When I was canvassing for Jovanka Beckles’s State Senate campaign (Senate District 7) in late September, I spoke with a woman in north Oakland who was concerned that rents in her neighborhood might get too high for long-time residents to stay. It was, she said, that mix of new and older neighbors that made the area feel special in Oakland and, for her, like home. My canvassing partner and I assured her that Jovanka has consistently used her political office to fight for working-class tenants like her.     

Many of the East Bay DSA canvassers who went out that afternoon for Jovanka heard the same thing from neighbors:  thanks that we were the first people to knock on their doors to tell them about a statewide race. 

Active Champion

The DSA campaign for Jovanka has reached voters across the East Bay and has activated new members in the process. We’ve spoken to residents’ concerns by talking with them about our chapter’s campaigns, from our demands that local government divest from Israeli apartheid to our advocacy for fair schedules for transit workers. That integration is possible because Jovanka has consistently been an active champion of all these causes as an elected socialist and as a member of our chapter. 

When I spoke with an Oakland resident in July who was concerned about the unfolding genocide in Gaza, I could tell her that Jovanka has been an avowed supporter of the Palestinian cause and that our chapter was collecting signatures for a local divestment campaign, which the voter eagerly signed. For our canvass focused on labor, we could easily transition from talking with a neighbor about Jovanka’s successful effort to raise the minimum wage as a city councilor in Richmond to asking whether they wanted to organize in their workplace. When we talked with voters about her work as a transit board member, we could tell them about our chapter’s campaign to work alongside Jovanka and the transit workers union (ATU 192) to demand fair and humane schedules for bus operators.    

Talking with neighbors works

Talking at the door about how our campaigns align with Jovanka’s vision helps bring our members and new organizers to our events. At our last two canvasses, I partnered with new members who had joined our chapter within the last month. Talking with neighbors about our work also helps those members see the scope of our chapter’s organizing. 

For canvassers and canvass-ees, Jovanka’s corporate-free campaign starts the conversation. It also sharply distinguishes her from her opponent, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín. Arreguín has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from real estate lobbyists, a correctional officers union, PG&E and Uber. Jovanka, on the other hand, helped win millions for the community from Chevron, which has a refinery in Richmond. While Arreguín, who proudly took a pro-Israel lobby trip in 2022, has loudly opposed any ceasefire resolution from Berkeley City Council, Jovanka has stood firm in her support for an end to US complicity in the genocide.

Whether in Gaza or in our own East Bay senate district, Jovanka has consistently supported just causes that align with our chapter’s organizing. We can confidently tell neighbors like that resident in north Oakland that she’ll keep fighting against the root causes of displacement and for social services that empower the working class. 

Bay Area DSA members (and those who aren’t yet members!) can join our next canvass for Jovanka and our other endorsed candidates on the morning of Sunday, November 3.  

You can contribute to Jovanka’s corporate-free campaign here.

DSA San Diego’s endorsements require the approval of our membership body. Electoral candidates must seek our endorsement and complete our Endorsement Questionnaire. We see endorsements as more than simply support, but a commitment by our members to organize for candidates and ballot measures that align strongly with our values as socialists, and ultimately to help [...]

Read More... from Our Endorsements for the November 2024 General Election

The post Our Endorsements for the November 2024 General Election appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America | San Diego Chapter.

After trying to quash small-donor financing in 2016, The Oregonian editorial board refuses to interview top recipients of small-donor funds

Readers likely received The Oregonian’s recent endorsements of employer-friendly, corporate-backed City Council candidates with little surprise.

After all, the newspaper’s editorial board has, over its 175-year existence, endorsed a KKK-backed gubernatorial winner, greenlit Chamber of Commerce-led mobs trying to (unsuccessfully) break the great 1934 Longshore strike, lauded federal incarceration of people of Japanese descent — and endorsed a Republican presidential candidate every election until 1992.

It’s more intriguing to see a gap open up between the Editorial Board’s hardline support for ruling-class priorities and reporting by the paper’s own news staff.

Oddly, the editorial bosses refused to even interview the top recipients of small-donor contributions in District 3 and 4 (Tiffany Koyama Lane and Mitch Green, both backed by Portland DSA).

Koyama Lane is also the top overall recipient of small-donor funds across the entire city — putting her ahead of all 78 city council/mayoral candidates participating in the small-donor program.

The Oregonian’s contempt for working-class political action isn’t new here, either. The Editorial Board opposed both the 2016 small-donor campaign finance resolution and the 2023 voter-led government charter reform measure. Respectively, these bills launched the small-donor financing program and overhauled Portland’s Jim Crow-era city government. The Oregonian also lobbied against passage of ranked-choice voting, which threatens to upend the corporate-backed status quo in City Hall.

In contrast, the newspaper’s journalists apparently see something different brewing in city politics. The paper’s October 9 edition featured a front-page article overviewing the 30+ candidates running in District 3.

Koyama Lane was above-the-fold:

“People are sick of finger pointing,” said Tiffany Koyama Lane, a third grade teacher and union organizer who currently leads the citywide field in money raised by a prospective city councilor. “They really want the government to get it together.”

Portland DSA’s backing was noted as well:

“Koyama Lane has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America — one of two Portland City Council candidates to get that nod. She said that while it was hard to participate with two elementary age kids at home, the 2023 teacher strike showed her the power of collective action.”

Similarly, an October 1 X.com (formerly Twitter) post by staff reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh heralded Portland DSA’s unprecedented canvassing operation on behalf of Koyama Lane and Green, at a time when most other candidates are struggling to get doors knocked:

It is no surprise to us that our candidates would uniquely attract regular people to back their campaigns. After all, both Tiffany and Mitch demonstrate a strong commitment to our vision of a city run by the working class, not bosses, landlords, and big corporations.

Portlanders are worked to the bone just to keep a roof over their heads, and that won’t change with tepid “reforms” drawn up in consultants’ board rooms. Tiffany and Mitch will bring the power of our movement to fight for what we all deserve: guaranteed quality housing, plentiful public services, and a beautiful, livable environment.

Reliable as they are, we can expect the Portland Business Alliance-affiliated Oregonian to advocate for its interests. But it’s clear working-class Portlanders, over-represented among the small-donor rolls, want something different.

Contribute $10 or more (split between Tiffany and Mitch) to have your money matched 9:1

Portland’s silence tarnishes its progressive reputation

As the Israeli violence in Gaza escalates to horrifying levels, the human death toll continues to mount. More than 50% of those killed in Gaza are children. Israel has dropped thousands of tons of American-supplied explosives, with nearly 18,000 bombs and missiles raining down on the densely populated region. International organizations condemn the excessive use of force, war crimes, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, and the violation of human rights.

Portland City Hall remains silent. Portland DSA, and our boycott divestment and sanctions working group, call on City Council candidates — and current incumbents — to back a ceasefire resolution & arms embargo within their first 100 days in office. This is not just a moral imperative but also a reflection of the values we claim to uphold: peace, justice, and the dignity of all human beings.

In March 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, said that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. In its July 2024 ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its advisory opinion that, “all States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” (No. 2024/57, 19 July 2024).

Calls to end this genocide are ringing out across civil society, including from universities, labor unions, and cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Seattle, Madison and San Francisco. Many of these statements recognize the interconnectedness of global justice movements. The labor movement, for example, has pointed out the parallels between the exploitation of workers in places like the Congo — where resources are extracted through violence — and the oppression faced by Palestinians. These struggles against imperialism, capitalism, and oppression are deeply intertwined.

Ceasefire resolutions were passed by Multnomah County, the city of Eugene, the Oregon Food Bank, and the Klamath Tribe. Salem, embedded in a more conservative context than Portland, passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, calling for accountability for all parties, and condemning attacks on civilians. Cities calling for a ceasefire are a part of a meaningful, longstanding tradition of grassroots activism that sends strong signals to the Federal Government. As we head into the next election cycle, it is imperative that we demand concrete action from those seeking our votes. Candidates running for office — whether at the local, state, or federal level — must take a stand.

But how is it that there hasn’t been a resolution passed calling for a ceasefire in our city? Portland, known for its progressive stances on many fronts including trans- and LGBTQ+ rights, has yet to make a robust demand for a ceasefire and arms embargo.

As Israel’s aggression escalates, we’re seeing alarming developments in Lebanon as well, where Israeli forces have begun their bombardment of civilian areas. This broader regional escalation threatens to engulf the entire Middle East in further violence, with civilians bearing the brunt of the destruction. These attacks are not isolated but part of a broader strategy of expansion and domination, which the international community must urgently address.

Our organization, DSA, stands firmly in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Lebanon, against Zionism, and with all oppressed peoples across the world. The time for silence has long passed. Now is the moment to demand an end to the killing, an end to the bombing, and a real, lasting peace that addresses the root causes of the conflict. It’s time to call for an uncompromising ceasefire and Israeli arms embargo — our complicity must end.

Thorn West: Issue No. 217

State Politics

• AB X2 – 1, which requires oil companies to maintain higher reserves with the goal of preventing gasoline price spikes, was approved by the State Senate today in a special legislative session. All that remains now is for the Assembly to approve the Senate’s amendments. Governor Newsom promoted the legislation and called for the special session.

City Politics

• DSA-LA has released its voter guide for this November! Read and share!

• Across California, ballots are in the mail. Here is how to register to vote.

• A quarter of the way through the current fiscal year, the city has already spent the entire $100 million budgeted to settle liability claims against the city. The Controller’s office had previously broken down which city departments are most responsible, with the LAPD responsible for over half of the city’s liability.

• Following the latest round of settlement payouts, the city’s reserve fund is now below 4% of the total general fund, and is likely to dip further. Per the Controller’s office, dropping below 2.75% triggers an official “fiscal emergency.”

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Amid a budget crisis, Charter Amendment FF would spend 23 million to give certain police officers and park rangers better pensions. The LA Times (and DSA-LA) endorses a no vote.

• Non-stop fear-mongering from media, politicians, and law enforcement about a non-existent crime wave appears to have made an impact on voters. Nathan Hochman, considered the most right-wing primary challenger of incumbent LA County District Attorney George Gascón, leads him in the general by high double digits, according to a recent poll. Similarly, Prop 36, which rolls back criminal justice reforms voters approved in 2014, also shows broad support in polls.

Labor

• 2,400 Kaiser Permanente behavioral health workers in Southern California, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, have announced that they will go on indefinite strike beginning on October 21 if their demands are not met. At issue are several concessions won by a similar strike of Kaiser workers in Northern California, in 2022.

Transportation

• AB 761, which further enables California municipalities to take advantage of federal loans to fund critical infrastructure projects, has officially passed. The new funding opportunity has been suggested as a way to expedite the planned extension of the Metro K Line from LAX to West Hollywood.
• This Sunday from 9am – 4pm, CicLAvia will hold one of its biggest car-free open streets events of the year, closing a route sprawling from Echo Park to East LA to all auto traffic.

Climate Justice

• The California Air Resource Board will soon consider whether to amend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard to require that gasoline manufactured in California produce less carbon-intense emissions. Meanwhile, the media has focused on the likelihood that this would likely raise the price of gas.

The post DSA-LA Voter Guide is Here + LA Over Budget On Liability Claims appeared first on The Thorn West.

Thorn West: Issue No. 216

State Politics

• The deadline for Governor Newsom to sign or veto state legislation passed on Monday. Prominent legislation vetoed by the governor include SB 1047, an AI safety bill, SB 961, a bill that mandated new cars sold California warn drivers when they’re speeding, and AB 3129, which would have allowed the state to block private equity purchases of health care facilities. Further roundup here. 

• Newsom approved several bills that derived from the work of the California Reparations Task Force, including one that required the state to acknowledge and formally apologize for the its role in American chattel slavery. However, Newsom vetoed SB 1050, which facilitated restitution for those who had property taken through racially motivated eminent domain, because it relied on a separate bill to establish a Freedmen Affairs Agency, which was stalled just before the legislative deadline.

• It’s rarely noted in media coverage of vetoed legislation, but of the 189 bills Newsom vetoed, 170 passed with veto-proof majorities in both chambers. However, the legislature has not overridden a governor’s veto since 1979.

City Politics

• Newly appointed City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson sat for an interview with LA Public Press

• Leaked documents revealed that the state attorney general wants Los Angeles to redraw council districts ahead of the 2026 election, after the most recent redistricting process in 2020 was discredited by scandal.

• Mayor Bass has appointed former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell to serve as chief of the LAPD. Next, City Council will vote on the appointment.

• Two candidates from DSA-LA’s 2024 endorsement slate have received endorsements from the LA Times: Karla Griego for School Board District 5 and Ysabel Jurado for CD 14. To help get DSA-LA’s endorsed candidates elected, see our event calendar, or sign up for a working group here.

Housing Rights

• DSA-LA was part of a coalition that organized a tenants and workers solidarity march on Saturday to demand affordable rent and liveable wages. This year, the city will reconsider the formula that determines how much  rent on the city’s rent-stabilized units can be raised each year. DSA-LA is organizing to ensure that the adjustments favor tenants; see here for more.

• The city of Los Angeles must increase its zoning capacity by 250,000 residential units to comply with state housing law. The LA Times notes that almost all of this added capacity is currently being planned for already dense areas. This makes it more likely that building the new units will come at the expense of tenants, and will require demolishing existing rent controlled units.

The post Tenants and Workers Rally for Fair Rent and Wages + Gov Newsom Vetoes 16% of 2024 Legislation appeared first on The Thorn West.