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A New Member Guide to Internal Portland DSA Politics
A perspective from Emerge
Chapter Steering Committee Elections can be an exciting, confusing, stressful, or utterly baffling time for new members not understanding the dynamics at play. So much so that new members often don’t feel informed enough to vote and choose not to. Whether you joined last week, or have been in the org for years, your vote matters.
What’s the Steering Committee?
While the General Meeting (aka the membership) is the highest decision-making body in our chapter, our Steering Committee enacts the decisions made at the GM, and also makes day-to-day operating decisions and makes decisions that either can’t wait for or are obviously non-controversial enough to not wait for the GM. Some people view the SC as an administrative body, others view it as a political body. While it is both, the SC often takes on the bulk of administrative burden for the chapter, and the chapter functions better when people on the SC are either putting in the admin work or effectively delegating that work to the membership.
Caucuses? Slates? Why?
This year you’re going to see a few different slates, some of which are backed by caucuses.
What’s a slate?
A slate is simply an informal group of candidates presented together, sharing a similar vision or representing particular areas of organizing in the chapter. You do not need to vote for an entire slate. Hopefully you vote for the candidates you feel will do the best job!
What are caucuses?
Caucuses are external associations of DSA members that push a particular ideology forward. Emerge, Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color (AfroSoC), Cultivate, Marxist Unity Group (MUG), Reform & Revolution (R&R), Bread & Roses (B&R), and Organize for Power (OFP) are some of the current caucuses in Portland DSA. We recommend “A Guide to DSA Politics” from the Libertarian Socialist Caucus for more details on caucuses.
Why do we have caucuses and slates?
DSA is a “Big Tent” organizing body, meaning that many different ideologies are present within the organization. Caucuses tend to represent like-minded individuals within DSA organizing to influence DSA itself as well as the outside capitalist order. Caucuses are typically organized on a set of Points of Unity, which are specific ideas that caucus members agree or align with. These can range from the necessity of armed struggle to the commitment to nonviolence; from the abolition of the state to pursuing state reform; from community care to electoral emphasis. Slates are created for a few reasons, including:
- Providing simple voting recommendations for like-minded comrades.
- Strengthening bonds between both candidates and caucuses.
- Upon election, enacting a shared direction or vision of the future of DSA.
Slates of the Portland DSA 2026 SC Election
BRIDGE Slate
This slate is a combination of members who are involved in the Cultivate Caucus, along with members from the Resiliency Working Group, Racial Justice Working Group, AfroSoC, and the Safety Team. Expect members who are deeply committed to the administrative work of the chapter (making the chapter run on a day-to-day basis), as well as mutual aid, strike support, anti-racism and abolition, and safety practices to help keep the chapter secure.
Organize for Power Slate
This slate is a largely local Organize for Power (OFP) caucus that is an affiliation between Bread & Roses caucus and the Reform & Revolution caucus. Most candidates on this slate pull from one of these two caucuses, though there are a couple of independent candidates who have aligned themselves with this slate. This slate contains members who are largely involved in organizing around Labor, Electoralism, and Housing.
A Serious Note on the Organize for Power Slate
Some white chapter leaders from the Bread & Roses caucus of OFP have been engaging in uncomradely smear campaigns against comrade Bryan K., spreading unsubstantiated rumors through a whisper campaign. We disagree with this approach to politics and find it cowardly and uncomradely. These tactics not only undermine democratic organizing principles but perpetuate a culture of white supremacy rampant in Portland DSA and in the larger historical context of the Portland area.
For more information on this you can read Ghassan’s 2/20 posts about this on the Discord.
Democracy Slate
This slate contains a few candidates who are running independently of any caucus, but are running together under shared values.
No Slate
There are also two candidates running for at-large, Ten S. and Dan A., running completely independently, not bothering with the whole slate thing!
Emerge Voting Recommendations
Please read the candidates' statements and choose who you resonate with most! In lieu of that, Emerge very strongly recommends:
Secretary Rank Zoe S #1! Zoe has demonstrated strong leadership and attention to detail through her work in our chapter communications department. She took the initiative to curate the Discord server to facilitate easier engagement and create a more welcoming environment. She has consistently engaged with members from various backgrounds, ensuring adherence to chapter Discord rules and agreements, and ensuring that established processes are followed by all members. These qualities are highly valuable in a chapter secretary.
External Organizing Rank Bryan K #1! Bryan has been working his ass off making connections with BIPOC community orgs across the city as co-chair of Portland AfroSoC. He’s also been doing stellar political education through our Anti-Racism and Abolition WG (fka Racial Justice Working Group) that is bringing in socialist perspectives from the Global Majority. He has also continually made himself available to his opponents in thought and process because he genuinely understands that in order for us to obtain socialism we must use multi-prong solutions based on where we live. A one size fits all model is attainable under a big tent org. But our wins shouldn’t be on the backs of those facing the worst oppression.
At-Large Rank Kelly G #1! Kelly is the co-chair of the chapter’s Abolition and Anti-Racism Working Group (formerly the Racial Justice Working Group). She has demonstrated her commitment to the chapter through active involvement in Resiliency WG and, more recently, has taken a leadership role in establishing both the Abolition and Anti-Racism Working Group as well as our recent Queer Justice Working Group. Recognizing a gap in lived experience within these initiatives, Kelly believes the most effective approach is to empower members to lead authentically and from their own perspectives. She also acknowledges Portland DSA’s historical challenges with discriminatory and performative behaviors and emphasizes the importance of addressing and calling out these patterns to foster a truly inclusive, multi-racial movement within the Portland Metro area.
Emerge also also recommends:
Co-chair Rank Christian #1 We feel Chrisitian will bring a level-headed approach to leading the chapter in a way that is very safety- oriented and community-building, very important qualities for a leader given these times of heightened state-repression.
At-Large After Kelly G, rank in any way you want: Rocky C, Dan A, Ten S, Jennifer P.
What is Emerge?
Emerge is a multi-tendency communist caucus of DSA members.
We study global liberation movements to bring forth a politics into DSA that is grounded in a revolutionary anti-imperialism, the abolition of domination and exclusion, a democratic organizing of the working class, equity, collective care, and community accountability.
Read our Points of Unity here: dsaemerge.org/points-of-unity/
Application to join us: dsaemerge.org/join/