I’m running for DSA’s National Political Committee

I am excited to announce my candidacy for DSA’s National Political Committee. I have been involved with DSA for many years now, and as a life long socialist and activist, I look forward to presenting my ideas as one of 16 members of the NPC. Please read why I’m running, what I hope to achieve, and why you should care.

I was born in Pittsburgh and and spent my formative years in Israel where, at the age of 16, I became an activist and organizer. I was the first soldier imprisoned during the 1987 Intifada for refusing to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and continued to be politically active for over 30 years in service to social justice, human rights, and socialism. (If elected, I might be the first NPC member previously listed by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience…)

As a founding member of Ready for Warren, The People for Bernie Sanders, Progressive Democrats of America, and act.tv, I’ve been part of many efforts as an innovative digital strategist and organizer. I was involved in Occupy Wall Street from its outset as an organizer with the Tech Ops Working Group and helped establish some of Occupy’s electronic communications channels. I’m a proud member of two unions: the Pacific Media Guild (CWA) and Professional Staff Congress (AFT), and consult in an editorial capacity for the New Labor Forum, a leading journal addressing social movements and labor activism. I’m in the middle of relocating from Brooklyn to Oakland, where I’ll soon be employed by National Nurses United, with whom I organized The People’s Summit.

DSA work

I’ve worked with DSA as both a political advisor and technical consultant, training staff and volunteers in digital strategy and social media. I facilitated part of DSA’s involvement in the People’s Summit, an annual gathering of progressive political activists and organizers, as a convener and member of the Bernie Sanders Coalition. Through various platforms, most notably the People for Bernie Sanders, I’ve promoted DSA membership to millions of progressives around the country. I’m a DSA member since 2014.

Why I’m running for NPC

I’d like to see DSA become the most sophisticated and advanced U.S. socialist organization when it comes to its use of digital media and its ability to influence politics at the national level. I’d like to share my knowledge and familiarity with establishment Democratic and progressive institutions and their shortcomings with those working at the grassroots level outside the establishment, as well as bring my skills in digital organizing and online fundraising to bear on DSA’s efforts. I see an avenue to create an explosion of Democratic Socialism in the United States and I have a strong vision of DSA as a mass organization rooted in local constituencies, issues, and campaigns.

Vision

The U.S. has not seen a mass socialist movement for generations and most American socialists today have never experienced one. We need to figure out the organizational habits of a DSA that is wedded to entire constituencies as opposed to one focused on the small number who are able to attend meetings and participate in working groups. In order for DSA to engage in politics at the highest level, we need to master the tools — from voter files to canvassing software to advertising to interventions in popular culture. DSA should be a part of the construction of a democratic socialist coalition larger than DSA. We are on the cusp of an explosion of democratic socialism and new organizing efforts representing many and varied publics. DSA needs to be helpful in assisting the growth of this entire sector without assuming that DSA is ‘the movement’ itself.

I’ve got a track record of successfully organizing political interventions with minimal resources, and plans to use these experiences to advance DSA along the path to a mass socialist organization.

Here’s the ten point program I’m running with.

1. Prepare for being a mass organization in a short time by focusing on organizational habits and competencies of winning, successful organizations.
2. The next NPC ought to focus on training, leadership development and building relationships internally and externally. This capacity building and consolidation is critical to our future growth and political success.
3. Massively increase the budget by systematically expanding online recruitment, online fundraising efforts, and additional revenue generating activities.
4. Use additional funding to hire a full time political director tasked with launching national initiatives and supporting coalition efforts with our allies at the national level.
5. Work for the growth of a diverse, non-centralized democratic socialist movement in which DSA is but a part. Support the creation and success of spin off entities, ranging from worker coops to constituency groups to new publications.
6. Establish a clearer mandate for the NPC to make political decisions, while the day to day management of DSA is left in the hands of staff. NPC should exercise oversight, not control, over the logistics of running the office and managing campaigns. Establish the habit of ‘personal responsibility’ for organizational work, in contrast to ‘committee and process’ oriented efforts.
7. Make it easier for DSA to work with ‘autonomous organizers’ and nimble/spontaneous efforts, so that we can become more relevant on a news-cycle basis.
8. Professionalize the management of DSA around it’s use of technology, digital assets, participation in electoral campaigns, HR, event production and member/chapter services.
9. Strengthen our relationships with the entire Democratic Socialist political sector by looking for additional projects that require close cooperation.
10. Strengthen our relationships with our counterparts in other countries that have a track record of winning, and learn from them! (Podemos/Spain, Momentum/UK, Die Linke/Germany, NDP/Canada.

I look forward to hearing what folks think! Thanks to all those who have encouraged me to run.