Member Statements on Resolution 26-41: Constituent Organizing in the General Election.
IN FAVOR by Cat L
As someone who has had the privilege of canvassing and working community-facing events in areas like Old Fourth Ward, Venetian Hills, Oakland City, and West End, I am so excited to hear that we will continue the canvassing efforts in what is assumed to be a safe general election for House District 58. Southwest Atlanta and House District 58 is a vibrant and diverse swath of constituents and continuing to do outreach to these individuals opens us up to opportunities to craft the legislative agenda for next year, begin our constituent services program development, and connect the communities within the House District to DSA and organizing as a community.
I also think continued canvassing in the area will help members engage with the concept of “Southwest Atlanta” not as a monolithic voting block, but engaging with the residents of this area as a whole. We have millionaires and minimum-wage earning renters, conservative Democrats and more progressive voters, legacy residents who have been neglected and young voters who have felt disenfrachised from the Democratic Party. We have opportunities to expand worker and tenant based organizing principles to combat the charity that has been engaged by the Democratic Party for some time. We can help carry the work of protecting residents from the incoming gentrification that is being shepherded by city and state leadership.
DSA can be the support system for building a strong and organized HD 58 for the 99%.
IN FAVOR by Noah T
I am so proud of the work Mathewos, the campaign, and our chapter have done to win a primary in HD58, and his overwhelming victory and popularity give us the perfect opportunity to engage in communities that are historically underrepresented or ignored in Atlanta politics (as well as communities we want to engage & support through our work).
At this point, I believe it’s critical that we double down on the Mathewos campaign as a way to organize & expand our base in Atlanta, particularly SW Atlanta. And I’m happy that this resolution specifically calls for community engagement and organizing with the goal of bringing the voters & communities into the movement & supporting their needs.