Originally spoken by Chapter Co-Chair Jessen F. at the 2026 SV DSA Chapter Convention on 4/18/26.
Comrades!
The state of our chapter is strong. And it grows stronger every day. It is an honor to give this address. But to understand where we are now we must reflect on where we were before. A bit about myself…
I joined DSA in 2019 and for years I was a paper member. In Spring of 2023, our former Labor Working Group Co-Chair Andrea phonebanked me. We had a short convo, set up a 1:1 and when meeting we planned the very first Labor Movie Night. I suggested we play it where I work, at the SEIU 521 Union Hall. That was June 2023 and the first time DSA ever held an event in this building. Today it feels like our home.
In 2024, former Chapter Co-Chair Steven O. pushed me to run for steering committee. I really had no idea what that role entailed. Reluctantly, I agreed to the challenge. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. And it really was a challenge. Together with people like Tim M., Kyle S., Sean C., and John S., who moved to NYC to work for Zohran. We strove to rebuild a chapter that had been struggling for awhile. We held our first leadership retreat, we had a wonderful International Solidarity Working Group, and we got acquainted with letters from the Attorney General about how we needed to fix our taxes. Shout out to Maddi B. and Nick who have helped us solve so many of our financial problems.
In 2024, we had a dream of 500 members. One year ago, at our 2025 convention, we had 473. Today, I am proud to say we have 745 members! That’s a 58% increase in membership.
A year ago today, we had 3 existing Working Groups and one Committee: Steering. At the 2025 convention, we chartered 2 new Working Groups (Pol-Ed and Electoral) and 1 new Committee (Admin). Today we have 9 Working Groups and 6 Committees.
For many years, our chapter was directionless and unsure of what to do next. This year we voted on, built, and executed a chapter-wide strategic plan for the very first time – we have completed 15 goals on our strategic plan.
I would like to take some time now to recognize the particular campaigns, actions, and people that have made our chapter the strongest it has ever been.
- Community Safety WG
Co-chairs Joey T. and Jack D.- Organized against Palantir
- Fought back against a surveillance state by organizing against ALPRs (automated license plate readers)
- Electoral WG
Co-chairs Connor O. and Aiden A.- Supported efforts to get Ranked-Choice Voting in Santa Clara County and hosted Brew & Chew events lead by Tyler Y
- Helped pass Prop 50
- Turned out the second most volunteers for Measure A only after SEIU 521
- Currently working on Redwood City Rent Control bill and CA Billionaires’ Tax Bill
- Have four additional Electoral resolutions brought forward today
- Housing WG
Steve M. and Jennette H.- Supported the Summerwind Tenant Union when going before the San Jose Code Enforcement Appeals Board
- Assisted Emergency Interim Housing (EIH) tenants to attempt to resolve issues with service providers and develop community bonds,
- Set up a framework to get a Silicon Valley Tenant Union off the ground in 2026
- Growing partnerships with other housing organizations throughout the Bay Area such as:
- Joining the Anti-Displacement Coalition, co-hosting a listening session to spark community engagement.
- International Solidarity WG
Last year’s keynote speaker Noble M., Jati W., Ajinka, and Micah C.- Brought dozens of people out to pressure Santa Clara County to divest from genocide (i.e., Chevron)
- Running No Appetite for Apartheid campaigns in Redwood City and San Jose
- Recently scored a victory, the Santa Clara County Treasury Oversight Committee is forwarding a divestment policy to the Board of Supervisors
- Supporting Stanford students protesting
- Held a Rapid Response Network training
- Labor WG
Jake R., Jerry D., Jon D., Wes F.- Ran Labor Movie Nights including the movie UNION about the Amazon Labor Union fight in Staten Island with ALU president Connor Spence as guest speaker
- Supported Starbucks Workers United on the picket line
- Built a strong relationship with the South Bay Labor Council
- Participated in the May Day coalition planning
- Mutual Aid WG
Kyle S., Connor, and Sam P.- Tend to a thriving community garden
- Coordinate the well-established community free store
- Supported the unhoused community during sweeps
- Political Education WG
KM who revived the working Group, Matt D., Laure Skye C., and Greg R.- They organized and facilitated monthly Socialist Night School events covering topics from understanding local government to Marxist feminism.
- Revitalized our DSA 101 curriculum
- Will present resolutions today to further improve our chapter’s Political Knowledge, aiming to translate it into demonstrable change in our local community
- Transit WG
Dustin H. and Emmanuel H.- Successfully hosted its first bench-building collaboration with the SF Bay Area Bench Collective and Peninsula DSA
- Liberation & Justice WG
Ray G. and Jess M.- Newly chartered, seeks to bring DSA’s anti-racist views to the masses and protect our most vulnerable from the prison industrial complex
Our chapter is also so much more than our political Working Groups. We have also revamped the overall member experience in so many ways.
- Our chapter built resources for new members: Launched seasonal cohort groups, created a new member handbook, hosted regular DSA 101 sessions, and streamlined onboarding processes
- Expanded resources and growth for the chapter: Made the office a usable working space, formalized a retention process for existing members, and implemented skill-building modules to develop members into more effective organizers
- Improved internal structure and efficiency: Standardized task systems within committees, developed how-to guides for all members to use resources, hosted quarterly leadership retreats, organized the Google Drive, appointed chapter secretaries (rory and Colin), created 3 sets of evergreen tabling materials for more efficient outreach, improved our website
Now I must run through our amazing Committees: - Admin Committee
Lead by Tim B. and Rachel K.- Revamped our website and office
- Solidified our zoom accessibility
- Birthed many of our other committees
- Communications Committee
Lead Jasmine L. and Maura D- Engaged current and prospective DSA members plus community partners with the work of our local and neighboring chapters through social media
- Introduced social media campaigns to highlight SV DSA wins and accessible opportunities for actions
- Built a consistent and popular newsletter that is easy for members to contribute to
- Created a structure for members, WGs, and committees to request support from the communications committee, i.e. graphic design, social media posting, highlighting wins and actions in the monthly newsletter
- Tech & Data Committee
Lead by Darci P. and Ben- Revived this dormant committee
- Stabilized website infrastructure by reducing storage usage, upgrading the server, adding monitoring, and automating testing and deployments
- Built internal tools and infrastructure (Slack notifications, office tech setup, LinkTree, OpenProject) to support organizing
- Membership Committee
Lead by Laksh B. and Tyler N.- Literally welcomed hundreds of new members into our org making sure they were ready to get started organizing immediately
- Social Committee
Lead by Dominic B. and JC- Hosted our monthly event that is most popular with new members – Last Fridays
- Debuted the show and tell event and crafted a beautiful send off for Rheanna G at the Holiday Party
- Convention Planning Committee
Lead by Caela E. and Rheanna G. as well as Matt D., Laura Skye C., Greg R., Dustin H., Alex L. and more I am surely leaving off.- Made our bingo cards, our programs, our slides, our games, booked our food, set up our decorations. And made this incredible day possible.
Our plan for today was to have a strategic convention. I believe that we have done so. But we will have gone wrong if we are merely strategic today. We must be strategic all year.
I cannot tell you how proud I am of this chapter. So many new faces, new ideas, and exciting surges of growth. Some of our members are extremely well versed in theory and dedicated Marxists. Some of our members are brand new to Socialism.
All our members want change. But one thing I know comrades, is that change does not come easily.. It does not happen by accident. And it does not happen unless you are willing and ready to fight. So comrades, tell me YES if you are ready:
Are you ready to fight? Fight for your sisters? Fight for your brothers? Fight for trans folks? Fight for immigrants? Fight for black folks? Fight for latinos? Fight for all asian communities? Fight for climate justice? Fight for socialism? Are you ready to win? Are you ready to win?
So let’s make it happen.