the power we can build and the priorities we can win.

In this moment, we step onto a much bigger stage for our chapter and broader movement for working people. Ask yourself: what can I do? Then, let’s do it. Nothing is stopping us but ourselves!

The work is an ongoing struggle, and we need you to achieve our vision. If you’ve ever felt ready to take on the establishment, the time to join the largest socialist project in American history is now.

Thank you to the people of the 149th Assembly District. We continue to fight for you, the people of Buffalo, Erie County, and workers of the world. 

Join DSA today!

This is an opinion piece written collaboratively by the Immigrant Solidarity Working Group and was not voted on at a general membership meeting. Opinion pieces from sub-bodies do not reflect the opinions of all members and are not chapter approved statements.

It is with no stutter and no hesitation that Salt Lake DSA stands with the 15 defendants facing charges for anti-ICE organizing in Minneapolis. Their stance is part of a proud, long-standing tradition of resistance against law enforcement overreach in this country. Faced with the indiscriminate violence of this winter’s ICE/DHS activity in the Twin Cities, these neighbors banded together in an inspiring and powerful model. After these feral agents murdered two and celebrated their own impunity, the regime attempts to contort law and morality to punish their real enemy: our unwillingness to submit.

There is risk in taking a principled stance. It is in that spirit that we also condemn the charges faced by two former court clerks in Logan that allegedly helped individuals evade ICE agents at the courthouse. When faced with an opportunity to perform the moral, righteous act, these clerks took it—at their own personal risk. They acted against a vindictive and thoughtless regime intent on tearing apart families, and for that we salute them.

It is not enough to point out the blatant hypocrisy of the Trump regime, as it is not only painfully obvious, it is expected and routine. They decry the “weaponization” of the law while also rewarding loyalist felons with pardons. The hypocrisy and double-dealing are markers of a system in a permanent tailspin. Trump and his cronies find themselves in the criminal trough of our economic system, resorting to merely demanding submission and collecting bribes. They are rapidly running out of distractions, and soon, the lid will tighten yet further.

As the administration criminalizes dissent in America, we implore all Utahns: do not consider yourself exempt from this assault on your civil liberties. Stand with us, or stand beside us, but at least stand up and be seen in opposition to this continued erosion of freedoms. In this capitalist system, law is merely a weapon in the hands of the powerful, completely divorced from morality and righteousness. As a weapon of the powerful, once you stand crosswise to their goals, the law will be used to hammer you back into place. It is time for us to seize the hammer.

We know we stand firmly on the right side of history, because between solidarity and hate, we will always choose the former.  In time, we will win; the only question is, for how long will we all need to suffer until we can put an end to this madness? How many of us will be caught up in the gears? When the working class has unified to fight this fight together, we will no longer have to wonder. We will have already won.

The post Solidarity is Not a Crime first appeared on Salt Lake DSA.

The private jets, limousines, and tanned vacationers coursing through Atlantic Aviation’s exclusive lot mask a grim reality. Every Tuesday and Friday, the private company facilitates the transportation of residents detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in and out of Las Vegas. They sometimes come, and sometimes go, chained at the wrists, waist, and feet, shuffling single file between white caged-windowed buses and unmarked aircraft supplied by major commercial airlines.

Taylor Swift’s $54M Falcon 7X

Canadair Jet ICE plane by @buffysphotography

The members of Las Vegas Democratic Socialists of America (LVDSA) demand that Atlantic Aviation terminate contracts with DHS and immediately end its participation in these flights. With support from the Habeas Flight Watch Network, LVDSA’s Abolish ICE Campaign is taking steps to ensure they do. LVDSA is conducting habeas flight watches and hosting a National Day of Protest against Atlantic Aviation on June 27th.

Located at Harry Reid International Airport, Atlantic Aviation reserves its runways and hangars for the luxury jet set. No doubt, the private company enjoyed a boost in positive press when Taylor Swift chose to park her private jet at Atlantic upon breezing into town to celebrate Travis Kelce’s Super Bowl LVII victory. Today, the company promises to whisk World Cup spectators to games in style, offering gourmet in-flight dining and wrap-around concierge services. Unsurprisingly, it does not flaunt its frequent flying of ICE victims among its first-class services.

While Atlantic Aviation caters to celebrities and sports pros to rake in profits, they are also fattening their bottom line on the injustices our neighbors suffer. People are rounded up based on their skin color, language, and clothing, exploited by the city’s shady 287(g) agreement, and targeted by Flock AI mass-surveillance technology. Denied due process, they are deliberately displaced in the expanding network of concentration camps and the routes that connect them. We are taking action for the victims, their families, and the attorneys who are unable to secure their clients’ habeas rights.

A team of flight watchers from LVDSA and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) meets outside Atlantic’s runways with cameras, documenting the arrival and departure of ICE victims. The goal is to capture footage of the individuals getting on and off buses and planes— their faces, clothing, and shoes—so that their families and lawyers might find them. A Habeas Flight Watch Network volunteer flight dispatcher keeps the team notified of the ETAs for Las Vegas-bound ICE flights, and, just like commercial flights, these schedules are subject to frustrating last-minute changes.

Friday, June 12th, is no exception. At 6:44 am, our Las Vegas flight watch team receives an ETA from the dispatch: today’s flight arrives from Fort Hood via Reno on a Canadair CRJ-200 operated by Air Wisconsin; it’s scheduled to land at 12:22 pm. We set up early in case the plane arrives ahead of schedule, which happens. Stationed outside the Atlantic Aviation fence with cameras and tripods, we learn the flight is delayed until 12:51, then 1:13. It is now over 100 degrees.

Buffy Taylor, a member of PSL, sighs and walks under a tiny tree in the lot’s perimeter for a sliver of shade.  She’d arrived on her bike, a duffel bag containing several ice-cold water bottles and her Canon T7 strapped over her shoulder. “I’ve been tracking and photographing planes for years as a hobby, and I figured I could help people find their family or friends and expose the illegal actions of the government,” she explains. “Put my skills to good use.” By the time the team receives their final status update – ETA 1:21 pm – their phones are overheating, and Taylor’s waters are hot to the touch.

As with other Las Vegas ICE-related activity, the arrival of the ICE plane is quiet and understated. Our team learns it has touched down on Atlantic Aviation’s Runway 19, the same one used to welcome visiting celebrities. Moments later, a dull gray aircraft, serial number N455AW, devoid of any colors or logos except a tiny US flag, rolls toward us before turning slightly to let a taxiing private jet by. We can’t believe our luck– we now have a clear view of the plane’s stairway, the white prison bus, and the stretch of pavement between them.

When its doors open, four men in neon vests spring to action, neatly setting about 20 bright orange bundles in a row on the ground.  “Prison jump suits?” I ask Taylor.

“Nope, their personal belongings.”

Uncertain whether people are held prisoner on the plane, on the bus, or both, and seeing no movement from either, we focus on the four yellow-vested staff bustling about, bounding up and down the airplane stairs. Are they Atlantic ground crew? ICE agents? They eventually form an assembly line between the bus door and the plane’s stairway. Finally, the victims step off the bus, stooped and resigned, shackled at the wrists and feet, a long chain linking them at the waist.

Taylor abandons her tripod and darts around on foot, zooming in on captives, as I dictate a physical description of each man boarding the plane after he is frisked from head to toe. Twenty-two in all, mostly young, 20s and 30s, though one man appears to be old, perhaps in his 70s. Once the last has boarded, a pilot inspects the plane’s exterior as the caged-windowed bus slowly drives off the tarmac. We wonder about the victims, whether they’ve eaten or used the bathroom, and what they must be thinking.

As we spot the white bus exiting Atlantic’s parking lot, Taylor sprints, zigzagging through parked cars, and snaps photos of the bus’s driver and license plate. “It’s astonishing how many people have to be complicit for this to happen,” observes Audrey Hines, a co-steward for LVDSA’s Abolish ICE Campaign.

Not all habeas flight watches are this successful. Some sessions have yielded pictures of the plane or bus—still helpful—but no people. Other times, planes and utility vehicles have arrived unexpectedly, suddenly blocking the view. Organizers leave hot and exhausted, but determined to catch useful images on the next one. “Each new flight watch has the potential to help even one person, help one family be reunited, so it is so worth it,” says Hines.

“Even if we don’t have the best shot, we keep trying— you kind of feel like a spy,” adds 19-year-old Mikey LaFrambois, a lead organizer in UNLV’s Young Democratic Socialists of America.

Hopefully, these ICE flight watches won’t last too long. On Saturday, June 27th, at 6 pm, LVDSA is joining the National Day of Protest against Atlantic Aviation and other airlines abetting ICE activity. We are hosting a protest outside Atlantic Aviation, in a united demand that they cancel their contracts with DHS and the federal government. We stand in solidarity with cities around the country that are speaking up. We salute Dallas, a World Cup host city whose organizers and faith leaders are taking Atlantic Aviation to task for courting wealthy ticket holders while preying on the powerless. As Rev. Neil Thomas, lead pastor of Cathedral of Hope, noted on June 10, 2026:

As people arrive for the World Cup and other major events, we will proudly showcase our city as a place of hospitality and opportunity. Yet, at the very same time, through these very same airports, on these very same streets, within sight of celebrations, immigrant members of our community are being removed from their homes and families. This contradiction forces us to ask difficult but necessary questions about who we are as a city.

Atlantic Aviation caters to the indulgences and excesses of billionaires while actively participating in and profiting from the crimes against our neighbors. All professional athletes, celebrities, and customers using Atlantic Aviation’s services are part of the problem. Pilots transporting victims of ICE arrests, ground staff loading cargo —all are agents in perpetuating this nightmare.

In solidarity with local immigrant rights efforts, we urge readers to demand that Atlantic Aviation terminate these inhumane flights. This company will be held accountable for its actions.

By Jill Glass, LVDSA Abolish ICE Campaign Co-Steward

Images by Buffy Taylor @buffysphotographs 

References

American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. (2026, April 8). ACLU of Nevada files notice of appeal to continue challenge of LVMPD 287(g) agreement with ICE. https://www.aclunv.org/press-releases/aclu-of-nevada-files-notice-of-appeal-to-continue-challenge-of-lvmpd-287g-agreement-with-ice/

American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. (2026, April 2). Racial profiling rampant after Supreme Court ruling. https://www.aclu-wi.org/news/racial-profiling-rampant-after-supreme-court-ruling/

Atlantic Aviation. (2026, June). World Cup. https://www.atlanticaviation.com/world-cup/

Balas, R. (2026, January 17). Inside Taylor Swift’s $54M Dassault Falcon 7X: 2026 Eras Tour & flight tracking controversy. The Flying Engineer. https://theflyingengineer.com/taylor-swifts-private-jet-inside-look/

Immigration Policy Tracking Project. (2025, April 8). Reported: ICE contracts with commercial airlines to facilitate deportation flights. https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/reported-ice-contracts-with-commercial-airlines-to-facilitate-deportation-flights/

Instagram. (2025). Post by @habeasflightwatch [Instagram post]. https://www.instagram.com/p/DYXLGP7AI7E/

Lexington Alarm. (2026). Habeas Flight Watch. https://lexingtonalarm.org/habeas-flight-watch/

Schilken, C. (2024, February 9). Will Taylor Swift be able to park a private jet for Super Bowl? Vegas airports are full. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2024-02-09/super-bowl-private-jets-parking-las-vegas-airports-49ers-chiefs-taylor-swift

Velotta, R. N. (2016, May 18). Jet Suite to offer luxury travel between California and Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review-Journal. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/jet-suite-to-offer-luxury-travel-between-california-and-las-vegas/

ICE takes 240 from Clark County jail under new pact; ACLU fights deal. (2026, March 11). Las Vegas Review-Journal. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/ice-takes-240-from-clark-county-jail-under-new-pact-aclu-fights-deal-372339

By Victor A. Jiménez

January 23, 2005

I woke up on my aunt’s couch to 12.2 inches of snow and Saturday morning cartoons. Two hours later my grandmother went to another couch in the living room where my mother was sleeping to wake her up, and found her not breathing.

The ambulance came and pronounced her deceased around 12:00–1:00 a.m. At 11 years old, they told me that she had passed away “from a heart attack caused by depression.” In hindsight, that was their way of explaining to a child that she had died due to a drug overdose. Later in life as I saw others around me abuse prescription medication, I came to understand the truth of what had happened. She was depressed and abusing medication prior to the incident that led to her death. That night we were sleeping at my aunt’s house because the lights in our own home were shut off. My mom had struggled financially since my grandmother left for Mexico to retire. My grandmother was back in town specifically to help us find our footing.

April 3rd, 2026

This was my second year going vegan for Lent. I’m not a devout Catholic (I think like many Catholics I’m not great at it). My way of making up for it is going really hard for Lent. Luckily, the 21st century is the best time ever to be sober or vegan. There are a ton of options for me at the UFO Bar, where the Groundworks Caucus of Metro Detroit DSA held a social event. It was really well attended, big Metro Detroit DSA brass, with members from all caucuses present.

This was a month or so into my membership, and my new job. I left a start-up paid field firm to run the field program for a DSA candidate, and it was the best decision I made in a long time. I was so eager to be working on a team again and even more excited to be working on a real campaign.

I’d sat down with a comrade, and we had one of our first conversations. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon– I had my non-alcoholic beverage in hand and my onion rings were crunchy just like I like. I opened wide to chomp down on my vegan smash burger.

My fellow comrade chose that moment to ask me, “So Victor, what does being a socialist mean to you?” I totally froze. Partly because I was caught off guard, partly because the vegan smash burger was falling apart in my hands, but mostly because I hadn’t asked myself that question yet, or put much thought into my answer. Why was I a socialist? And why the hell was I so sure?

I’ve never studied economics, foreign affairs, sociology, or even politics to be honest; I was a communications major. I took a bite to give myself time to think on the fly, I think they could tell I panicked. I’m not known for my poker face. I was surprised because the little thought I’d put into the question before that point did not have any bearing on the conviction of my answer.

There is no reason why any basic human need should not be completely bought and paid for: water, power, internet, housing, healthcare, food, and education. All of these should be public goods, not just for those who need it most, but for everyone. That’s what it means to be a socialist to me.

Any other outcome is a choice by the rich and powerful oligarchy running this country. Who never has trouble finding money for war, or data centers, or warehouses to lock up our immigrant neighbors. After I washed down that first bite I gave a less eloquent version of that answer and we moved onto other subjects, but that question hasn’t left me since.

If this series was called “Why Am I Socialist?” I could just end it right there, but that’s not the question. Why this organization? Well, I’ve worked in campaigns for a while now and I’ve learned to discern a winning strategy from a losing strategy very quickly. I like playing for winning teams, especially when that team also has members who believe in the same principles and values as I do sitting in seats at the highest levels of government.

Progressive politics have always been important to me. I’ve been as selective as I can with my employers and I prefer to work for issues over politicians as often as I can. The quality of candidates that this organization has produced in recent years is undeniable and how they govern and show up for their communities has matched how they campaign through and through. Besides the candidates, the party itself is growing exponentially. The influx of new members is bringing new life and creating the opportunity for new initiatives, ideologies, and theories of change to take hold of the party in unexpected ways. This is an environment rife with energy, hope, and purpose; the perfect time to join an organization.

The best thing about DSA isn’t our politics. It’s the outcomes our politics produce. I’m 100% done with case studies and surveys. We know the air is bad and we know it’s because of heavy industry, we know that none of us can afford anything, there is no other way to interpret the rising cost of living and stagnant, undignified wages. There has never been a single survey nor case study needed to decide whether or not to build weapons for the military industrial complex which our tax dollars are propping up at rates which we will never know because the Pentagon has never passed an audit. From what I’ve seen our brand of politics is producing real outcomes, quickly, and unapologetically governing with the radical idea that basic human needs should be met for everyone in our society.

My answer to the question posed by this running series is simple: if DSA electeds made up a significant portion of officials in this country, at every level of government, we might actually live in a world where water, power, internet, housing, healthcare, food, and education were all public goods.

We might live in a world where our power wasn’t shut off in 2005 during the 12th heaviest snow storm in Detroit’s history and in that world my mother and millions of others who are no longer here due to the pain and trauma that capitalism burdens us with might still be here. All of this nonsense is a choice — we need people in office willing to choose differently.

Why I Joined DSA: For the Vegan Smash Burgers was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

by Serge S

(Note: This is a corrected version of a previous post.)

Cleveland joined several communities nationwide who are changing their stance on Flock surveillance technology. 

During the Cleveland City Council Public Safety Committee’s June 17 meeting, members voted 3 to 1 against renewing their Flock “Safety” surveillance contract which expires on June 29. 

Voting against were Stephanie Howse-Jones, Niki Hudson, and Kevin Conwell, leaving Committee Chair Mike Polensek as the sole member to vote for the agreement. 

According to News 5 Cleveland, council members, police administrators, Public Safety Director Wayne Drummond, fifteen community members and more than two dozen people from Flock No were involved in the discussion, which lasted nearly two hours. 

Flock cameras were first installed in Cleveland during the summer of 2023 and have spread to nearby communities including Euclid, Richmond Heights, Willoughby Hills. 

The $250,000 contract would have extended the system for another year. 

The fight isn’t over. Although the safety committee declined to renew the contract this time, another council committee may take up the legislation, although no date has been set. 

Flock isn’t the only surveillance system in Cleveland. The city also operates 3,400 video surveillance cameras, most of which have AI tracking capabilities. 

This isn’t the first time that Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration has tried to sneak funding for surveillance technology through backroom channels. In the past he has bypassed the Safety Committee by extending contracts through the city’s Board of Control which effectively sidesteps council’s ability to review, approve, or deny them. 

In one such instance Bibb extended the city’s $850,000 contract with SoundThinking, the vendor of their gunshot-detection technology ShotSpotter in April of 2026. 

Several organizations have risen in response to Flock and other tracking systems which have flooded Cleveland in recent years as city’s including Dayton have cancelled or declined to renew contracts with Flock. 

One of them, “Flock No CLE” formed last year when the city tried to push an emergency proposal to expand Flock systems and replace their ShotSpotter system in 2025. The legislation would have authorized a $2 million three-year contract with Flock’s version of the “shot spotting” technology by using microphones in their already existing automated license plate readers, according to Signal Cleveland. 

According to Axios Cleveland the Cleveland Clergy Coalition spoke in favor of the contract on safety grounds while police argued the technology improves response times and claimed that there has been no misuse of data by Cleveland officers – although there is no way to verify these claims as officers can use a login system that does not always have two-factor authentication – meaning that logins could be shared to avoid tracking. 

Sources in order of use:

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-flock-license-plate-reader-contract-expiring-end-of-the-month

https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/06/18/cleveland-council-flock-contract-renewal-vote

https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/05/19/flock-cleveland-bibb-council

The post Cleveland Safety Committee Denies Renewal of Flock “Safety” Contract appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

The post Socialism Wins In DC appeared first on .

Expression of Disapproval – Burbank City Council Budget Flock Inclusion

On June 2nd, after receiving a multitude of constituent comments objecting to the renewal of the City of Burbank’s $250,000 contract with Flock Safety, the Burbank City Council voted unanimously to pass the city budget unamended, resulting in the renewal of the contract with Flock. This included DSA endorsed Socialist in Office Burbank City Council Member Konstantine Anthony.

DSA-LA and many other chapters of DSA have opposed Flock contracts in our cities, and the DSA-LA Immigration Justice Committee currently has an ongoing campaign to end Flock contracts in Los Angeles. Flock routinely shares data with DHS and ICE, breaking sanctuary ordinances and California State Law in the process, and has a proven track history of extreme data vulnerabilities and violations of their own privacy policies. Flock cameras have been used to track immigrants, women seeking abortions, and even in one instance to access cameras in a children’s gymnastics room. The bottom line: “Flock Safety” is not safe.

DSA Los Angeles strongly disagrees with the council member’s vote. As an avowed socialist, Council Member Anthony should have cast a vote of principled opposition to the use of public funds to surveil working class residents. At the same meeting, the council member was targeted for censure for organizing opposition to a Moms of Liberty, a hate group’s, anti-trans event in Burbank. We understand that this motion put him in a difficult position to take a position of courage – however, the expectation of our SiOs is to take positions of conviction, especially when the community demands it.

The struggle for socialism, multiracial democracy, and immigration justice continues. We are in communication with Council Member Anthony about actions to make amends going forward, and will work with him in the future to build a Burbank for all.

The post Metro DC DSA Statement on Trump’s Threats to Revoke DC Home Rule appeared first on .

Photo: Governor Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson toasting champagne with Portland Metro Chamber president and CEO Andrew Hoan.

Like all American cities, Portland has a local ruling class. The exact contours of this class evolve over time, but one institution has served as a pillar of the ruling class’s political aims for decades: the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly known as the Portland Business Alliance). Although the PMC has been around for a long time, Portland’s new form of government and a true left flank of representatives on City Council has forced these corporate hacks out of the shadows and into full public view. Read on to learn about the makeup of the PMC and their 10 most egregious actions since January 2025, and how to take part in an upcoming action against corporate cronyism.

The Corporate Front

The PMC is the smoke-filled room where the ruling class formulates its plans. The PMC staff are the highly-paid mercenaries who, for decades, have shaped the direction of the City of Portland. The PMC also throws money into state and local political campaigns to try and shape the makeup of elected government.

The PMC is where the country’s biggest corporations come together to influence Portland’s politics and economy. A quick glance at its member directory reveals a Who’s-Who of banks, fossil fuel companies, union busters, insurance companies, corporate law firms, technology companies, communications firms, private hospitals, and more. Nearly every mainstream media outlet is also a member, and the President of The Oregonian even serves on the PMC board. The PMC, like all Chambers of Commerce, uses propaganda to try to represent itself as the champion of the small business. But, in practice, only members who spent $12-$17K per year get a seat on the Board and access to the CEO. This means the PMC is a pay-to-play organization, driven by the big corporations, in the interest of the big corporations.

The PMC still holds a lot of influence in so-called “moderate” and conservative political circles, but its ability to operate under the radar has been substantially restricted since we won reform to the City’s charter. The PMC’s political success was for decades a product of its relative obscurity, where it operated most effectively from back offices and annual luncheons. Forced now into the sunlight, the lobby seems ill-adjusted to scrutiny.

In the last months of the previous City Council, the PMC engineered a deal to expand a program called “Downtown Clean & Safe” that, astonishingly, forces property owners to subsidize a substantial portion of PMC staff salaries. This policy was strongly opposed by incoming Portland City Councilors and dozens of community organizations (who wrote a letter calling for a delay of the decision to give a substantial portion of a “$58 million, no-bid contract to the Portland Metro Chamber” until the new council took over). But former mayor Ted Wheeler, along with a then-majority of PMC-endorsed City Commissioners, decided to rush the new program through, effectively securing up nearly half of CEO and President Andrew Hoan’s ~$333,000 salary, and 30-80% of the high salaries of other PMC staffers.

The PMC also lobbies the Portland City Council far more than any other entity, with over 35% of all recorded lobbying instances since 2014. In 2025 alone, PMC reported making 686 contacts with city officials, which represents close to one-third (30%) of all lobbying visits to Portland City Officials that year according to lobbying reports submitted to the City Auditor. As an example of the disproportionate amount of time PMC spends with City Officials, look at one quarter of 2025. Of the 32 entities that lobbied City Officials in the first quarter of 2025, PMC reported 322 visits. The next closest entity as measured by visits is RealPage, the rent-fixing software company that was banned in Portland, and they had a total of 41 visits in that quarter, which is 1.8% of all visits in that quarter. So, in effect, the PMC has managed to secure for itself a massive, publicly-guaranteed subsidy to influence Portland government. On top of receiving public dollars to lobby the City on behalf of business interests, there is also a revolving-door relationship between the PMC and the City: many of the PMC’s current and former employees used to work at the City of Portland.

The Dirty Deeds

With the above overview, here are some of the most egregious PMC actions since January 2025, paid for, in part, with public funds:

10.  The PMC declares war on municipal socialism

Doug Moore, who runs the one of Portland Metro Chamber’s political action committees, United for Portland, told the Willamette Week last year that “socialists are trying to take over the City Council and turn it into an ideological showcase for the rest of the country.” He also said the number one priority of the PMC is to “stop DSA from taking over the council.”

So, in the era of Donald Trump, the number one goal of the local ruling class is not protecting immigrants and other vulnerable communities or preventing a federal invasion, but stopping policymaking that benefits the working class.

9. PMC lobbies to protect ICE detention facility

In January 2026, Portland City Council adopted a Detention Facility Fee Ordinance that declares a public nuisance to use tear gas and assigned new costs to detention facility owners to offset the fiscal impact that these facilities cause for the government. The PMC, along with developers and home builders, opposed this policy because even though it only targets detention facilities like the Macadam ICE facility, they were worried about the precedent of adding new fees to building owners (“victims of protest”) and because the policy did not hold individual protestors accountable. Per their letter, the policy “places the entirety of the financial burden on the business being targeted — regardless of the actions of demonstrators.”

Yes, you heard that right. They want people protesting ICE abductions and detentions to pay for the costs of their protests.

It’s very good to know that there’s someone looking out for the interests of the poor, victimized owners of detention facilities where our neighbors are processed and held after they are abducted and before they are deported.

8. PMC threatens to sue the City of Portland for a proposal to raise taxes on CEOs

Last year during the budget cycle, Councilor Novick proposed a CEO tax to close some of the budget gap. In response, the PMC trotted out an absurd legal analysis to argue that the city can’t raise taxes without voter authority. 

Councilor Novick called the analysis “a joke” in the Willamette Week and pointed out how stupid it was to suggest that the city had been illegally raising revenue for over a century. It’s clear that the PMC went shopping for lawyers to write a legal analysis that fit their ideological desire and purely to try to derail progressive revenue raising plans.

7. PMC threatens to sue the City of Portland for plans to exempt poor people from the arts tax

When Portland City Councilors came up with a reform plan to exempt people who make under $20,000 (or $40,000 for joint filers) and increase the tax to $35 for other filers, the PMC again threatened to sue (and recycled the ridiculous legal analysis it began circulating in 2025).

Undeterred by this weak threat, Portland City Council passed the arts tax reforms.

We’ll see if the PMC’s threats have any teeth! We think it’s pure bluster.

6. PMC lobbyist tries to kill bus lanes… twice

In spring 2025, residents of 82nd Avenue called for Bus And Turn (BAT) lanes on the rebuilt 82nd to speed up buses along the corridor. Over 1400 people responded to a survey where 70% of residents (54% of business owners!) wanted BAT lanes along most or all of 82nd Ave. The Portland Metro Chamber, out of touch as ever, activated against the BAT lanes, with PMC execs Jon Isaacs or Michael Liu testifying at every single public meeting (often both). Though Liu claimed to speak for the tenants at his shopping center, opposition to BAT lanes did not materialize in the monthly public meetings, and Trimet would go on to recommend BAT lanes to the fullest extent possible. In one particularly cringey episode, Isaacs attempted to testify twice as long as everyone else — once as a representative of his Neighborhood Association, and again for the Metro Chamber. Trimet cut him off in the middle of his second testimony.

5. Anti-DSA red scare push polls

In April 2026, Democratic Party voters in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington County received invitations to answer questions in bizarre polls about left-wing candidates running for office. The polls were “push polls” — a negative campaigning technique used to influence voters by asking loaded or misleading questions to bias the poll-participant against a candidate. The polls attempted to tie candidates to DSA (even candidates not supported by DSA) and asked questions like this:

Many speculated on who was behind these push polls, until Alex Baumhardt at the Oregon Capitol Chronicle found out that it was Jon Isaacs from the Portland Metro Chamber who, through the PMC-run Portland Alliance PAC, spent $43,000 to Chicago-based Elevated Campaigns.

Ultimately, Isaacs wasted tens of thousands of dollars on dirty tricks only to get shellacked by DSA in two high-profile Washington County legislative races.

4. Wasting money trying to protect data centers and polluters in Washington County elections

Consistent with its fear of DSA candidates, the PMC spent big to try (and fail) to prevent Dr. Tammy Carpenter and Myrna Muñoz from winning elected office. One of the big issues for voters in the election was data centers.

As we wrote in our blog post about The Data Centrists of Washington County, the PMC “play[s] a critical role in whipping support for the data centers, and their relationships with the transnational technology corporations are substantial. […] In Portland, firms with substantial data center interests helm the Metro Chamber’s Board of Directors, including Amazon, Intel, Google, Microsoft, Northwest Natural Gas, and Portland General Electric.”

The PMC spent big in support of their data centrist candidates, and despite the Oregonian incorrectly calling the races before all the votes were counted, both Janeen Sollman and Ashley Hartmeier-Prigg were defeated by DSA, unions, and environmental groups.

3. Back room dealing to protect Zenith Energy

Community advocates (and DSA) have been fighting against the expansion of the Zenith Energy oil terminal for years. After repeated backroom deals, the election of DSA Councilors Mitch Green, Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane, and Sameer Kanal in November of 2024 finally signaled that we would have a city council ready to hold Zenith accountable. In fact, in December 2024, Zenith was hit with a historic penalty that gave the new Mayor and City Council the opportunity to act.

However, while Councilors Green and Morillo were readying the paperwork to pause any new permissions for Zenith and to hold the company accountable, there was another backroom deal; this time over sazeracs.

Street Roots (now Portland Mercury) reporter Jeremiah Hayden broke a story that PMC lobbyist Jon Isaacs met with Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira off hours at a bar and discussed the pending Zenith Energy Land Use Compatibility Statement application over drinks. Zenith Energy is a member of the PMC and the PMC publicly opposed any City Council action to hold Zenith accountable.

After meeting with Isaacs, Oliveira rushed to approve Zenith’s new LUCS before the City Council could act, despite telling the Council in a work session that there was no legal reason to rush the decision, creating a clear appearance that Oliveira’s decision was influenced by his personal friend Jon Isaacs.

After these actions, advocates sued the City of Portland and alleged that the LUCS was granted illegally and without adequate public process. The advocates won important procedural victories and this case will soon go to trial. We expect that the PMC’s corruption will be uncovered and that this night out for sazeracs might cost their buddies at Zenith a lot of time and money.

2. Tax flight lies and anti-Preschool for All propaganda

For years, the PMC and their local ruling class allies have promoted a bullshit theory that the wealthy are fleeing Portland because of their supposedly high tax burden. After publicly declaring their intention, the PMC used this false claim to try to kill the Preschool for All program on numerous occasions. The false tax flight claim is also one of the core assumptions behind Governor Tina Kotek’s so-called Prosperity Council that has recommended a Reaganite approach to taxes and regulation in Oregon.

As the PMC and Governor Tina Kotek attempted, again, to attack Preschool for All, Councilor Mitch Green — a Ph.D. economist — and his staff produced a report that debunked the tax flight claims. The press release announcing the report described the findings as such:

“The data shows income gains, not flight: The reported increase in average income of those leaving the county during the pandemic is better explained by massive, nationwide windfall gains from capital gains, interest, and dividends—not an exodus driven by local taxes. This pattern could be seen in major cities across the country, regardless of their tax rates.

No mass exodus of high-income households: The number of households in Multnomah County with incomes over $200,000 has grown by 28.7% from 2021 to 2023. The total number of filers paying the PFA tax increased by 16.5% in the same period.

A flawed use of averages: Opponents’ arguments depend on a “statistical sleight of hand”using mean averages, which are easily skewed by a small number of very high-income individuals. This method is inappropriate for analyzing migration trends.”

Armed with this report, Preschool for All supporters went on to defeat efforts at killing the program and forced Governor Kotek to back away from her attacks on PFA (for the time being).

The PMC and their allies on the Prosperity Council continue to advance myths about tax flight to try and bolster their deregulatory and anti-tax austerity agenda.

1. The Moda Center Billionaire Ball-Room

Earlier this year, the Blazers organization and its new owner, billionaire Tom Dundon (a man who became rich in the subprime auto lending industry), launched a campaign with corporate Democrats in the Oregon State Legislature to scare everyone into appropriating hundreds of millions of dollars in public money for Moda Center stadium upgrades. The Oregon State Legislature approved $365 million in state bonds for these stadium upgrades, with a requirement that the City of Portland and Multnomah County to contribute over $200 million in additional funds. Along the way, we learned that there were series of backroom negotiations between public officials like Mayor Keith Wilson and Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim Edwards, which were hidden from the public under the code-name “Project Mt. Hood.”

After signing the bill into law, Governor Kotek attempted to pressure the Portland City Council to quickly appropriate public money for the Moda Center, saying this is “not a time to play politics.”

However, things are not going to be so easy for Dundon and his corporate Democrats. Led by Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane, DSA City Councilors have signaled that they will push back on any attempt to hand public money over to a billionaire without adequate public process and community benefits. They’ve also signaled that they want to have a public vote on the issue.

Just last week, RipCityNotRipoff published a 2024 City of Portland facilities inventory analysis for the Moda Center, which showed that only ~$112 million is required for necessary repairs, far below the over $600 million dollars pledged by the state legislature. The rest of the money is for improvements that would make the Blazers organization and Dundon more profits, like luxury suite renovations, a concourse bar, and a new team store.

At Portland DSA, we say that no public money should go toward making a billionaire even more profits, especially when our schools are being closed and our neighbors go unhoused.

As it happens, the PMC is hosting its annual meeting at the Moda Center on June 24, 2026. Members of the public can pay $350 to meet with billionaire Tom Dundon, Mayor Keith Wilson, State Senators Kate Lieber and Rob Wagner, and other corporate cronies and political hacks. Unsurprisingly this event is sponsored by corporate looters and polluters like US Bank, Comcast, Chevron, NW Natural, Pacific Power, Lyft, The Oregonian, and more.

Join DSA and partners for a community picket and picnic where we will confront Portland’s biggest looters and polluters while they flaunt their access to the Mayor and top Democratic Party leaders!

Wednesday, June 24, 1-6pm, at the Moda Center. We hope to see you there!

by AC

Our chapter is fortunate to be growing and maintaining a high percentage of active members. Folks have taken this to indicate our chapter can expand to take on additional work. In the past few months, I have been deeply skeptical of our ability to expand on our current work largely from my experience on the Trans Rights Priority Project leadership team and observing the trajectory of the Immigration Solidarity Priority Project first term. While our chapter’s growth has led many to believe we can expand our work, I’m increasingly convinced that growth in membership alone is not enough; without significant member engagement across the chapter, we risk projects that are doomed to fail and further burning out our most experienced organizers.

What finally put my nebulous feeling about our lack of capacity into perspective was my recent trip down to Louisville DSA to canvas for their electoral candidates. Louisville DSA is supporting four candidates for local- and state-level offices concurrently in a chapter virtually the same size as Cleveland DSA. They also have a Trans Safe Haven campaign similar to our Trans Rights Priority Project, which is pushing sanctuary city legislation. This project has the support of over 100 local unions and political organizations and has collected at least 3,000 signatures from residents in the two years it has been running. Louisville DSA also has several other active campaigns, a building fund with over $10,000 towards purchasing a permanent office, and several educational projects. Talking with Louisville comrades, I must be honest that my initial reaction was one of embarrassment that our chapter is struggling to succeed in a fraction of the work of our southern comrades. I feel there is a significant barrier in our way to accomplishing what Louisville DSA has, which is a lack of militant engagement across our membership. 

Our work requires militancy; not in the sense of posturing or burnout, but in the sense of disciplined, collective commitment to carrying out democratically decided work. To be militant socialists, we must be dedicated and principled in our organizing. That means showing up to meetings on time and prepared, to be uncompromising in our pursuit for liberation of the working class. It also means taking responsibility and initiative to carry our democratically decided work forward – even when we might have our own personal reservations – and thinking critically and strategically about all projects as we design and deliberate on them. As a brand new member in late 2024, I sometimes took it for granted that every project the chapter took on would build power for the working class, even if only a little bit. At the time, that little bit was good enough for me and I was often frustrated when experienced comrades pushed me to articulate explicitly how certain work would build power for the chapter and/or the working class as a whole. Now, over a year in with some leadership and organizing experience under my belt, I can see more clearly how this is the critical question that should inform every action we do as DSA. 

Newer members often have understandable hesitancy and insecurity about entering into political activism and organizing work, which is counterintuitive to the rugged individualism and liberalism under which we have been indoctrinated our entire lives. Experienced organizers must cultivate an environment of support and empowerment to overcome this capitalist indoctrination. Newer members must also be willing to challenge themselves and take the leap into the unknown. They will encounter failures and make many mistakes, but that is a critical and unavoidable part of the learning process. 

Outside of DSA, I teach for a living. My own teaching philosophy, based on the science of teaching and learning, rests on a foundation of practice and feedback. Whether it is learning in a classroom or in a conference room, it makes no difference; personal growth and development are iterative processes. Few of us are thrilled by the notion that trial and error involves error, and many “baby leftists” are understandably risk averse – they want to avoid letting their comrades down or sounding dumb. In our current internet age, social media cancel culture and purity testing within the leftist spaces that radicalize so many of us also infect us with the fear that holds us back from meaningfully engaging. Still, this is what the role of a militant member of a collectively run organization asks from us. Sharing your opinion in a meeting can be nerve-wracking, but participation is both something every member is entitled to and something the organization desperately needs from its members.

When I talk about doing the work, I don’t just mean actions like canvassing for a petition, bottomlining an event, or organizing a new member. Doing the work is also voicing your opinion during a project meeting, commenting on proposal drafts, and speaking for or against proposals during the general meeting. All members in good standing are entitled to participate in all of these activities and are responsible for doing so. We cannot defer to the oldest, loudest voices in the room. It allows for personal biases and cliques to dominate the governance of the chapter, and it robs members of their own political development. Often in meetings I observe the same people dominating conversation, including myself. When I try to pull back and make space for others, often the void remains unfilled. I find this both personally frustrating and concerning with respect to the long-term health and viability of the chapter. Our work is one of collective, participatory democracy, after all.

I feel an aspect of militancy that is especially important to our chapter as of late is the act of showing up when it is inconvenient or hard to do, or when the project isn’t your personal favorite thing. No matter how much or how little someone has on their plate, organizing is hard work. It will take all of us and so many more to bring about the socialist future we dream of. Of course, there must be a balance between maintaining militancy and avoiding burnout. This balance is something I personally struggle with. I like to joke that I suffer “chronic volunteering disease” and often catch myself internally asking some version of “If not me, then who?” I know I’m not the only one who feels this way; in one of my all-time favorite books on organizing, Dean Spade describes what sounds an awfully lot like my own chronic volunteering disease:

“For years I had a pattern where whenever I was in a meeting and the group identified a task that needed to be done, I would feel a strong impulse to volunteer for the task. It stemmed from my unconscious desire to be seen as useful, and to secure my place in the group by being of service. It also often included a tinge of anxiety that the work either wouldn’t get done, or wouldn’t get done in what I thought was the ‘right’ way. This pattern sometimes resulted in overwork, exhaustion, and neglect of other parts of my life.”

Chronic volunteering disease contributes to unsustainable relationships with the movement that create the conditions that stoke resentment and organizer burnout. Objectively my brain knows this, and yet I continually return to “If not me, then who?” It isn’t a fully rhetorical question– someone really has to do the tasks of maintaining the movement, whether that is creating an agenda, writing a proposal, throwing a social, or showing up to canvas on a Sunday morning. As the Trans Rights Priority Project likes to say, “It’s YOUR project, it doesn’t work without YOU!”, where “you” is everyone in the chapter, from the most seasoned organizer to the comrade who signed up to pay dues yesterday. 

One additional observation that informs my opinion is that many of our most experienced, long-term organizers are currently sitting on the “burnout bench”. This situation obviously arises from a variety of factors: some have other life obligations or obstacles, some are dealing with interpersonal conflicts, and some have a necessary and well-earned break after intense service to the chapter. In my discussions with Louisville DSA comrades, I wondered about whether they were able to carry out their large amount of work sustainably, and asked if each project was successful due to an unreasonable amount of work put in by senior organizers. There was a telling pause in the conversation, before the comrade acknowledged several of the projects were relying on several members pushing themselves to the brink of burnout – potentially a cautionary tale for us to consider as we grow here in Cleveland. It is expected that individuals’ capacity ebbs and flows throughout their tenure in the movement. Therefore, we have to ensure that our work continues when members need to take a step back. This requires other members to step up and support their comrades and the work of the movement. 

Overall, I do have faith that our chapter can continue to build power for the Cleveland working class and should be able to grow the work we are engaged in, but only if we approach our current and future work with intention to build power, increased militancy, and care regarding membership capacity. My ask to the “oldheads” – practice pausing for others to speak and to intentionally ask newer comrades what their thoughts are. Be mindful about how you respond, especially if you disagree. Check in with yourself about your capacity. If you need to take a break, actually take it! It is difficult to feel restored when ruminating on chapter work, even if you aren’t actively showing up. But also, ask yourself about whether a situation calls for militancy. My ask to newer comrades – take a chance and challenge yourself to become comfortable with the inevitable mistakes that will and must happen. Seek out information from comrades you respect and trust (and some you might not yet!). Volunteer for a small task at a meeting. Connect back to the reasons you joined DSA in the first place – hopefully to become meaningfully engaged in the socialist movement!

The post Capacity and Militancy appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.