2017 Electoral Endorsements

See the 2018 East Bay DSA electoral endorsements.

On October 29, East Bay DSA members voted on whether to endorse Jovanka Beckles for California Assembly District 15 and/or Gayle McLaughlin for California Lieutenant Governor. Members submitted statements in the weeks leading up to the vote, which are listed below, to make the case against endorsement, for limited endorsement, or for full endorsement of either or both candidates.

Results

After many members made statements, a quorum of members voted in favor of support with "significant resources" for both Jovanka Beckles and Gayle McLaughlin in their upcoming races. Future meetings will determine what resources the chapter will put behind the two candidates.

Candidate Questionnaires

Both candidates completed East Bay DSA's candidate endorsement questionnaire prior to the vote.

To help create robust discussion in the lead-up to voting, and to ensure all sides of this important question have a shared space to air their arguments, all East Bay DSA members and groups were invited to publish position statements laying out their opinions on the questions of whether to endorse Beckles and/or McLaughlin and if so, how heavily East Bay DSA should be involved in campaigning for them.

Endorsement Statements

See what your fellow East Bay DSA members had to say about these electoral endorsements.

A vote for "Minimal Resources" indicated support for endorsing the candidate(s) but not engaging in any campaigning, while a vote for "Significant Resources" indicated support for participating in campaigning for the candidate or candidates. This could include things like incorporating candidate materials into current East Bay DSA canvassing and/or encouraging East Bay DSA members to attend candidate-run canvasses and events.

Opposed

Strong support

Minimal support

Statement Requirements

Statements were suggested to be

  • About a specific possible vote on one or both candidate endorsements and present a clear argument for or against (for example, "East Bay DSA should not endorse [candidate] because of [these reasons]")
  • Between 250 and 750 words (suggested)
  • Submitted by East Bay DSA members, individually or as joint or co-signed statements (collaboration is encouraged)

Endorsement Statement Submission

All statements were published as submitted, provided that

  • The author or authors were East Bay DSA members in good standing
  • The statement was on the topic of electoral endorsements
  • Its arguments were made in the spirit of comradely debate and did not include hate speech or ad hominem content