It was standing room only this week at the San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America July General Meeting, the first such meeting organized by our newly elected Steering Committee. All told 119 comrades both new and known gathered to participate in radical democracy, and a number of important things were decided.

First, the chapter voted unanimously to approve an open letter condemning Bernie Sanders and DSA National for endorsing an anti-choice candidate for office. The letter lays out our vision of reproductive justice, and affirms that it is an essential part of our socialism, something upon which we refuse to compromise. Our delegates intend to take the letter to the DSA National Convention in August. You can read the letter, which was drafted by members of our Socialist Feminist Committee, here.

The general body also unanimously approved a new Code of Conduct for our chapter, which will govern behavior during DSA SF business and at our events. This is a really important step for the chapter. We’re committed to fighting all forms of bigotry and oppression, and that starts at home with the organization we seek to build. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and all other forms of bigotry are not okay. We will not tolerate them in our spaces.  Read our new Code of Conduct here.

We also voted to provisionally ratify the Justice Committee as an official body of DSA SF (with a few particulars to be ironed out next time). Originally founded under the name Legal Justice and Decriminalization, the Justice Committee works to protect people from police violence and the deprivations of the racist criminal justice system.

Finally, we had report backs from representatives that attended the Socialism Conference in Chicago, and the Fearless Cities conference in Barcelona, and a talk about the landscape for housing policy in San Francisco from Dean Preston, the founder of Tenant’s Together, California’s statewide tenant advocacy group. Due to the crunch on time (that’s a hell of a lot to fit in one meeting), some proposed amendments to the charter were tabled until the August meeting.

On Sunday, delegates to the national convention from 5 Northern California DSA chapters gathered to discuss the issues to be decided at the convention. In attendance were delegates from Silicon Valley, East Bay, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Sacramento.

DSA SF was pleased to host these Chapters here in San Francisco, and to have played a formative role in gathering them together. Over the course of 4 hours, delegates discussed Single Payer, our strategy towards organized labor, DSA national’s role in electoral work, candidates for the National Political Committee, the proposed resolution on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), and membership of DSA in the Socialist International. Comrades from distant chapters met and exchanged views on organizing. Plans were made to organize a second Northern California Summit to continue regional communication and collaboration.

The strength of DSA comes from our acceptance of many approaches and perspectives, and each chapter has developed their own unique culture and tactics appropriate to local conditions. Delegates from DSA SF celebrated the variety of projects our Chapter is working on, and praised our organizing style which allows everyone to engage in whatever work they most value. By avoiding focusing our entire chapter on a single issue, we have many campaigns in progress addressing many issues, and we have created a resilient member-driven organization with ample opportunity for everyone to contribute. Our variety of issues is our strength.