Printed below is the full correspondence in regards to Local Council’s decision to suspend a member. Names have been edited to protect the privacy of those involved.
(For the sake of clarity: “Jason” is the member who was punished. “Brian” is the member who LC has been ascribed victimization. Names have been changed to protect privacy.)
Letter #1 from EBDSA LC:
Dear Jason,
We, the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America (EBDSA) Local Council, have been made aware of an alleged physical altercation between you and another EBDSA member on the night of September 14, 2017.
In accord with Section 4 of the EBDSA bylaws (member discipline, suspension and expulsion), the Local Council will commence an investigation into these circumstances that potentially affect our members’ safety and would like to speak with you and/or your representative about the allegation as soon as possible.
Please reply to this email (localcouncil@eastbaydsa.org) in order to schedule this meeting.
You are encouraged to ask another EBDSA member to act as your advocate at the council meeting. Your advocate can be present at your initial meeting and all subsequent meetings with the Local Council or representative(s) thereof. At the confidential council meeting, you and/or your advocate will have a chance to respond to allegations raised.
We will be asking an EBDSA member with formal training and experience in conducting investigations to act a neutral investigator. The investigation will be strictly confidential and is expected to be completed within six weeks time; culminating in a closed and confidential Local Council meeting to discuss the findings and determine next steps, if any.
Please take notice that these proceedings may result in your suspension or expulsion from EBDSA.
Sincerely,
East Bay DSA Local Council
Response #1 from Jason:
Democratic Socialists of America, East Bay
RE: Member Conduct Investigation
October 21, 2017
Dear co-chairs,
Thank you for your dedicated time and careful consideration. Member safety is clearly important, and I feel assured knowing that our elected council takes these kinds of matters seriously.
After careful consideration, I’ve decided to write a more general statement. I want to be clear that I have not decided to do this out of maliciousness. In fact, it is the very opposite. As you are well aware, there are always two stories to a disagreement. But I’ve decided not to lay out “my side” in this statement
because Brian and I have come together, on a number of occasions now, to sort out any and all hypothetical inconveniences that each one of us had previously harbored.
After these discussions, I am satisfied not to file a statement that would require what Brian and I both feel to be a wholly unnecessary investigation.
We have done this in the spirit of the East Bay DSA bylaws, specifically Article III, Section IV entitled “Member Discipline, Suspension, and Expulsion.” The relevant line is as follows: “In all cases, prior to discipline, the Local Council should consider and abide by the principles of privacy, accountability, and restorative justice.”
Previous to meeting and discussing, both Brian and I had separate and competing concerns regarding our previous interaction. This is no longer the case. Both of us, in the spirit of reflective accountability, have engaged in meaningful and heartfelt dialogue. Through this dialogue I feel that I have gotten sufficient accountability for, and understanding of, Brian’s actions. Brian has told me that he feels the same of me. We have both taken meaningful responsibility for our respective actions, however negligible each of our actions truly were.
In other words, we have found, and already traversed, the path of restorative justice. We’ve already done this, and without mediation by any exterior organizational body.
If, upon reflecting on this statement, the council decides to move forward with a conduct investigation anyways, please let me know.
Again, thank you very much for your time and dedication.
In solidarity,
-Jason
Letter #2 from EBDSA LC:
October 28, 2017
Dear Jason,
On the night of September 14, 2017, at an East Bay DSA event, you shoved another EBDSA member in the context of a political argument. EBDSA undertook an official investigation according to our policy. You did not dispute that you shoved another member. East Bay DSA is committed to member safety. Aggressive non-consensual physical contact is not acceptable, and is not permitted at EBDSA events or in EBDSA organizing spaces. Our
primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of our members.
In your response to our request for information about the incident, you asserted that you and the person you harmed had resolved your interpersonal issues. But in a community context, accountability for wrongdoing does not begin and end with the resolution of conflict between individual actors. When a member’s behavior violates community behavioral standards at a community event, that member must be held accountable to the group as a whole.
Following due process, the Local Council informed you of the charge, and requested your statement. Having considered your statement, the Local Council has determined that your behavior at the EBDSA event described above is in substantial disagreement with the principles and policies of EBDSA. You are hereby suspended from all official East Bay DSA activities,
including but not limited to open meetings, social events, committee or subcommittee meetings, and official EBDSA online forums for a period of 3 months effective immediately. Your suspension from EBDSA will terminate on January 28, 2018. Violations of this sanction, such as attending official EBDSA events, may result in the Local Council taking further disciplinary action.
The EBDSA Local Council
Joint Response by Brian and Jason:
Dear Local Council,
This letter is regarding your decision to suspend Jason from the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America (EBDSA) as notified via email on October 28th, 2017.
We are jointly writing you today — as both parties that are thought to be a part of an alleged dispute on the 14th of September 2017 — to appeal the aforementioned disciplinary decision. Neither of us had thought that an investigation was necessary, and we still believe this. It follows, then, that we find the disciplinary sanctions taken against G to be needless and unwarranted.
As both parties in the alleged dispute, we repudiate the charge of physical assault. No conflict occurred on September 14th, 2017 that could be classified as a physical confrontation. The context around our interaction on that evening is important and, if taken into consideration, absolves any party of the kind of wrongdoing that would necessitate disciplinary measures. We acted as individuals outside of our roles as EBDSA members, at a time that was far after the conclusion of an EBDSA sponsored event, and in concerns to another personal conflict unrelated to EBDSA entirely.
For the sake of creating a just conduct process ygn the EBDSA. Specifically, we hope that our appeal shall mark a first step in producing a procedure wherein rank-and-file members can challenge post-investigation penalties handed down by local leadership in good faith.
Thank you, very much, for your time and diligence.
Signed in solidarity,
-Brian
-Jason
Letter #3 from EBDSA LC:
Dear Brian and Jason,
We are following up in response to the letter we received November 23, 2017, appealing the Local Council decision of G’s three-month suspension beginning October 28th, 2017.
While we are glad to hear that you both personally have reached an amicable understanding concerning the incident of September 14, 2017, the Local Council decision conveyed in the October 28th, 2017 letter stands.
As noted in the letter, when a member’s behavior violates community behavioral standards within a community, that member must be held accountable to the group as a whole. Our decision, based on the information provided, is that G’s suspension from EBDSA terminates on January 28, 2018. He may rejoin the EBDSA community in good standing at that time.
We appreciate both of you understanding the seriousness with which we take this decision regarding member safety and accountability.
Solidarity,
EBDSA Local Council
