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Author: San Diego Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America

  • HGO Member Accountability Case Ends

    In January a process was created to deal with a case of harassment and manipulative behavior from former Co-chair Nate R. 

    Nate was a member of DSA SD (co-chair until October 2020) and a member of the Revolutionary Marxist Caucus (RMC) within DSA SD. 

    The subject of his harassment (hereafter called the ORP, short for “original reporting person”) confronted Nate about his actions and shortly after he resigned from DSA. Soon after this, his actions came to light and he was expelled from RMC. The chapter Harassment and Grievance Officer (HGO) was informed and investigated his actions. This investigation concluded with Nate being barred from rejoining DSA. An internal announcement was made of this decision. 

    Nate agreed to engage in a restorative justice process to address his behavior, created by the HGO with input from the ORP and RMC. Within this process Nate drafted a statement of accountability (attached) and worked on requests from RMC such as writing a code of conduct for engaging with comrades, and requests from the ORP, such as analyzing how his behaviors were influenced by the works of Robert Greene. 

    Nate’s statement can be accessed here. 

    While the process was originally planned to be one year long, all involved have decided it is best to end it with Nate’s statement. Nate was barred from rejoining DSA, and the process was created to give him a possible pathway back to membership. However, Nate has stated that he doesn’t intend to come back to DSA at this time. The process is left without a goal. Additionally it was not designed to take into account new mental health diagnosis and treatment he is undergoing and is inadequate to address this in a way that supports Nate and doesn’t put undue labor on others in the process. 

    Those involved in the process do not believe Nate is irredeemable. Nate has made strides in the process and we hope he continues to do the work of unlearning toxic behavior. 

    The ORP has asked that the specifics not be discussed and we choose to honor that. If there are other questions or concerns the HGO can be contacted at sandiegohgo@gmail.com

  • Pass the PRO Act campaign launch!

    Pass the PRO Act campaign launch!

    Join us Sunday, March 7th at 2 pm PST to kick off DSA’s “Pass the PRO Act” campaign, along with Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything, Jamaal Bowman, squad member and US Rep for NY-16, and Sara Nelson, president of AFA-CWA, and other special guests.

    RSVP: bit.ly/dsaproactlaunch

    The “Protecting the Right to Organize” (PRO) Act  reverses decades of corporate assaults on our labor rights, like so-called “right to work” laws, clearing the way to an expanded labor movement with power to transform the economy and protect our planet. We will only win this sweeping pro-worker legislation by making bold demands and putting the pressure on policymakers to stand up to corporate interests. We need all hands on deck in this struggle!

  • Call in for Public Power: Thursday, Dec 17, 10 am

    This Thursday, December 17 at 10 am newly elected Council President Jennifer Campbell has called a special meeting to open the electricity and gas franchise agreement bids that her predecessor refused to docket due to a deeply flawed process. We encourage all members and supporters of our public power fight to please call in to offer your public comment.

    Phone in Testimony
    After the meeting begins at 10 am, when the Clerk introduces either the item you would like to comment on or the comment period for, Non-Agenda Public Comment or Closed Session Public Comment, follow the instructions within the  “Public Comment Instructions” by dialing the number below to be placed in the queue.

    1. DIAL 619-541-6310
    2. Enter the Access Code: 877861 then press ‘#’.

    Proposed talking points – personalize for greater effect:

    1. The last council president refused to docket the opening of these bids for good reason. The process for developing the invitation to bid and determining the city’s best course of action was extremely flawed, with members of the community given almost no time to absorb and respond to the report prepared by the city-contracted consultants. The advisory body focused on sustainable energy could not meet quorum most of the year given the last mayor’s failure to fill vacancies, and ergo never discussed or provided their advice to council on the merits of the consultant’s report, recommendations, and potential opportunities.
    2. It is clear that in an economic crisis where thousands of San Diegans are experiencing heightened instability that the best path forward for utility service most just and equitable to members of our community is the path away from corporations who extract the City’s franchise fee from our pockets and build their own profits into the revenue model. The City should not be balancing its budget on the backs of the working class.
    3. We urge members of City Council to position any next steps within the context of a binding commitment to public operation of our electricity and gas utilities. Interest rates are at an historic low, there is no better time to begin this transition.
  • December 12: Demand Scott Peters Fight for Our Lives

    December 12: Demand Scott Peters Fight for Our Lives

    On Saturday, December 12, DSA San Diego will join more than 20 DSA chapters in a Fight for Our Lives coordinated action to 1) highlight establishment Democrats’ failure to support the working class and 2) advance our real solutions that have broad popular support. We’re fighting for a COVID-19 and economic recovery response that centers the working class and can serve as a launchpad for the decade of the Green New Deal.

    Establishment Democrats, like our very own Scott Peters, have consistently failed to support broadly popular policies that benefit the working class, and now they’re blaming the left for the center’s losses. This action is designed to help shift the national narrative and put the failure on Peters, Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and the bipartisan neoliberal consensus that will consign us to climate catastrophe and working class misery unless we organize the power we need to change course. We believe sustained, organized movement pressure can move us closer to a people’s agenda—or, at the very least, further delegitimize the center in the eyes of the working class left base we’re helping to build in the longer-term. 

    WHERE: Gather at 1 pm at Mandell-Weiss Eastgate Park in La Jolla for a socially-distanced walk to Representative Peters’ office in UTC. Masks are required, and participants will need to stay six feet apart while walking and stopped. We will put Peters “on notice” that we demand so much more than what he’s got on offer.

  • Our statement on the election

    The 2020 election is nearly over. We don’t yet know what the outcome will be in terms of which candidates will win or lose. Nor do we know if Donald Trump will accept a likely defeat or if there will be political violence if he loses. We do know that the election is supposed to mark a conclusion. An unalterable decision has been made which the American people must accept as an objective fact. 

    Indeed, it’s the main purpose of our political institutions to present the people with things they can’t change. The institutions decide and the people ratify. This point has been made more bluntly in 2020 than in most years. Reactionaries have been given control of the Supreme Court by Senators who represent only a small fraction of the populace. Senator Mike Lee of Utah helpfully tweeted “We’re not a democracy,” pointing to the US Constitution for support. The clear implication is that in the contest between democracy and the Constitution, the Constitution is expected to win. Precedent is on Lee’s side–public expressions of support for the constitutional system are common and genuine, resignation to its inequities are widespread. But precedent merely articulates the habit of obedience, and neither habit nor obedience are eternal. 

    The Democratic Party accepts the Supreme Court, the presidency, the Senate. These institutions, along with the media, say what’s possible and work to place limits on our aspirations. DSA San Diego is not the Democratic Party. Some of us in DSA are committed to engaging with the electoral process as a terrain of power that we have to contest. Others are committed to building working class organizations outside the state. Many believe in doing both. However, all of us recognize that this country’s institutional arrangements frustrate democracy more than they facilitate it and that politics doesn’t begin or end with elections. We don’t look to the Constitution to legitimize our fight for a better world. 

    We don’t claim that there is no difference between Trump and Biden. But what matters most about the election is that the moment of political decision is subordinated to the past and then closed off. Against this closure of politics we insist that the future is open and that the most important decisions remain to be made. To paraphrase Marx, the poetry of our revolution will be created not out of the past, but out of the future.

  • Call for public comment in opposition to anti-Prop 15 resolution

    All hands on deck for a Prop. 15 call for comments!

    On Tuesday, Sept. 15th, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors (BOS) will be considering a resolution in opposition to Prop 15. This will be a tough vote but we want to make sure supervisors understand what’s at stake: protecting a corporate tax loophole that benefits a handful of wealthy corporations at the expense of our schools and communities, or investing in our children, our families, and our future. 
    We need your help! Please email supervisors before the 9 a.m. meeting to let them know you OPPOSE THE RESOLUTION. Also, submit online public comments before the meeting or live public comment during the meeting. You can learn more from this briefing making the case for Prop 15 in San Diego County or use these talking points.
    EMAIL SUPERVISORS TODAY AND BEFORE THE MEETING:
    Find your representative here. 

    1. Greg Cox (D1): greg.cox@sdcounty.ca.gov 
    2. Dianne Jacob (D2): dianne.jacob@sdcounty.ca.gov
    3. Kristin Gaspar (D3): kristen.gaspar@sdcounty.ca.gov
    4. Nathan Fletcher (D4): nathan.fletcher@sdcounty.ca.gov
    5. Jim Desmond (D5): jim.desmond@sdcounty.ca.gov

    SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE BY 9 AM ON TUES, SEP 15TH: 

    1. Go to the BOS Calendar.
    2. Look for the Sept 15th BOS Meeting or click here for ecomment.
    3. The resolution is item #34 (last page). Click on the comment bubble to leave a comment. 

    CALL INTO THE MEETING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON TUES, SEP 15TH: 

    1. Fill out the online Board of Supervisors tele-comments form to request to speak during the meeting via teleconference. The form must be submitted by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the meeting. After completing the form, you’ll get instructions on how to call in to the meeting.
    2. Watch or listen to the meeting.
    3. When the Board of Supervisors begins to discuss the agenda item you want to comment on, call in to the conference line and turn off your TV or live stream. You’ll continue to hear the Board meeting after calling in. Please do not call until the item you want to speak about is being discussed.
    4. When it is time for public comments on the item you want to speak about, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors staff will unmute your phone. You’ll hear a prompt that will indicate your phone is unmuted. You may need to press *6 on your phone to unmute yourself. Staff will then ask you to state your name and begin your comments.

    Thank you for using your voice and making sure that our elected officials know that San Diego supports Prop 15!

  • Special Meeting on Candidate Endorsement

    On August 29th at 6:00 pm DSA San Diego will hold a special meeting on giving a Chapter endorsement to two of our members who are running for local offices in North County: Matt Corrales is running for the Vallecitos Water Board, and Terry Corrales is running for the Palomar Health Board. Show your support for socialists on the ballot by coming to the meeting! The meeting will be held on Zoom, and the sign-up url went out by email today (if you don’t see it in Gmail, check your Promotions and Social folders).

  • May 1st “Cancel The Rent” Caravan

    Location: 4655 Border Village Rd, San Ysidro, CA 92173-3105, United States

    Start Date & Time:  May 1, 2020,  9:30am

    End Date & Time:  May 1, 2020, 2pm

    DSA San Diego, in coalition with ACCE, The San Diego Tenants Union, Anakbayan, & Migrante. Will be executing a caravan demonstration in order to bring awareness to the rent strike movement happening all throughout the state of California.

    The Rent Strike is being made in order to get several demands from the State and the City of San Diego. Demands include but are not limited to:

    ACCE’s Demands:

    • All publicly owned property and vacant housing units -including luxury unitsneed to be opened up to house currently unhoused people.
    • Rent and mortgage payments must be frozen for as long as people are not able to work because of COVID-19, and any rent and mortgage debt accumulated during this period must be forgiven.
    • Moratoriums on any process related to evictions and foreclosures must be instituted immediately and remain in place until the spread of coronavirus is no longer a public threat.
    • Californians need a guarantee that they will be rehired if they have been laid off, or that their shifts will be restored once isolation orders have been lifted. 
    • Anyone who is laid off or experiencing a decline in wages must have access to unemployment benefits that cover 100% of that person’s wages before the job decline.
    • Californians need an immediate stimulus package that puts cash in people’s hands. We must learn the lessons from the 2008 financial crisis and bail out people -not just businesses.

    DSA San Diego’s Demands:

    1. Rent Suspension: No Rent Now, No Debt Later:

    • The City and County must enact a rent suspension or rent forgiveness policy to protect renters and to prevent future debt and homelessness. 
    • The rent payment suspension period should be enacted retroactively from April 1, 2020 and remain in effect through the duration of the statewide shelterin-place mandate, or a minimum of 90 days.
    • The City and County leadership must do everything within their power to advocate for a state level legislative package providing the same.

    2. Support for Unhoused Residents:

    To contain the spread of COVID-19, we must immediately provide emergency shelter, expanded services, and reliable information to all unhoused individuals in San Diego.

    • Hotel vouchers to allow all unhoused people access to safe, clean and comfortable lodging. Vouchers should be made available to anyone needing shelter, not just individuals who are presenting symptoms.
    • Permanent commitment to provide housing for everyone who needs it, not just a temporary measure that will put people right back on the streets when this crisis is over.
    • Expanded housing services through an infusion of resources and funding to community health clinics, shelters, and other frontline service providers, to cover staff overtime pay and necessary supplies, like sanitizers, medicine, masks, etc.
    • Emergency sanitation sites for people who cannot move indoors. Sanitation sites should include 24-hour restrooms and showers, laundry, hygiene supplies, COVID-19 screening, case worker availability, and disease prevention information.
    • End to encampment sweeps, ticketing, and vehicle tows (all practices that criminalize houselessness).

    Please join us in our struggle to make housing a basic human right on May 1st and if you wanna sign on in support of the rent strike follow this link! Rent Strike Movement

    If you are a DSA member please fill this google form out in order for us to coordinate DSA’s contingent as effectively as possible. DSA San Diego’s “May 1st Caravan” Sign Up Form

    In Solidarity,

    DSA San Diego

    Event Schedule: May 1, 2020: 

    • 9:30am: 4655 Border Village Rd, San Ysidro, CA 92173 
    • 10:30am: “El Super” 3007 Highland Ave, National City, CA 91950
    • 11:30am: 1950 Main St, San Diego
    • 12pm: 1350 Front St, San Diego
    • 12:30pm: 3990 Old Town Rd
    • 1pm: 2249 Ulric Rd, San Diego

  • Housing is Healthcare: San Diego Emergency Demands

    Emailed 4/16 to Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, City Attorney Mara Elliott, Councilmember Barbara Bry, Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, Councilmember Christopher Ward, Councilmember Monica Montgomery, Councilmember Mark Kersey, Councilmember Chris Cate, Councilmember Scott Sherman, Councilmember Vivian Moreno, Council President Georgette Gomez, Supervisor Greg Cox, Supervisor Dianne Jacob, Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Supervisor Jim Desmond

    Endorsing organizations:

    • Democratic Socialists of America – San Diego
    • Otay Mesa Detention Resistance
    • San Diego 350
    • San Diego Tenants United
    • Standing Up for Racial Justice – San Diego
    • Student Housing Association at UC San Diego
    • Sunrise Movement – San Diego
    • The Travelers Club
    • Think Dignity
    • UCSD Green New Deal
    • Unión del Barrio

    We are calling on San Diego leadership to immediately enact emergency housing measures to protect the health, safety and dignity of all residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, a record 10 million Americans filed for unemployment. According to the SD Workforce Partnership, in just 3 days from March 16-18, 190,000 Californians submitted unemployment insurance claims, four times the typical weekly average and more than have been  submitted in any single week this century. More layoffs and business closures will follow.

    The full effects of this crisis have yet to be seen, but one thing is certain – immediate action is required to protect vulnerable residents from additional harm. In this moment each City, County and State leader can either embrace the opportunity to champion justice and to protect residents, or allow San Diego families to spiral into inescapable debt and potential homelessness. Following are the measures we believe necessary for San Diego’s long-term, balanced prosperity. 

    01. Rent Suspension: No Rent Now, No Debt Later

    Economic relief and displacement protections must not be limited to property owners. The City must act to prioritize the well-being and safety of tenants who are at grave risk of losing their homes. Mortgage holders and property owners have already been granted statewide and nationwide relief in the form of mortgage deferral options, but no such provision has been offered to renters, who are even more financially vulnerable.

    The catastrophic economic effects of this global emergency will last for years. To address the crisis with a temporary evictions ban is not only short sighted but dangerous, and puts thousands of households at risk of homelessness and severe poverty.

    Nearly 60% of all renting households in San Diego are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than one-third – and in some cases close to 100% – of their income on housing. What will happen to tenants at the end of a no-evictions grace period as they are hit with thousands of dollars of accumulated rent debt? For many families, the crisis won’t end, it will simply continue into inescapable debt and potential homelessness or bankruptcy. We urge our leaders to recognize the severity of the situation, and act accordingly to ensure the safety and security of all residents. 

    The City and County must enact a rent suspension or rent forgiveness policy to protect renters and to prevent future debt and homelessness. The rent payment suspension period should be enacted retroactively from April 1, 2020 and remain in effect through the duration of the statewide shelter-in-place mandate, or a minimum of 90 days. 

    The City and County leadership must do everything within their power to advocate for a state level legislative package providing the same.

    02. Support for Unhoused Residents

    Housing justice is not merely an issue of tenants’ rights, but of human rights broadly.  At least 8,000 people are currently without housing in San Diego County. Not guaranteeing housing as a human right inevitably leads to the unnecessary suffering of thousands: people experiencing homelessness have higher rates of illness than their housed peers, are more likely to die prematurely, and are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Official guidance compels the public to “stay at home” to contain the spread of the virus, but  “staying home” only works if you have somewhere to stay. To contain the spread of COVID-19, we must immediately provide emergency shelter, expanded services, and reliable information to all unhoused individuals in San Diego.

    The City of San Diego has already committed to converting parts of the Convention Center to a shelter and securing 1,300 hotel rooms for high-risk individuals, showing that we have the resources to act decisively on this issue. However, warehousing people in open spaces with little privacy, and only offering hotel rooms to people deemed “high risk” is not an adequate solution. In addition to the actions already being taken, we demand:

    – Hotel vouchers to allow all unhoused people access to safe, clean and comfortable lodging. Vouchers should be made available to anyone needing shelter, not just individuals who are presenting symptoms.

    – Permanent commitment to provide housing for everyone who needs it, not just a temporary  measure that will put people right back on the streets when this crisis is over.

    – Expanded housing services through an infusion of resources and funding to community health clinics, shelters, and other frontline service providers, to cover staff overtime pay and necessary supplies, like sanitizers, medicine, masks, etc.

    – Emergency sanitation sites for people who cannot move indoors. Sanitation sites should include 24-hour restrooms and showers, laundry, hygiene supplies, COVID-19 screening, case worker availability, and disease prevention information.

    – End to encampment sweeps, ticketing, and vehicle tows (all practices that criminalize  houselessness).

    Enforcement / Outreach 

    – Penalties for landlords who do not inform tenants of their rights under these provisions

    – Penalties for landlords who do not comply with these emergency restrictions

    – No funding for service providers that discriminate against individuals on the basis of their age, race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, or religion

    – Fund outreach by community-based organizations to tenants: disseminate reliable information covering tenants’ rights and provide a monitored complaint hotline to tenants

    While San Diego leaders may find it worthwhile to explore access to massive relief funds such as those approved by the U.S. Congress for corporations of all sizes to offset landlord losses, our commitment lies with those who are without assets, and who are therefore most vulnerable to long-term financial ruin. We ask you to intervene now on behalf of your most populous constituency, the working-class tenants so integral to San Diego’s vibrant, hospitable identity.

    Downloadable PDF for circulation: https://bit.ly/HousingJusticeSD

  • San Diego COVID-19 Mutual Aid and Preparedness Resources

    As we face an unprecedented pandemic in our communities, it’s vital that we empower ourselves with information and resources to be able to provide support and solidarity to our comrades and communities. As socialists, we recognize that our power comes from our ability to stand together and support one another in times of uncertainty. 

    Below you’ll find resources and mutual aid projects that have sprung up to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ways for you to plug in and provide support as well.

    DSA San Diego Libertarian Socialist Caucus COVID-19 Mutual Aid Grocery Run – Click here to sign up to be a volunteer shopper, to get grocereies delivered, and/or to request monetary aid.

    DSA San Diego Libertarian Socialist Caucus Mutual Aid Fund — We have a fund to provide monetary assistance to those who can’t afford groceries. Please donate to the fund here.

    San Diego County COVID-19 Mutual Aid Support (request/info group) – Click here to request to join this group organized by local San Diego organizers (not DSA).

    San Diego Mutual Aid Board – Click here to access this open board organized by local San Diego organizers (not DSA).