Arguments in Favor

Katie Wilson has been a strong partner with DSA for labor and workers rights, for the fight for fair wages, and is personally aligned with the goals and priorities of DSA. Her leadership of the City of Seattle would be an opportunity to push forward DSA’s priorities. She would have an open dialogue with DSA once in office, and would prioritize working alongside low wage workers, immigrants, communities of color, and other marginalized communities. Please support Katie Wilson for Mayor.

Seattle DSA has to decide whether it wants to become part of one of the most promising socialist movements in recent history in Seattle, or whether it wants to sit on the sidelines even as many of its members join the movement.

Katie Wilson is a socialist and her achievements and her campaign are fundamentally socialist. She has taken on corporate power on behalf of workers and renters, winning campaigns in Seattle and around the region to raise the wage, tax the rich, and protect tenant rights. Her campaign is run not by the usual elites but by workers and renters like herself. Her movement is broadly based, creating a new and much needed opportunity to swell the ranks of socialists in Seattle.

The objections to a Seattle DSA endorsement of Wilson are fundamentally organizational and bureaucratic in nature. Every socialist movement has a necessary tension here. For socialism to succeed it needs structure and guidance. But if those become too rigid, they get in the way of successful movement-building. Many of the objections raised – whether Wilson would share data, agree to regular meetings, commit to the entire and specific wording of the org’s platform – revolve around issues that are regularly discussed and debated within socialist movements on which different answers are possible. These should not be deal-breakers, they should be subjects of ongoing conversation while we all keep the bigger picture in mind: that Seattle DSA ought to be the home of socialism in Seattle, in all of its forms and tendencies, and that it ought to be a part of an actual socialist campaign for the city’s mayoralty — especially one that is this close to victory.

FACT: Katie doesn’t stand to benefit from this endorsement, DSA stands to benefit with the influx of many new members

FACT; It is unreasonable to expect the same level of commitment from a candidate who is just asking for a paper endorsement (so she can direct her volunteers to us after victory) as a candidate who is asking for serious material and volunteer resources

FACT: Transit Riders Union, under Katie’s leadership has endorsed every single DSA candidate

FACT: Katie committed to opposing the Deadly Exchange in her questionnaire (see answer to last question) which is the most practical thing a local Seattle official can commit to

FACT: Washington for Peace and Justice, the main Palestinian-led local advocacy group in the Seattle area, is supporting Katie, so let’s not become more Catholic than the Pope here – it just comes off as sectarian

In early 2018, I was working three part-time, low-wage jobs in Seattle. More than half my income went to rent a shithole studio. That June, I saw AOC, a waitress, socialist & Bernie organizer, win her election to congress. I was energized-here’s the opportunity for change–if we had more socialist, working-class people and renters in congress, things would be much better for people like me, my friends/coworkers. I joined SDSA that night.

Unfortunately, on whole, the SDSA of 2018 didn’t feel like an organization that was actually interested in improving material conditions for workers like me at the time. Sectarianism, gatekeeping, infighting, people pulling rank. Long, boring, ineffective meetings with so many procedures made it all feel pretty inaccessible. Other members turning their noses up at any other groups/ideas and each other. I thought, “How are we ever going to be an effective, large, democratic socialist movement if this is how it goes here? Do we actually want to grow this movement or…?” It didn’t feel great.

I’m relieved that things have changed. The SDSA has had a successful campaign to Raise the Wage in Renton, Shaun Scott won in the 43rd; we had big wins with I-135, and I-137. We saw Mamdani’s victory in New York. In so many ways, the DSA has proven it can work to make a real difference for working and poor people.

I’ve been excited at the chance to put more time/energy into this newer SDSA that has proven itself. Now DSA has a huge chance to leverage the Wilson and Mamdani wins to become a larger organization and support a socialist mayor. If we can’t support a socialist for mayor of Seattle, what are we doing here? Do we actually want to grow this movement or…?

We socialists are a rising group and not large, not well enough known.
It’s important to exhibit a willingness to come together with other socialists especially in our own region. We are better and bigger together. If we cannot work together and acknowledge each other’s contributions how can we function on a larger stage and bring people into the movement.