During  the General Meeting on November 20th, DSA SF passed the resolution to work on the Bernie 2020 primary campaign. DSA SF will coordinate with the local Bernie 2020 campaign to support him leading up to the March 3, 2020 California Democratic primary. DSA SF aims to use Bernie’s campaign to reach out to local Bernie supporters, grow membership, and spread support for a socialist form of government. 

The resolution recognizes that “Bernie calls for policies in line with DSA SF’s values, including those that directly tackle climate change, massive healthcare costs, high housing costs, mass incarceration, corporate greed, rising right-wing oligarchy, the war on drugs, and so much more.” All other candidates are vocal capitalists, while Bernie is a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist. 

Working with the local campaign, DSA SF will host Bernie 2020 events and have contingents at official Bernie 2020 events, including debate watch parties, canvasses, and phone banks. DSA SF will also connect the Bernie 2020 campaign with our endorsed candidates in down-ballot races in 2019 and 2020, any endorsed state propositions or local measures, and any other nationwide campaigns (e.g. Medicare for All). California is the largest state in the country with a primary election on Super Tuesday, making the outcome potentially decisive in determining the nomination. 

In order to assess the impact of the endorsement and coordination, DSA SF will create a series of five (5) metrics, including hard targets surrounding chapter membership growth, engagement of current members, diversity of representation from our working groups and committees, and DSA name recognition in San Francisco. 

DSA SF will determine these metrics at the Electoral Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 during its regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the DSA SF office, located at 350 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA. Interested members and prospective DSA SF members are welcome to come and participate (although non-members cannot vote). Once metrics are selected, the Electoral Committee and the campaign can pinpoint key activities to serve the dual goals of supporting Sanders and growing membership. 

Please reach out to the Electoral Committee at electoral@dsasf.org to get more involved.

After several days of counting votes and waiting for a concession in a close race, DSA SF member Dean Preston will officially become District 5’s next Supervisor. 

Preston, nicknamed “Extreme Dean” by his opposition, will join the Board of Supervisors on behalf of District 5 after unseating incumbent Vallie Brown. Preston ran on a platform to fight for more affordable housing and free MUNI. He also vowed to oppose homeless sweeps, rogue landlords, and mass incarceration. DSA SF endorsed Preston’s campaign early on, and DSA SF comrades showed up en masse to canvass for Preston throughout his campaign.  

Preston began his career as an attorney representing victims of police misconduct before moving on to full time housing work. Preston was a staff attorney for the Tenderloin Housing Clinic in San Francisco, where he defended tenants against evictions, substandard conditions, and fought for rent control. In 2008, he founded Tenants Together, a statewide tenants’ rights organization. Last year, Preston was one of the principal architects and advocates of San Francisco’s Proposition F. Proposition F passed last year, guaranteeing all San Franciscans facing eviction the right to counsel. He also provided seed funding and support for Proposition C, which secured funding to double housing and mental health care for our houseless population. Brown conceded the race to Preston on November 14. 

Asked about the incredible win in the District 5 race, Preston’s campaign manager and DSA SF comrade Jen Snyder stated: 

“We are so happy to have ran an unapologetically Democratic Socialist campaign and have been victorious. Dean called himself a Democratic Socialist in the intro of every single debate and forum. Most of our staff is DSA, and our platform is centered around the democratization of resources, universal rights, and equal access to power. The fact we won without ever compromising or telling voters anything but the honest truth about our platform has made us so hopeful for what we can do in the future. This campaign was a branch and continuation of so many other DSA SF projects, and that’s what it will continue to be in City Hall.”

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