Members statements in favor and against 2026-EER01: Endorsement of Shayla Adams-Stafford for Prince George’s County Council District 5
Per Section 4 of our bylaws, “The Political Engagement Committee shall be permitted to issue a recommendation and rationale as a body, to be delivered by its chair or their designee, before or during debates on all electoral endorsements and will be allotted additional speaking time if requested to deliver findings from their engagement with the candidate or ballot initiative campaign. This recommendation and rationale will be included along with endorsement ballots sent to members.”
The Political Engagement Committee has issued a recommendation IN FAVOR of endorsing Shayla Adams-Stafford. The PEC’s full recommendation and analysis can be found here.
IN FAVOR by Joe R
Shayla has proven that she is willing to stand up for our priorities and values, and has made a point of fighting for Prince George’s County’s working class. In her first six months on the County Council, she co-sponsored and enacted nearly 60 bills, from pausing development of data centers and greater transparency in county land use to fighting for publicly-owned grocery stores and social housing. This builds on her track record on the school board, where she supported Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for the construction of new schools and opposed placing school resource officers in county schools. She has been willing to meet with chapter members and with the Prince George’s County Branch, and her responses in the endorsement questionnaire and candidate Q&A were in-depth and thoughtful.
It is of strategic importance for the chapter to support our incumbents, and as an incumbent with even greater recognition in the District, Councilmember Adams-Stafford is likely to receive endorsements and support from a wide array of labor unions and progressive organizations, and perhaps even more than she did in her previous race. If re-elected, Councilmember Adams-Stafford would bring her six months of experience to a full term on the County Council at a critical juncture for the priorities of our chapter and the branch. For much of 2025, the County Council was short a member and deadlocked between five moderate to conservative Democrats aligned with the Democratic Party establishment and five more progressive members. Electing Councilmember Adams-Stafford last summer gave the progressive wing of the Council a crucial six-to-five majority. The chapter has already endorsed Imara Crooms in Prince George’s County Council District 9, and there are going to be multiple open or competitive elections for other seats on the council in the coming year. Without a working progressive majority, it will be much more difficult to pass or strengthen legislation on top priorities such as rent stabilization and social housing, combatting the development of data centers in the County, and working to end mass incarceration. Even foregoing a working progressive majority, a bloc of socialists and progressives would be a crucial check on the County Executive and the moderate wing of the Council.
In short, we have good reason to believe that Councilmember Adams-Stafford will continue to fight for working class residents and deepen her collaborative relationship with the chapter.
IN FAVOR by Alexander A
Hello comrades,
I stand before you today to encourage the body to vote in favor of endorsing Shayla Adams-Stafford for PG County Council. District 5, which encompasses the municipalities of Bladensburg, Edmonston, Cheverly, and Landover; the latter being the current site of the proposed Brightseat Tech Park data center, which is itself part of the broader class struggle against the tech oligarchs. I can say that as I, as a person who has personally attended these town council meetings on the data center, that Shayla has risen to the occasion and has been a community leader on this issue. Where she has planted her feet firmly into the ground, and like a tree standing by the water, has stood with the majority black working class community of Landover, and has affirmed that it will not become another billionaire dumping ground for the tech giants in Silicon Valley.
In terms of benefit for the chapter, District 5 has a significant population of key constituencies; of those who reside here, 54% are black, 25% Latino, and out of the 14,730 renter households, 58% are cost-burdened, the highest in the county. These are the communities that the chapter should seek to further engage and radicalize should we ever build a multiracial working class body politic.
Please join me in endorsing Shayla Adams-Stafford for PG County Council for District 5. Thank you!
IN FAVOR by Wyatt L
I support Metro DC DSA’s resolution to endorse Councilmember Shayla Adams-Stafford in PG County’s District 5. I love how she focuses on opportunity and development as prevention to violence - something we need to hear a lot more of around the country. Violence and violent crime aren’t caused by “evil” but systemic and chronic disconnection. Whether that disconnection be related to social interactions, opportunities, based in systemic racism, or all of the above and more, it’s the root cause. Councilmember Adams-Stafford understands this and seems to be working hard in PG County to build opportunities and safety nets to catch people who’ve been harmed by disconnection. She also supports strengthening the right and access of people to organize and unionize. Part of why this country faces job loss and stagnation is that workers and employees have been unable to organize for their interests and are trapped under monied interests of the oligarchs. I’m glad to see she recognizes this and seeks to help renters and all workers organize in her county. Now is the time to set up resilience for our incumbents. She’s received DSA’s endorsement in the last election and has shown herself to live up to our expectations for DSA endorsed candidates. The more entrenched and resilient we make our candidates, the stronger their connections will be and the better case we can make for more socialist and equitable office holders.
IN FAVOR by Ken B
I believe we should endorse Shayla Adams Stafford. As a canvasser for her 2025 special election campaign, it is clear to me that she is helping align working class forces against capitalist ones and fomenting class struggle in Prince George’s County. There is a clear base for our politics in PG, which Shayla is helping capitalize on and expand. She has a good relationship with the branch and PEC, and has been a leader in the fight against the data centers that threaten community well-being in the county. While my understanding is that Shayla is not being seriously challenged this cycle, this is a rare example where a paper endorsement would serve us well to maintain and expand this relationship as we try to grow our block on the County Council.
Per Section 6.4.2 of our bylaws, “Branch Steering Committees shall be permitted to issue a recommendation and rationale on candidates running for seats exclusively within their territorial jurisdiction during endorsement general body meetings. This recommendation and rationale will be included along with ballots sent to members.” The Prince George’s Branch Steering Committee has submitted a recommendation IN FAVOR.
The Prince George’s County Branch Steering Committee urges all Metro DC comrades to support the endorsement of Shayla Adams-Stafford and to campaign vigorously for their election if they are endorsed by our chapter. It would serve the chapter well, as many chapter members would agree and as is in alignment with general consensus, to make inroads with black and brown communities in the region. Shayla’s position in the PG County Council is conducive to this goal. All the more, this all is not happening in a vacuum. This is amidst chapter cadre Frankie Fritz’s 2025 election victory in Greenbelt, who received 61% of the vote, beating 3 incumbents. This is amidst Imara Crooms’ campaign for PG County Council for District 9, who will need all the help he can get in a district that is more wealthy, less densely populated than other areas in the county, leans heavily toward single-family homes, and where every effort, including the active participation of a sitting councilmember in Adams-Stafford, will be indispensable in overcoming entrenched interests and mobilizing genuine popular support. This is amidst DSA member Raaheela Ahmed’s campaign for State Senate seat District 23, who has made educational equity a core tenet of her platform and who also has been at the forefront in the fight for Palestinian Liberation, and was a fellow progressive member on the PG Board of Education along with Shayla. This is amidst the fight against the data center in Landover, which is in Shayla’s district, in which there has been vehement community backlash against, and in which Shayla has been a leading and tireless community advocate on. The chapter is building and has been building the foundation of a people-powered politics in the county that is remarkably different from the establishment, developer-backed Democratic Party careerists that has been par for the course for the past 40 years. We urge the body to honor the hard work and collective effort that the chapter and branch have been engaged in in previous election cycles, by endorsing Shayla Adams-Stafford for PG County Council for District 5.
IN FAVOR by Imara C
Comrades I believe we are fortunate for the opportunity to re-endorse Shayla Adams-Stafford for Prince George’s County Council, District 5. In 2025, our chapter mobilized in force to help Shayla win a hard-fought special election, flipping a critical seat from developer-backed interests to working-class power. Since taking office, Shayla has rewarded that effort, serving as a steadfast anchor on the Council’s left flank.
Her tenure has been defined by a refusal to compromise on the needs of the many:
Tenant Rights & Affordable Housing: Shayla has been a dependable champion for rent stabilization and emergency protections against retaliatory evictions, standing firm against the real estate lobby to ensure our neighbors aren’t priced out of their homes.
Labor Solidarity: From her time on the School Board to the Council, she has consistently fought for Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and fair wages, ensuring that public resources build union careers, not just private profits.
Care over Policing: Adams-Stafford continues to advocate for moving resources toward mental health and restorative justice, resisting the expansion of the carceral state in our communities.
In addition to my own race the 2026 election offers us the opportunity to hold our ground. We know developers and corporate lobbyists are eager to shift the Council back toward the status quo. Re-electing Shayla isn’t just about one seat; it’s about protecting the left-leaning bloc we’ve built and continuing the struggle for a county that serves its people, not its speculators. Let’s finish what we started.
IN FAVOR by Thomas S
I encourage Metro DC chapter members to vote YES to endorse Shayla Adams Stafford for reelection to the Prince George’s County. When we voted to endorse Shayla in her special election campaign just over a year ago, we did so knowing from her time on the Board of Education that she would fight for good union jobs and against failed carceral policies. We knew from her candidate questionnaire and her Q&A responses that she was deeply aligned with our values. We also knew that District 5 was strategic terrain within the county for DSA. The significant role that we played in her field operation helped power her to a blowout win that gave her a mandate to legislate boldly. Since then, she has not let us down, and she has also shown a breadth to her interests and priorities that demonstrates she was ready for the step up to County Council from the Board of Education, initiating the first meaningful conversations in the Prince George’s County about social housing and refusing to acquiesce to the forces seeking to green-light an ill-considered data center project in close proximity to residential neighborhoods in Landover. But seven months in office obviously isn’t enough time to rack up the legislative wins we eventually hope to see. Electing Shayla - who has in no sense let us down since her election - to a full term is critical to getting the most out of the time investment we have already made.
IN FAVOR by Julia P
I live in DC so I’ll leave extended commentary to PG Branch members, but I’d like to express my strong support for reendorsing Shayla Adams-Stafford in her run for reelection. She’s a reliable incumbent who has a strong collaborative relationship with our chapter. I’m excited to see what she and our other candidates and electeds in PG County will accomplish!
IN FAVOR by Carl R
Comrades, I urge you to vote FOR Shayla Adams Stafford’s reendorsement. She has worked closely with the chapter since entering office, and winning this race - alongside Imara Crooms’ race for PG County Council - will create an explicit DSA wing on the body.
Additionally, reelecting Shayla is a strong opportunity for the PG branch - which has successfully won two local elections already - to build on its past successes and develop more leaders, bring in new members, and align more unions with our vision.
Vote YES to endorse Shayla Adams Stafford!
Per section 6.5 of our bylaws, “recognized caucuses shall have the right to publish statements and proposals in public forums for the local, subject to the moderation of that forum.” Metro DC DSA’s Groundwork Caucus has submitted a recommendation IN FAVOR of endorsing Shayla Adams-Stafford. The caucus’ full writeup and analysis can be found here.
The Metro DC DSA Groundwork Caucus strongly recommends voting YES to endorse chapter member Shayla Adams Stafford for Prince George’s County Council. Since her victory in a special election in 2025, she has proven herself a capable Socialist in Office who has coordinated with the chapter on numerous priorities, such as fighting against the construction of environmentally and socially harmful data centers. While we are typically averse to “paper endorsements,” Shayla’s is a case where we believe it is sensible to make an exception: she is a relatively safe incumbent who wishes to continue building her relationship with DSA and to continue publicly associating with us. We do not need to invest greatly into her race–though we should still have a visible presence on her campaign–and we can preserve our capacity in PGC for Imara Crooms’ And Raaheela Ahmed’s races, where it will be a much more significant factor. Keeping Shayla as a Socialist in Office on the PG County Council is integral to our strategy of building a strong socialist block there, and we believe all chapter members should vote YES on this endorsement.
IN FAVOR by Bakari W
Hello all, I’m Bakari and I’m writing to encourage you to vote YES to re-endorse Shayla Adams-Stafford for Prince George’s County Council District 5. I had the privilege of helping organize our Shayla canvasses last year, as well as the Maryland Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment canvasses we did in District 5 knowing that the special election would be coming soon. Shayla has already been a partner in the short time she’s been in office. She’s in the process of putting forward social housing legislation, she’s been part of the fight against the Landover data center, and the chapter has met with her office to discuss priorities. She is the left pole of the County Council and soon hopefully Imara Crooms will be there to back her up. Forming blocs of socialists in legislative bodies is a core part of our chapter program’s theory of change, and the prospect of ending this year with 2 endorsed candidates each in the Montgomery County Council, PG County Council, and the MD State Legislature is extremely exciting. I look forward to the work we’ll continue to do with Shayla, vote YES to endorse her!
IN FAVOR by Marli K
I am writing in favor of endorsing Shayla Adams Stafford for Prince Georges County Council. Shayla has been a strategic ally on the council, and it is important that we support her endorsement for her re-election. As an incumbent, she needs our endorsement to keep her seat. In her short six months on Council she has already advanced legislation to support the working class in PG County, including co-sponsoring bills to advance socialist priorities, including the pausing of the development of data centers, greater transparency in county land use, and a bill to fight for publicly-owned grocery stores and social housing. We need Shayla on the PG County Council to continue to advance these priorities and fight for the working class.
IN FAVOR by Alex Y
Shayla Adams-Stafford has been one of the best candidates and elected officials our chapter has had the opportunity to work alongside and certainly is one of the best non-cadre candidates we have endorsed in the past and have the opportunity of re-endorsing. In her Q&A, Shayla highlighted how her and her office have worked alongside the chapter since winning the special election last year and furthermore called for increased collaboration between us. You can’t ask for much more than that in a relationship with a candidate or elected official. I urge everyone to vote to re-endorse Shayla for a full term on the Prince George’s County Council so we can retain a steadfast partner there!
IN FAVOR by Dami O
Shayla is new to the organization, but she has proven to me that she is worthy of our endorsement in various ways. Her team is very communicative with us- and has shown a willing to meet with us on a regular time to work on our priorities. Even when it was politically advantageous to stake a middle ground on data centers- Shayla as stood firmly against harmful development. Without prompting she has stood for a lot of progressive ideas like county owned grocery stores and fighting food insecurity I believe that this shows a lot of genuine strength as a politician, and good instincts and DSA should be there too back her in future fights.