Candidate Statement: Luke T. - At Large

I am a proud democratic socialist. I believe that the road to socialism is a democratic one that brings together the vast working-class majority into open struggle against the capitalist class. This requires struggles for state power with working-class demands and mass politics. It requires building a militant, left-wing, and democratic labor movement. And it requires that we orient our politics to those who are not yet class conscious.

My experiences with East Bay DSA over the past few years — the Jovanka Beckles assembly race, the Oakland teachers strike, and the Bernie campaign — have shown me that strategic campaigns require an effective organization with clear priorities. Our chapter is capable of incredible things when we pool our resources into truly collective action, and prioritize work that has broad consensus. The same has been true in my experience on the national Medicare for All campaign Steering Committee, supporting other chapters across the country. If elected, I intend to lead with this perspective.

Outside of DSA, I work for a union that represents public sector workers across the Bay Area, and their fights for health and safety during this pandemic demonstrate the importance of the rank-and-file strategy. As a gay man, I know that there is no social justice without economic justice, and that fighting oppression requires class unity around class-wide demands. 

I am running for At-Large on the Bread & Roses slate because I believe that we must continue building our chapter’s power through class-struggle campaigns, the rank-and-file strategy, and strong internal democracy. And because we must lay the groundwork for what we need to eventually win democratic socialism: a mass independent party of the working class. As a member of the Political Education Committee, I am excited to build up our Night School program with more advanced classes.