New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory over establishment Democrats has reverberated nationwide — energizing Democratic Socialists of America chapters — including in Las Vegas, where local membership and energy have surged.

Nationally, DSA membership jumped from 80,000 in October to over 90,000 by November. The Las Vegas chapter gained 200 members between Mamdani’s primary win and November general election victory, reaching around 550 people now paying dues. A recent Las Vegas DSA general body meeting had 89 members show up, the largest co-chair Shaun Navarro has seen.

Las Vegas DSA aims to channel this energy into two Nevada Assembly seats in 2026 midterms. Navarro is running for Assembly District 34, while the group backs Val Thomason, who got 34.5% in her 2024 primary loss to Assemblymember Venise Karris in District 10.

“We’re trying to create Zohran in every single state,” Navarro said. “We want to replicate that here, and I think it shows a winning message.”

Read the full article

Happy belated Thanksgiving, and apologies for the tardy newsletter. Remember that it’s now flu season, so make sure that your immunizations are up to date (or you too might fall behind on your work!).

The legislative season is around the corner, and legislators are dealing with the fallout from federal budget cuts, with which come an intensification of the ever-present calls for austerity. This year, some of our most vulnerable friends and neighbors were thrown on the street and left without food. GMDSA believes not just that everyone deserves housing and food, but that the money exists — what we need is the political will. That’s why GMDSA’s second annual convention voted to make Tax the Rich our priority campaign for 2026. 

Our members also voted on a new slate of officers and committee chairs. Congratulations in particular to Will Fritch, our new East Branch Co-Chair, and Nana Brownell, who will be returning to that same role for West Branch. 

Upcoming Events

• GMDSA is sponsoring “For Ukrainian Self-Determination: Building International Working Class Solidarity,” featuring our very own Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky and Traven Leyshon. Discussion begins December 15th at 5pm at Migrant Justice (179 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington) .

• Talk about your job and learn about shop-floor organizing from peers at Workers' Circle (co-hosted by the Green Mountain IWW) on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. The next one is at 6pm and is also at Migrant Justice on December 10th.

GMDSA Meetings 

• Labor Committee meets December 8 at 6pm 

• Membership Committee meets December 8 at 7pm

• Electoral Committee meets December 9 at 6pm

• Communications Committee meets December 

• General Meeting on December 20th (details TBA; check our calendar)

TState News

• Burlington’s democratic, member-run, GMDSA-sponsored cinema is now open for business. Congrats to Partizanfilm on its successful opening!

Peninsula DSA is deeply proud of its connections with AFT 1493, and counts many professional teachers as valued comrades in our organization and even on our steering committee. This connection adds to our collective horror and ire at recent attacks on academic freedom [1] and the all out assault [2] on both students and teachers by this fascist government [3], that nonetheless heighten existing contradictions and problems in higher education [4].

Online harassment of educators, in particular, is on the rise, often with the explicit goal of getting people fired from their jobs [5]. For years now, reactionary vigilantes on the internet have made it their life’s work to “expose” regular school teachers, perhaps because they express ideas with which they find dangerous to their preferred social structure, or perhaps because the person is of an appearance that they find similarly distasteful (such as being an openly queer person).

One recent case in particular has caused us great concern [6]. On September 10, Tom Alter, a tenured professor of history at Texas State University, was fired without due process, after speaking in a personal capacity at an online socialist conference. His comments were clipped and highlighted by a self-described online “fascist” [7] who began a viral campaign to get Prof. Alter fired.

As socialists with a particular solidarity with working teachers, we are deeply concerned by this case and the precedent it sets. Professor Alter is a comrade in our struggle for socialism, and since his firing was due to his politics, it sets a very bad precedent for socialists nationwide. To put it bluntly: an attack against one of us is an attack against all of us, in every sense of the phrase.

As a chapter, we strongly support the First Amendment right to free speech, as well as job protections against illegal firing. This case is about the right of socialists to teach and to exist in public in this society, as well as defending the rights of all working people. Peninsula DSA remains committed to its support of teachers’ unions, and to general academic and intellectual freedom, and we proudly add our name to the list of organizations nationwide supporting the Committee to Defend Tom Alter. States away we may be, but our struggles are alike.

Reinstate Comrade Alter now!
https://defendtomalter.org/

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/01/academic-freedom-us
[2] https://jewishcurrents.org/higher-ed-under-attack
[3] https://therealnews.com/inside-trumps-assault-on-universities
[4] https://jewishcurrents.org/higher-eds-bad-bargain
[5] https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2025/09/19/right-wing-doxing-campaign-endangers-faculty-and
[6] https://labornotes.org/blogs/2025/11/texas-college-teacher-fired-free-speech
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gCBU2OOX9Y

Las Vegas DSA is proud to endorse two socialist candidates for the Nevada State Assembly:

• Val Thomason for Assembly District 10
• Shaun Navarro for Assembly District 34

Bios for each candidate can be found below.

These candidates reflect LVDSA’s commitment to building long-term, diverse, working-class power in Nevada by electing representatives who fight for the needs of everyday people- not corporations, wealthy donors, or political elites.

Endorsements are determined through a rigorous, democratic process. In order to qualify, candidates must be members of the chapter, willing to openly identify as democratic socialists while running for office, and pledge to not take any campaign contributions from for-profit corporations, for-profit corporate PACs, real estate developers or corporate lobbyists. Candidates complete a thorough online questionnaire before answering questions directly from LVDSA members at a town hall. Then, they must receive support of ⅔ of LVDSA members attending a monthly chapter meeting to be endorsed.

Now that these candidates are endorsed, LVDSA is committed to mobilizing volunteers, knocking on doors, making calls, and using people power to help these candidates win.

“An endorsement from Las Vegas DSA means more than just another logo on a flyer; an endorsement comes with a commitment to putting all our organizing power into getting these candidates elected. That’s why our rigorous endorsement process is so important – we can only make that commitment if we’re certain the candidates are just as willing as we are to fight for the working class” says LVDSA Co-chair Tiffany Stoik. “After Zohran Mamdani’s win in NYC, we have been feeling the heightened energy and excitement in Las Vegas as well. People are hungry for change, and eager for leaders willing to stand up and fight for them. We’ll do everything we can to bring these champions of the working class to the legislature.”

Val Thomason, Assembly District 10

Val Thomason is a single mother and longtime community organizer. She has been a DSA member for more than five years, joining after her deep involvement in the Bernie 2020 campaign. As an organizer with DSA, she has focused on building support for rent caps in Nevada, going door to door to speak with renters about their rights and needs. Val’s dedication to winning material gains for working people and building a mass socialist movement comes from her lifetime of experience with poverty, her experiences being evicted, and her desire to build a world that works for people like us, not the billionaires.

Visit valfornevada.com to learn more about Val or donate to her campaign, or visit lvdsa.org/val to get involved in LVDSA’s campaign to get her elected!

Shaun Navarro, Assembly District 34

Shaun Navarro has been a leader in the community for nearly a decade. As co-chair of Las Vegas DSA, he helped create a monthly mutual aid event for the unhoused community, showing up every last Sunday for 6 years with supplies and volunteers. He helped craft the free brake light clinic, repairing brake lights for free for low income families. He led the charge on Palestine, arranging protests and education years before the horrific events of 2023.

Shaun is a staple in the community, working to organize people to take power back from establishment figures who have let us down time and time again. Shaun is running for Assembly District 34 to continue this work, not as a newcomer but as a seasoned organizer ready to fight for his community in a new forum – Nevada’s legislature.

Visit navarrofornevada.com to learn more about Shaun or donate to his campaign, or visit https://lvdsa.org/shaun to get involved in LVDSA’s campaign to get him elected!

For more information about LVDSA’s endorsement process, visit lvdsa.org/endorsements

(October 2025)

Across Ecuador, Indigenous, peasant, and working-class communities have risen once again to defend life, dignity, and sovereignty in the face of a government that governs for capital, not the people. The Noboa government has answered peaceful resistance with systematic state terror—deploying thousands of troops to occupy Indigenous territories, firing live rounds and tear gas indiscriminately at protesters and residents alike, and criminalizing the very act of defending one’s community. The Democratic Socialists of America’s International Committee extends our unconditional solidarity to the families of those killed and wounded, to the hundreds detained, and to the peoples of Imbabura, Cotacachi, Otavalo, and every territory now under siege.

1. We join their demands

We endorse the demands articulated by CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), UNORCAC (Union of Indigenous Peasant Organizations of Cotacachi), FICI (Federación Indígena y Campesina de Imbabura), and allied popular organizations:

• Immediate repeal of Executive Decree 126, which raised diesel prices more than 50% overnight and deepened poverty across Ecuador.
  
• An end to militarization, emergency decrees, and curfews imposed under the false pretext of “public order.”
  
• Neutral, civilian-led humanitarian corridors, coordinated with the Red Cross and human-rights monitors — not military convoys disguised as relief.
  
• Freedom for all detainees, the dropping of “terrorism” and related charges, and full reparations to the victims and families of state violence.
  
• Independent, international investigations into killings, disappearances, and the criminal use of live ammunition against demonstrators.
  
• Guarantees of non-repetition: training, command accountability, and civilian oversight of the Armed Forces and National Police.
  
• Protection of Indigenous and community media, including Radio Ilumán, TV MICC, and Apak TV, whose journalists have been attacked or censored.
  

2. We reject the authoritarian referendum

President Noboa’s referendum is not a democratic exercise but a tool to consolidate executive power, criminalize protest, and entrench the neoliberal model that produced this crisis.

In solidarity with CONAIE and Ecuador’s social movements, we support the campaign for a nationwide “No” vote and affirm that true democracy lives in the assemblies, cabildos, and territories of the organized people—not in plebiscites designed to legitimize repression.

3. We affirm an internationalist duty

We call on the U.S. government to end all forms of military and police cooperation that enable repression in Ecuador.

We urge labor unions, Indigenous federations, and left organizations worldwide to send observers, condemn the violence, and amplify the media of the Ecuadorian movement.
We encourage DSA chapters and members to:

1. Circulate this statement through your chapter’s mailing lists, internal communications, and social media channels to raise awareness about the crisis in Ecuador.
2. Contribute to neutral humanitarian funds identified by CONAIE and UNORCAC.
3. Pressure their elected officials to demand an end to militarization and to support international investigations.

As we stand with the First Nations here, we stand with the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador — one struggle for life and sovereignty.

In Conclusion

Ecuador’s uprising reminds us that austerity and authoritarianism are two faces of the same project. The struggle against neoliberalism in Ecuador is inseparable from our fight in the United States for public goods, workers’ rights, and socialism.

From Quito to Chicago, from Cotacachi to New York, our struggle is one.

¡Ni un paso atrás! We stand with the peoples of Ecuador in defense of life, territory, and dignity.

DSA Declaración de solidaridad con el pueblo de Ecuador

(octubre de 2025)

En todo el Ecuador, las comunidades indígenas, campesinas y la clase trabajadora se han levantado una vez más para defender la vida, la dignidad y la soberanía frente a un gobierno que prioriza al capital, no al pueblo. El gobierno de Noboa ha respondido a la resistencia pacífica con un terror estatal sistemático, desplegando miles de soldados para ocupar territorios indígenas, disparando balas reales y gases lacrimógenos indiscriminadamente contra manifestantes y residentes por igual, y criminalizando la defensa de sus comunidades.

El Comité Internacional de los Socialistas Democráticos de América extiende su solidaridad incondicional a las familias de los fallecidos y heridos, a los cientos de detenidos y a los pueblos de Imbabura, Cotacachi, Otavalo y todos los territorios que ahora se encuentran sitiados.

1. Nos sumamos a sus reivindicaciones

Respaldamos las reivindicaciones articuladas por la CONAIE (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador), la UNORCAC (Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas Indígenas de Cotacachi) y las organizaciones populares aliadas:

• Derogación inmediata del Decreto Ejecutivo 126, que aumentó los precios del diésel más de un 50 % de la noche a la mañana y agravó la pobreza en todo Ecuador.
• El fin de la militarización, los decretos de emergencia y los toques de queda impuestos bajo el falso pretexto del «orden público».
• Corredores humanitarios neutrales y dirigidos por civiles, coordinados con la Cruz Roja y observadores de derechos humanos, en lugar de convoyes militares disfrazados de ayuda humanitaria.
• Libertad para todos los detenidos, retirada de los cargos de «terrorismo» y otros relacionados, y plena reparación para las víctimas y las familias de la violencia estatal.
• Investigaciones internacionales independientes sobre los asesinatos, las desapariciones y el uso criminal de munición real contra los manifestantes.
• Garantías de no repetición: formación, responsabilidad del mando y supervisión civil de las Fuerzas Armadas y la Policía Nacional.
• Protección de los medios de comunicación indígenas y comunitarios, incluidos Radio Ilumán, TV MICC y Apak TV, cuyos periodistas han sido atacados o censurados.

2. Rechazamos el referéndum autoritario

El referéndum del presidente Noboa no es un ejercicio democrático, sino una herramienta para consolidar el poder ejecutivo, criminalizar la protesta y afianzar el modelo neoliberal que ha provocado esta crisis.

En solidaridad con la CONAIE y los movimientos sociales de Ecuador, apoyamos la campaña por el «No» a nivel nacional y afirmamos que la verdadera democracia vive en las asambleas, los cabildos y los territorios del pueblo organizado, y no en plebiscitos diseñados para legitimar la represión.

3. Afirmamos un deber internacionalista

Hacemos un llamamiento al Gobierno de los Estados Unidos para que ponga fin a todas las formas de cooperación militar y policial que permiten la represión en Ecuador.

Instamos a los sindicatos, las federaciones indígenas y las organizaciones de izquierda de todo el mundo a que envíen observadores, condenen la violencia y amplifiquen los medios de comunicación del movimiento ecuatoriano.

Animamos a las secciones y miembros de la DSA a que:

1. Difundan esta declaración a través de las listas de correo, las comunicaciones internas y los canales de redes sociales de su sección para crear conciencia sobre la crisis en Ecuador.
2. Contribuyan a los fondos humanitarios neutrales identificados por la CONAIE y la UNORCAC.
3. Presionen a sus funcionarios electos para que exijan el fin de la militarización y apoyen las investigaciones internacionales.

Así como apoyamos a las Primeras Naciones aquí, apoyamos a los pueblos indígenas del Ecuador: una sola lucha por la vida y la soberanía.

En conclusión

El levantamiento de Ecuador nos recuerda que la austeridad y el autoritarismo son dos caras del mismo proyecto. La lucha contra el neoliberalismo en Ecuador es inseparable de nuestra lucha en Estados Unidos por servicios y bienes públicos, los derechos de los trabajadores y la democracia descolonizada.

De Quito a Chicago, de Cotacachi a Nueva York, nuestra lucha es una sola.

¡Ni un paso atrás! Nos solidarizamos con los pueblos de Ecuador en defensa de la vida, el territorio y la dignidad.

The post DSA Statement of Solidarity with the People of Ecuador appeared first on DSA International Committee.

This is an opinion piece written by an individual member and was not voted on by membership. Opinion pieces from members do not reflect the opinions of other members and are not chapter approved statements.

On November 27th, 2025, Now This Impact made this post on Instagram: “Karoline Leavitt’s family member was just taken by ICE,” with the caption, “The media war has only just begun … and you thought your family drama was bad …”

I want to talk about this because, as a leftist, no scratch that, as a human being, anytime I hear about these disgusting occurrences of kidnapping by the Trump administration and its army of racist terrorists, my heart breaks and my blood boils. 

You’d think that on a post by Now This Impact, a Left-leaning news and entertainment page, you’d find the same reaction to this; that you’d find people upset that yet another immigrant has been snatched up by ICE. 

Well, to an extent, you and I would be wrong. 

If you go into the comments, you have some reasonable reactions to a situation like this:

But once you start reading more of the replies to this—in my honest opinion, unempathetically captioned—post, you have comments like the following:

Now, while there is validity to the critique about dating a conservative as a leftist, this logic doesn’t make any sense. Surely not everyone who has been kidnapped, detained, and deported by ICE was dating a Republican.

Obviously, I think the Trump family is terrible; I believe those serving in the administration are fascists. However, if you are genuinely anti-deportation and pro-immigration, what kind of backward logic is it to cheer for ICE terrorism when it happens to, mind you, the extended immigrant family member of someone in the administration? 

Imagine if you were taken by these masked cowards, thrown into a detention center, and facing deportation. Later, it came out that your ex-partner’s dad voted for Trump. Then, because of that, people said heinous stuff like this and cheered on your deportation. It just doesn’t make sense. 

Even if this person is a Trump supporter*, yes, as humans, we cannot help but feel justified in seeing our points of view and our fears come to fruition, no matter how horrifying (there’s the whole leopards ate my face subreddit), but to all of a sudden be cheering on the deportation of immigrants just to squeeze in an “I told you so!” is bizarre.

*As of writing this, WMUR Manchester has reported that Ferreira, “…has no bad blood with the Leavitt family, and has deep respect and admiration for the White House press secretary…” 

And the worst part of siding with the fascists is that, if we’re being completely honest, there is a 0% chance Karoline Leavitt genuinely cares. Do you really think this hateful person is losing sleep over their brother’s ex-fiancée, an immigrant, may I remind you, being detained by ICE? 

Absolutely not! She’ll just slip into her white robes like any other night and sleep like a baby.

Look, I’m not a conspiracy theorist in the slightest, but you even have people in the comments theorizing that maybe it was even Leavitt herself or someone else within the family orchestrating this so that the ex-fiancée can take full custody of their child.

To be honest, I don’t know whether there’s a custody dispute happening or what that situation is; it doesn’t really matter. We’ve seen that the people serving and supporting this administration have no morals and no empathy for anyone or anything.

I just got a weird, unsettling feeling from some of the reactions to this. It’s similar to people cheering about people losing health care, SNAP benefits, and other crucial social services. Why are we celebrating the dismantling of what little the capitalist elite allows us to have? It’s fair to be outraged, it’s fair to dislike people for their terrible views, but why the need for fireworks and party hats at the expense of the working class?

Leftist YouTuber Kavernacle recently made a video about racism on the left and how some liberals and leftists are fine with being racist as long as it’s toward someone with whom they disagree. If you want to see a different, perhaps more well-organized, point of view toward a similar topic, I’d recommend watching it.

We already know the people voting for conservatives are voting against their own interests, and yes, it is incredibly frustrating. I cannot forgive that a lot of these people do it out of disdain for immigrants, refugees, the native peoples of this land, LGBTQ+ comrades, women, and other marginalized groups, but do we really need to cheer on these horrible anti-human policies?

And look, I’ve taken part in this in the past; at times, I was reactionary to these situations because I thought, “Why should I show any empathy for people who obviously don’t give a shit about me?” But we have to realize this is not how we’re going to build solidarity within the working class. 
This is not me calling for centrism or “compromise”, not even a little bit, but please do not give these horrible people credibility by agreeing with fascism when it’s egotistically convenient!

The post On Liberal Hypocrisy   first appeared on Salt Lake DSA.