Towards a Socialist Opposition in Florida

We are pleasantly surprised by the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to approve the abortion rights ballot initiative. This is our chance to strike a small but powerful blow against the police state oppression of pregnant Floridians. We can enshrine our right to abortion in the Florida Constitution.

Pinellas and Tampa DSA will join DSA’s statewide campaign for the initiative and do all that we can to contribute. You’ll see us canvassing, fundraising, and rallying together, fighting for reproductive freedom.

No matter what happens, we will affirm the inherent right of pregnant people to defy these atrocious abortion bans. We will continue to criticize the initiative where it does not go far enough, and connect working class people with the resources they need to live free.
We will survive this fascist cruelty with our dignity intact. Together in solidarity, we will build a socialist opposition in Florida!

Join DSA today!

The post Pinellas and Tampa DSA Joint Statement appeared first on Tampa DSA.

Miami Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has the utmost confidence in the current National Political Committee (NPC) to lead our organization through the ongoing budget crisis. The NPC is our highest democratically elected leadership and, as such, retains the trust of our membership. In this moment of intense debate, we must engage with each other with respect and fight to keep building our collective socialist project. The NPC has our support to make the tough decisions that are necessary to avoid insolvency and the shuttering of our organization.

First, our chapter acknowledges that cuts to staff positions or salaries tied to their contributions to our organizing work should be considered no matter how painful these decisions may be. It is incredibly heartbreaking to be in a situation where our revenue and projected budgets cannot sustain the staff that we currently have, but we must come to terms with that reality. The budget deficit has been a pressing issue for previous administrations that failed to meet the challenge. We reject uncomradely attacks on our NPC, such as calling them ”union busters” or “scabs.” This undermines solidarity within our organization and incorrectly compares the DSA to a capitalist firm. 

Second, Miami DSA wishes to stress that we believe continuing dues shares must be prioritized. For many chapters, this is the primary connection to National. Chapter Dues Share should stay as a staple for the stability of smaller chapters; this support is crucial in building a stronger socialist movement in the respective areas of these chapters.

Third, we must recognize that this is not only an organizational crisis, but a political one. In recent years, the DSA has bled members and lacked an inspiring political vision or sense of direction. The votes by DSA members in Congress to fund Israel and break a railway strike have also been demoralizing for members. The DSA must continue to strive to be a mass organization that can lead ambitious class struggle fights for and by the multi-racial working class.

Fourth, the NPC should prioritize Convention voted campaigns, consider online only conferences, and limit in person conventions if our financial state does not improve. Our Chapter will continue to advocate for such cost-saving measures for at least two years.

Finally, in a show of solidarity, our chapter has decided to forgo the next quarter’s dues share. We call upon and encourage larger and more financially stable chapters with excess funds to consider voluntarily forgoing their upcoming dues share. While we understand that this is a drop in the bucket, we hope this gesture demonstrates that our chapter, like many others in this organization, is willing to make sacrifices to sustain our movement and ensure that we are ready to meet pressing challenges in the future. These challenges are demanding but cannot distract us from our mission: building socialism in our lifetime.

We also commit to fundraising by hosting solidarity dues phone-banks, starting Sunday April 14th at 4pm, and we call on other chapters to do the same. We encourage all our members to switch to income-based solidarity dues immediately. Let’s give our 1% for the 99%!

A second Trump presidency looms as a distinct possibility in November. Israel continues to commit atrocities in their genocidal campaign in Gaza, financed and backed by our government. Every day, working class communities face repression by means of anti-worker legislation and over-policing. 

Considering the stakes we are faced with, we support the NPCs decision to ensure the survival and longevity of the organization. As a member-led and member funded socialist organization, composed of working class people, we must be ready and able to tackle these issues. We believe that DSA, as the largest socialist organization in America, has the best chance of building socialism within our lifetimes.

We ask our fellow DSA Chapters to stand in solidarity with our organization. Take the pledge to forego your Chapter’s next dues share allocation in order to aid in alleviating our current budgetary crisis.

In Solidarity,

Miami DSA

Chicago DSA was proud to join working people across Chicago in successfully mobilizing to defeat a motion to censure CDSA member and 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez on April 1st, 2024. The motion to censure Byron failed 16-29. 

540 people from across Chicago and beyond signed our #DefendByron petition – and more than 300 signatures were sent to the City Council as written public comment. Only the City’s 2 page limit prevented us from sending more signatures.

Working people from across Chicago spoke forcefully in support of Byron during public comment, highlighting the importance of protecting the right to protest, Byron’s dedication to housing justice, and the cowardice and hypocrisy of City Council’s right wing and their censure attempt against Byron. 

We thank Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez for his continued dedication to Chicago’s working class, and look forward to his continued work as the Housing Committee Chair. 

We invite everyone to join us to build a Chicago for the many by joining DSA today at dsausa.org/join.

In Solidarity,

Chicago DSA

The post We Successfully Defended Byron!  appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

Tonight, we continue our series of interviews with NYC- DSA’s 2024 slate of endorsed candidates and will be talking with Eon Tyrell Huntley, a retail worker, father and tenant running for Assembly District 56 in Bed Stuy and Crown Heights. 

We’ll talk to Eon about the beauty of Bed Stuy, fighting for affordable rent, standing in solidarity with Palestine despite facing AIPAC money and so much more.

To learn more about Eon: www.eonforassembly.com 

Sign up for your Branch meeting here! All are scheduled for April 13, 2024. Don’t know your branch? Check this page.

Central
Contact: central@dsa-la.org (Juan L. and Michael S.)
April 13, 2024
1pm – 2:30pm
Bellevue Park (in Silverlake)
RSVP

Eastside/San Gabriel Valley
Contact: eastsidesgv@dsa-la.org (Shiu Ming C. and Noah C.)
April 13, 2024
10am – 12:30pm
Glassell Park Recreation Center (in Glassell Park)
RSVP

San Fernando Valley
Contact: sfv@dsa-la.org (Geyker S. and Rich R.)
April 13, 2024
12pm – 1pm
Victory Vineland Recreation Center (in North Hollywood)
RSVP

South Central/Inglewood
southcentralinglewood@dsa-la.org (Mark G. and Jenn M.)
April 13, 2024
11am – 1pm
Unite Here! Local 11 Office (Inglewood)
RSVP

Westside
Contact: westside@dsa-la.org (Jenna C. and Dan C.)
April 13, 2024
11am – 1pm
SoCal Arbeter Ring/Workers Circle (in Pico-Robertson)
RSVP

For Immediate release: April 1st 2024

Contact: Uncommitted NJ Campaign

uncommittednj@gmail.com

 

Trenton, NJ — Amidst mounting global concern over the harrowing atrocities committed against the Palestinian people, in a bold and resolute move, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) submitted today 48 delegates from across the state running”Uncommitted” on the ballot in New Jersey for the upcoming primary election on June 4th.

 

The Biden administration’s unwavering complicity in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has deeply troubled advocates for human rights and justice. The refusal of the Biden administration to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, despite two-thirds of voters’ support, has severely undercut Biden’s chances of winning reelection this fall. After hundreds of thousands of voters across the country have already uncommitted to genocide starting in Michigan, New Jersey’s 3 DSA chapters are joining the movement to pressure Biden to change course in the face of injustice.

 

“The inclusion of the “Uncommitted” option on the ballot serves as not just a powerful statement of dissent but a testament to our unwavering commitment to principles of justice, equity, and human dignity,” Mia Matthews, member of the Uncommitted NJ Campaign said. “It measures the power of ordinary New Jersey working people to refuse and uncommit to genocide and oppression.”

 

Made possible by the tireless efforts of grassroots organizers, activists, and allies, DSA affirms their commitment to fighting for a permanent ceasefire, an end to U.S. funding of Israel’s war machine, and toward the liberation of Palestine.

 

###

 

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA is building a working class movement from the bottom-up, establishing a democratic socialist presence from the workplace to our neighborhoods and broader society.

 

For more information about NJDSA, please visit: dsanj.org

The post Democratic Socialists of America Secure “Uncommitted” Delegates Across New Jersey for Justice in Palestine and a Permanent Ceasefire Now first appeared on North NJ DSA.

Sign the petition HERE!

Click here for the social media toolkit!

Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez has been a dedicated champion for the working class across the 25th Ward and all of Chicago since he unseated Danny Solis in the 2019 aldermanic elections. Byron has fought greedy developers and corrupt landlords, and has fought for 25th Ward residents facing displacement as an alderman. Byron’s position as Housing Committee is now under attack – and it is critical that a dedicated socialist can continue to lead the Housing Committee.

Byron joined local organizers to advocate for protesters’ right to march within sight and sound of the Democratic National Convention, especially those who want to see a Free Palestine and demand a ceasefire. Byron spoke after a military veteran spoke forcefully against Israel’s war on Gaza and burned a flag in protest.

Conservatives falsely accused Byron of burning an American flag – a lie which has endangered Byron and his family. A bloc of Chicago’s most right-wing alderpeople, who have refused to support Treatment Not Trauma, police accountability, the Uniting for Peace ceasefire resolution, Bring Chicago Home and more wants to censure Byron for his defense of free speech.

We can see this censure demand for what it really is: a craven attempt by City Council’s right wing to remove one of City Council’s socialists from an important position on the Housing Committee, while they look for opportunities to remove more left alders from positions of power.

Socialists have always been at the forefront in the fight of free speech and basic civil rights and civil liberties. Not long ago laws banned the distribution of socialist literature, or the right of socialists to gather together and hold meetings, or to speak out against war and genocide. We will not go back to the time of state repression against socialists – or anyone. Take action with us to defend Byron and protect free speech for Free Palestine!

The post Defend Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Protect Free Speech! appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

This article appeared in Issue 2 of The Northeast Tennessee Organizer.

Don’t look now, but the Johnson City Commission is engaged in a campaign to gut local democracy under the banner of “Excellence in City Government.” Johnson City is going through a crisis in affordable housing. The city is facing two lawsuits involving credible allegations of mass sexual assault and human trafficking enabled by police. In this context, the Commissioners have decided that the “excellence” referred to in their Strategic Plan for 2020-2025 means removing the voice of the people from city government.

The Commission’s Power Grab Platform of 2024, introduced for a first read at their March 21 meeting, is a slate of four proposed changes to the city charter that attack civic engagement under the guise of improved efficiency. Here’s what they are trying to do.

Ordinance 4875-24: Removing the Public from the Public Budget

Currently, the Commission has to publish two drafts of its budget plan, one during the drafting stage and another upon finalization. Under this ordinance, they would only have to publish the final version, and only a mere ten days before they vote on it. Instead of presenting our public budget as something we have a say in, the Commission wants to present it as a done deal, then pass it before regular people have time to blink.

Assistant City Manager Steve Willis and City Commissioner Joe Wise suggest it is a question of cost-savings, efficiency, and “clarity.” Doing this, they say, would save $3,500 in advertising costs. Assistant City Manager Steve Willis stated that publishing the working budget “provides no value to [the Commission] as an elected board, nor does it provide any value to our taxpayers.” At around 34:47 in the livestream video, Commissioner Wise further suggests that the public is not smart enough to understand what a first draft is.

We would ask Mr. Willis and Commissioner Wise a rather basic question about their ideas of value and efficiency: Is the people’s participation in allocating Johnson City’s $166,000,000 General Fund so little appreciated that the Commission considers a $3500 savings in ad expenditures to be of greater value? Why do the commissioners value so little the public who elected them?

You can learn a lot about someone’s values by looking at what they say is costly. What is not too costly for the Commission is its $35,000,000 debt-funded investment in the West Walnut Street project. What is too costly is spending $3500 to foster civic participation in local government. If they think the ads haven’t worked well, why aren’t they looking for better ways to build participation?

This is indeed, as Commissioner Wise hoped, a proposal that provides “clarity.” We can see clearly that the Commissioners’ vision of “Excellence in City Government” is to free the government from accountability to the people.

This ordinance received unanimous support from the Commissioners with no debate.

Ordinance 4876-24: Not Even Pretending to Listen Anymore

This ordinance would allow the Commission to pass ordinances after only a second reading, whereas the current Charter language mandates a three-read process spread out over three Commission meetings.
Here is the idea behind the three-read process.At the first read, the Commission presents the proposed ordinance to the public. The period between this and the second read gives the public time to discuss the proposal with others, do research, and formulate their responses for the public comment period that comes at the second read. Between the second and third reads, we expect the Commissioners to consider the public’s comments before they make their final vote on the ordinance, which happens at the third read.

Folding the first and second reads into a single meeting eliminates the public’s opportunity to consider the proposal before having to respond to it. The city may point to other local governments that have a two-read system. Our response: “the other kids are doing it” doesn’t make it the right thing to do. The elimination of the second read works toward the elimination of the public voice.

Is there really an opportunity to participate when agendas are released at the last minute and buried on an outdated Commission website as if by intent? Can a two-read ordinance process really allow for participation by the working people who make Johnson City run, whose schedules are determined by their employers and who must submit their time-off requests at least two weeks in advance? Is it not already difficult for people to participate in their city government?

We understand that the Commissioners are not themselves in a position to be held at another’s whim, but such conditions are a fact of life for a majority of the residents this Commission claims to serve.
This ordinance received unanimous support from the Commissioners with no debate.

Ordinance 4877-24: Undermining Good Jobs by Creating Indefinite Temp Workers

This ordinance would empower the City Manager to fill city jobs with temporary workers for periods longer than 90 days. The current Charter allows the City Manager to appoint temp workers for a period not to exceed 90 days.

Allowing the unelected City Manager greater control over vulnerable temp workers goes against democratic governance because temps can be fired more easily. This gives them less of a voice to speak up for themselves, and it also damages their ability to speak up if they see something that could hurt the public. Given the ongoing horror story involving Sean Williams and the police force, the public is not served by allowing this kind of power into the City Manager’s hands.

On top of that, keeping people as permanent temps instead of permanent hires hurts our city by undermining good jobs. All workers deserve stable jobs with decent pay and a union so they have a meaningful voice at work.

Rather than concentrating power to hire and fire in the hands of an unelected City Manager, we think such powers should be subject to review by elected officials. We strongly oppose any move that would hinder city workers’ ability to form a union.

This ordinance received unanimous support from the Commissioners with no debate.

Ordinance 4878-24: Making It More Complicated to Vote While Handing Commissioners Nearly Two More Unelected Years in Office

This ordinance would move local Johnson City elections from November, where they coincide with high-turnout state and national elections, to August, where they would coincide with county elections. To address the scheduling challenges arising from this date change, the Commissioners propose giving themselves nearly two extra years in office instead of holding a more democratic special election.
This ordinance is a one-two punch at democratic governance, where moving the elections to a lower-turnout date sets up the second blow of Commissioners extending terms without elections.

First Punch: Commissioner Joe Wise claimed it is “confusing to voters” to have some city and county elections in August and others in November. Moreover, around 42:25 in the March 21 livestream recording, Commissioner Wise acknowledges that August election turnout is historically low. His pitch is that moving the city elections to that historically low date will somehow solve the August turnout issue. Instead of supposing that moving city elections will solve August turnout, , why aren’t Commissioners talking to county officials about moving their elections to high-turnout November? After all, that’s why the Johnson City Commission moved city elections from April to November just a few years ago.

It can be challenging and costly for working-class people in our low-wage economy to find time to vote, or even to find a way to the polling station. One election in November serves regular people better than two across August and November. The City Commission’s proposal does not reckon with this at all.
Second Punch: If the Commissioners are so confident that they are delivering “Excellence in City Government,” should they not welcome the opportunity to renew their mandate? It’s nice the Commissioners all agree they are doing such a good job that two of them, along with the three that will be (re?)elected this November, deserve an extra year and nine months tacked onto their terms, but we would rather hear what the public thinks. Maybe our Commissioners believe that these extra years will allow time for the horrible events surrounding the Sean Williams lawsuit to fade from memory.

Let us not forget that Commissioner Brock has already rationalized one extended term when the Commission moved city elections from April to November in 2014. It’s certainly true that skipping elections is “easier,” particularly for certain people.

This ordinance received unanimous support from the Commissioners with no debate.

This is the Power Grab Platform of 2024. Each plank of the platform was approved unanimously, and although these are big changes, there was not a single point of debate raised by any Commissioner.

A Johnson City for the Few, or a Johnson City for All?

The Johnson City Commission is pushing a platform aimed at rolling back democracy for the people of Johnson City and grabbing more power into their own hands. They should be fostering the democratic civic engagement of all Johnson City residents. Instead, they put even more obstacles in the way of regular people.

We envision a city in which the people have a meaningful say in the city’s budgets, ordinances, appointments, and elections. We envision a city where the public authorities do what they can to expand opportunities for democratic input rather than restricting them. We envision a city that puts the well-being of all people front and center rather than serving first and foremost those with money and connections.

The Johnson City Commission finds encouraging citizens to participate in their government too costly and inefficient. If their idea of efficiency does not include actual human beings, what is it for?

Ordinances 4875-24, 4876-24, 4877-24, and 4878-24 present a combined attack on democratic city governance. So, what can we do about it?

The City Commission has to give two more public readings of these ordinances, on April 4 and April 18. City Commission meetings are at 601 East Main Street, beginning at 6:00. If the ordinances pass, amended or unamended, they must be voted on by the public in a referendum that takes place August 1.

Our next step is to get as many people as possible to show up on April 4 to testify against these ordinances. It’s a good idea to arrive early if you can.Northeast Tennessee DSA members and our allies will be there fighting for our own vision of “Excellence in City Government,” a Johnson City that centers ordinary people in public affairs rather than pushing them to the margins.

Our Commissioners still have the opportunity to do the right thing. Since they’re putting forward a platform that limits the participation of regular people, it seems more likely that regular people will have to defeat this power grab and reclaim ground for democracy by voting No on August 1.

We invite you to join us in demanding a Johnson City for All, not just the monied few.

More Links:
March 21, 2024 City Commission Agenda Packet & Meeting Video
Current City Charter

This article appeared in Issue 2 of The Northeast Tennessee Organizer.

The John Sevier Center once provided 150 units of affordable, senior-friendly housing in the heart of downtown Johnson City. It has since become the target of a Johnson City Commission whose destructive appetite for “redevelopment” knows no bounds. In fact, on March 21, the Commission authorized Hunden Partners to conduct a “highest and best usage” study to propose future uses of this prime real estate. We expect the report to affirm the Commission’s attempt to “redevelop” this affordable housing complex out of existence and to force the current residents into replacement housing on our city’s southern periphery, but we don’t think the Commission should get a free pass. The Commissioners know our city faces an acute shortage of affordable housing, and they aren’t doing enough to address it.

How do we know that our honorable Commissioners are aware of local conditions? Well, just last year they received a 172-page report detailing the crisis in painstaking detail. The “Preliminary Housing Needs Assessment,” conducted by Bowen National Research at the city’s request, aimed to inform the city officials of the conditions of local housing markets – both rental and for-sale – and to assess our present and near-future gaps in housing stock. This might sound like the foundation for sound government housing policy. Instead, the report came in and the Commissioners stuck their heads in the sand. They have held fast to the policies that got us into this mess. If they constantly speak of “excellence in city government,” we ought to ask “excellence for whom?”

Certainly not for working people. For working-class people, the housing situation can only be described as dire. Bowen’s survey revealed a mere 0.7% vacancy rate among rental properties, compared to a national average of 6.6%. The availability rate of for-sale homes was a scant 0.3%.

This acute shortage has driven rents and home prices to astronomical levels. Households earning less than $50,000 per year have effectively been frozen out of the for-sale market, and a shocking 45% of renter households pay their landlords over 30% of their income in rent. Indeed, for more than one out of five of our city’s renter households, over 50% of their income goes straight to a landlord’s pocket.

Is it any wonder, then, that working-class people have been forced to the city outskirts or even beyond the city limits in their quest to meet their most basic need for shelter? Is it any wonder that many landlords refuse to address tenant concerns, even when those concerns are fully justified or even backed by law? With help from our misguided Commission, the landlords’ waitlists grow daily.

And nowhere can this be seen clearer than in cases of affordable housing supported by federal subsidies and housing programs. Of the 19 affordable housing complexes surveyed by Bowen, only a single property had any vacancies at all. The 4.7% vacancy rate reported at the Sevier Center was concentrated entirely in that complex’s studio and one-bedroom units. Is it really worth seeking a “higher and better” use for a complex that provides affordable housing to 143 households at a time when nearly 10% of Housing Choice Vouchers cannot even be used due to lack of housing stock? We think not.

And by all accounts, the people of Johnson City would agree. A full 56.7% of residents surveyed by Bowen characterized our local housing market as “poor” with “many issues.” Some of the highest-priority issues identified by survey-takers were high prices and rents (74.1% of respondents), insufficient open units (51.4%), and neglected or blighted properties (21.2%).

These are issues that are intimately related, and one cannot but at least partially attribute their severity to our Commission. Decisions such as those taken involving the Sevier Center have created a landlords’ paradise in which the tenant always loses–and this is to say nothing of their failure to prevent the mansion from becoming the standard form of new-construction homes.

Rather than a local government that guts affordable housing in the name of “renovation,” JCers want a Commission that sets itself truly and intently on the alleviation of our housing crisis. Among the most in-demand categories of housing identified in the report were for-sale homes priced under $100,000 or between $100,000 and $200,000, rental units under $500/month or between $500-1000/month, and senior living apartments. This is what the people conceive of as “highest and best.” Not ritzy hotels or lavish apartments built upon the ruins of our affordable housing complexes, but rather affordable housing that is accessible to all.

The Commission may turn to Hunden’s impending “highest and best usage” report to excuse itself from listening to such demands and to justify its forced relocation of low-income and elderly residents. It may trumpet its provision of replacement housing units on our city’s southern periphery as proof they are addressing the ongoing crisis. But a mere one-for-one substitution in the context of a growing crisis will never be sufficient. To meet the moment, our Commission needs to develop an aggressive program to expand the number of affordable housing units.

We hope the Commission will see reason and move quickly to address this crisis, but past and present experience suggests otherwise. In reality, it will fall upon us to solve our own problems.
We as tenants must organize into the types of tenant unions that will help us push back against the landlords’ disproportionate power.

We as JC residents must demand a public policy that aligns with the priorities of the public.
And if the current Commissioners refuse to change tack, we must organize to unseat them and to win a local government committed to realizing our goal of affordable housing for all.

This article appeared in Issue 2 of The Northeast Tennessee Organizer.

From infrastructure to public services to development, local elected leaders regularly make decisions that impact our day to day lives. Public meetings of these bodies are one of the few formal opportunities we have to speak before these decisions are made.

If you live in Johnson City, read below for how to access agenda packets and meetings. If you live elsewhere and want to share the steps pertaining to your local government, write them up and email northeasttndsa@gmail.com.

The Agenda Packet

This packet is full of information about the decisions the board is considering. Even if you can’t attend meetings, agenda packets make it possible to keep up with what’s going on.
Here are different ways we tried before we found Johnson City’s packets:
Google Search – The top result, “Agendas & Minutes – Johnson City, Tennessee,” hasn’t been updated since 2020. The page has no link to current agendas. Intentionally or not, this page can be somewhat of a decoy.

City Website Home Page – The home page has upcoming events and a link to a full calendar. City commission meetings are on the calendar. The agenda packet is not.

City Website Live Streaming Page – There are agendas on this page! Unfortunately, it’s just agendas. The supporting documents that provide context and details are missing.

City Website Government Page – Click “Government” in the menu. You get a page that says “Please use the links on the left navigation bar to choose a service.” There is no functioning left navigation bar. If you go back to the main menu and hit the arrow on the far right of the “Government” bar, you’ll see “City Commission” as an option. Clicking that will bring you to the website that has the agenda packets. That’s right: the agenda packet is not on the city’s website.

To get an agenda that includes links to all relevant documents, go to johnsoncitytn.civicweb.net. From there:

• If you’re on a phone, scroll scroll scroll to Upcoming Meetings. If you’re on a larger screen, look through the right-hand column.
• Find the upcoming City Commission meeting. If the meeting is underlined, click to go to the agenda page. This agenda includes links to all the relevant documents. Huzzah! If the meeting is not underlined, the agenda isn’t yet available.

We believe that easy access to information regarding the decisions our city leaders are making is essential for democracy, and we’d like to see Johnson City post their agenda packets as early as possible & with a clear and prominent link on the city’s home page.

The Meeting Itself

The Johnson City Board of Commissioners meets the first and third Thursday of each month at 6 pm. This meeting is held in the Commission Chambers of the Municipal and Safety building at 601 E. Main Street. If you want to speak during public comment, you have to attend in person. Some localities air their meetings over Zoom. This extends public comment accessibility to people with disabilities and to people who lack transportation or childcare. It’s unfortunate that Johnson City doesn’t offer that level of access.

Another thing you need to do if you want to speak during public comment is submit this form at least 12 hours before the meeting: https://cojctn.wufoo.com/forms/zh5zyqs16u8mpx/. In our experience, the Commission has allowed people to speak regardless, but they can invoke the requirement at any time, so: better safe than silenced.

If you don’t plan to speak, it’s still worthwhile to attend meetings in person when you can. The public in attendance shows leaders that the people are paying attention.

If you can’t make it in person, the city does live stream their meetings on their YouTube channel, “Streaming Johnson City.” The volume isn’t as good as we’d like, and the city doesn’t provide closed captioning. You can, however, access recordings of previous meetings on their channel.

We would like to see Johnson City make meetings even more accessible, by using Zoom or similar to enable more public participation, and by providing closed captioning during meeting live streams, which is something else Zoom can assist with.

By keeping up with city meetings, working-class residents are able to discover and expose policies that favor corporations over everyday citizens. They also provide an opportunity to directly confront city officials about issues like housing, transportation, and development. Meetings can also be a space for people to connect, share concerns, and build a collective voice to advocate for systemic change. If you’re interested in attending Johnson City Board of Commissioners meetings with us, email northeasttndsa@gmail.com.