Member Statements on EER01: Endorsement of Aparna Raj for DC Ward 1 Councilmember
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 Aparna Raj. The PEC’s full recommendation and analysis can be found here.
The last competitive Democratic Primary for Ward 1 councilmember occurred in 2018, in which outgoing Councilmember Brianne Nadeau won handily, with 5,537 votes (48.3%), in a four-way race. In the previous race in 2014, Councilmember Nadeau won with 6,688 votes (58.7%), unseating then-incumbent Jim Graham. Turnout in the ward has trended up slightly in the most recent years with somewhat comparable primaries to the open race we now see in 2026, while ward population has stayed roughly stable. For example, in 2022, Councilmember Nadeau faced a competitive primary against two other candidates and won with 7,976 votes (48.46%) – with overall turnout increasing from 10-11k in 2014 and 2018, to more than 16,000 in 2022.
As a first-time candidate, Aparna broke the record for day one fundraising and accessing public matching through the DC Fair Elections program in a ward-level race, and has already garnered the endorsements of five local labor unions. Ward 1 is the smallest, densest, and most progressive ward in the District, with large numbers (and percentages) of renters, immigrant populations, and young people living in highly accessible neighborhoods – making it extremely solid turf for canvassing. Additionally, Metro DC DSA has hundreds of members in Ward 1, and contact information for thousands more. It is also worth noting that DSA-endorsed campaigns have a successful track record in this ward, while attempts to challenge the Green Team from a more moderate ‘pragmatic progressive’ perspective have floundered. The chapter knocked approximately 40,000 doors for Councilmember Zachary Parker in 2022, a relative outsider to the organization running a less dense ward with fewer members. Hitting Aparna’s stated goal of 50,000 doors, and perhaps more, in this race is both extremely likely and a massive contribution in a ward-level race with an estimated win number of 8k votes. The PEC also strongly recommends an early push for member-to-member phonebanking and other methods to ensure she remains a competitive fundraiser.
We are confident that the demographics and geography of the ward, combined with strong campaign infrastructure and additional voter persuasion through endorsements from other progressive organizations and unions, traditional and social media, and public events, make this a winnable – though still competitive – race that could secure a socialist seat on the DC Council for a cadre member of the chapter for years to come.
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 Aparna Raj. The caucus’ full writeup and analysis can be found here.
We strongly urge all members to vote YES on Aparna’s endorsement. Aparna has been a core chapter cadre, a leader in tenant organizing and electoral work, and a leader in our organization’s political life for years. Aparna fulfills all of our criteria, and her win would be the biggest in our chapter’s history. She has already secured the support of much of the DMV’s labor movement and has smashed small-dollar fundraising records. We could write about Aparna’s candidacy at length, but we don’t think we need to. The dozens of members she has mentored can speak for themselves. For us, this is a no-brainer.
IN FAVOR by Gary Z
I am writing IN FAVOR of endorsing Aparna’s run for Ward 1 rep on the DC Council. This plot has been in the works for sometime, and the time for the socialists to emerge in Washington’s most left-wing corridor is here. As someone who has known Aparna through DSA engagement for several years now, I can attest that she is truly a cadre candidate with a record of experience in our chapter. Her victory in this race would unlock a range of new tactical and political maneuvers available to the socialist left operating in DC.
I have known Aparna for several years through the DSA, but got to really know her through the fight for Initiative 82 in DC back in 2022. She played a crucial role in organizing DSA’s engagement in the Initiative, which was set to phase out the subminimum wage in DC for good. Without her leadership, the initiative would not have been passed and may not even have made it to the ballot. She helped compose our strategy for intervening in the ballot election and played a vital role in shaping its public messaging — crucially, she did so by organizing our members - socialists - to engage in a broad array of electoral tactics to win over workers and the public. She stood alongside socialists in zero-degree weather to secure its ballot placement, and the propaganda campaign she devised completely flummoxed the restaurant lobby and won over worker support — something a prior initiative proposing an end to the subminimum wage (I77) failed to do.
I82 was repealed this summer after spineless liberals betrayed prior commitments to maintaining the initiative. As a tipped worker who was helping organize defense of I82, I’ve seen how vital it is to have allied offices in the Council Building to defend and advance policy initiatives. To truly win an end to the subminimum wage - and any other working-class pursuits - socialists must break down the gates of the Wilson Building and disrupt the corporatists’ control of the Council. Aparna’s victory will unlock this path.
I also served on our chapter’s steering committee with Aparna in 2024 (she had also served on steering the prior year). During this time, we had several disagreements about our chapter’s structure and policies. These disagreements were substantial but not insurmountable. Although she and I come from different factional camps within our chapter, her commitment to socialism was never in question. I mention this to say that she is someone who understands how DSA functionally works, is invested in and helped shape our project. When Aparna wins this race, leveraging our chapter’s structures to engage in political management of the city will be possible.
This race is clean break. Ward 1 has one of the highest concentrations of socialists in the country. Raj’s rivals are an array of ego-drunk liberals and bottom-rung Bowser henchmen. The opps are and will remain divided: the complete lack of ideological coherence will frustrate any attempt to unite a counter-opposition. Clear public commitment to a working-class program will enable us to unite every tenant, worker, artist, punk and vagrant in this Ward who have long waited for an opportunity to sack the status quo politics of the city.
It has been decades since DC has had a cadre on the Council. With Aparna, we have the opportunity to breach the Wilson Building, reanchor the Council’s left and sow the seeds of our wider socialist plots. The opportunity is here - are we prepared to seize it?
IN FAVOR by Mina/Nat S
Comrades, I encourage everyone to vote YES on endorsing Aparna Raj for DC Council Ward 1.
As a poet once said, “I used to pray for times like this.” To have a cadre candidate, a former chair of the chapter (!), a diehard socialist, running for a DC Council seat in the part of the city where our membership is most concentrated, gives us a chance to cement our hold on DC’s own “Commie Corridor.”
I’m sure a lot of the other statements will talk about Aparna’s extensive background in our chapter and in DSA, so I won’t focus on that. Instead I’ll just say that this is an incredible opportunity to capitalize on the mass upsurge in interest in DSA, in the wake of the Zohran Mamdani win in the NYC Mayoral race – lest we forget, he too was a DSA cadre candidate who came out of our ranks as an electoral organizer before being elected to office.
As someone who cares about DSA and about socialists’ power to remake our city and our metro region, I think it would be absolutely absurd to let factional logic of years past stop us from seizing this opportunity with both hands. It would be near-criminal for us to 5D-chess our way into a logic where this endorsement is somehow a bad idea. Let’s stick to the basics: DSA is good, DSA cadre are good, DSA cadre in office even better, DSA cadre elected official with a strong DSA-friendly constituency is peak. It’s not rocket surgery, it’s a generational opportunity.
IN FAVOR by Stuart K
With the election of Frankie Santos Fritz to the Greenbelt City Council, our chapter’s electoral program has entered a new era of endorsing true cadre candidates who can win. With that in mind, I urge chapter members to vote YES to endorse Aparna Raj for the Ward 1 seat on the DC Council. Aparna is a longtime Metro DC DSA chapter leader who will be a steadfast organizer and a fighter on the DC Council. Together, we can all help propel Aparna to victory and achieve the better DC and Ward 1 that we all know is possible.
IN FAVOR by Shreya B
Please vote YES on endorsing Aparna Raj! Aparna is a true fighter for the working-class who got her start right here in MDC DSA. Consequently, as a dyed-in-the-wool cadre candidate, Aparna will champion DSA values on the DC council: tenant’s rights, worker’s rights, migrant rights, and more.
IN FAVOR by Irene K
I’m incredibly excited and honored to have spoken at our local convention and to be writing this ballot statement in favor of endorsing Aparna Raj for the Ward 1 DC Council seat. As a former PEC chair and chapter chair, member of the chapter since 2018, and someone who has served as a lead organizer on multiple electoral campaigns and knocked doors for our endorsed candidates in every single one of our branches, I believe Aparna’s campaign in many ways is the culmination of our entire electoral project and perhaps the biggest opportunity in our chapter’s history.
DSA chapters across the country endorse hundreds of candidates for a wide range of offices, all of whom have varying levels of commitment to our organization. Unlike many others, Aparna is the definition of cadre candidate—someone who sees herself as DSA first and is in line with our values; consistently talks about democratic socialism and class struggle in her speeches and is vocal about DSA being her political home; served in our chapter’s elected leadership and led many of our most successful working groups and campaigns; participates in the life of the chapter, such as engaging in internal debate, voting on internal questions, and attending our conventions; and is accountable to our organization. Multiple DSA chapter members are working on her campaign or serving on her core advisory team and actively helping shape her policy platform. Dozens more have already attended our events, donated to the campaign, and signed up to volunteer. This is the ideal model of a DSA-led campaign and a sign of our political maturity.
Decisively winning this seat and defeating the numerous establishment candidates who are doing everything in their power to box her out will be transformative for DC politics. We can prove that candidates running unapologetically as socialists can win, even in the heart of empire and even in the face of unprecedented repression from a fascist federal government. We can show what it means to have an organizer in office and what it means for DSA to co-govern and achieve material gains like higher wages, universal childcare, the right to health care, the right to unionize, and more for over 750,000 people in our city. We can show everyday working people that they can demand, organize, and fight for more than what we’ve been told is possible.
Aparna is an inspiring candidate and a proven fighter who has already smashed fundraising records since launching her campaign. She has received critical labor endorsements from ATU 689, UNITE HERE 23 and 25, AFGE 2725 and 2978, with more community endorsements underway. Given her clear success since launch despite such a crowded field, she is the ideal candidate to advance socialism in our nation’s capital. But as Aparna has said from the start, this campaign can only win if we have a movement behind us. I believe DSA can lead that movement. I believe we are in a position to mobilize hundreds of current and new members under an explicitly socialist banner and cement our organization as the most decisive force in local politics. I urge you all to vote YES on endorsing Aparna for Ward 1.
IN FAVOR by Joe R
This year I had the opportunity to interact with more DSA candidates and elected officials than I ever have while serving the chapter’s Political Engagement Committee, and nothing compares to the experience of having a comrade you know and trust be in one of those positions. The future of DSA runs through the cadre we recruit and develop through years of struggle, some of whom will run for office and help us win and wield state power. That’s why Aparna is one of the two candidates I’m most excited about (alongside Imara Crooms). We should all be ten toes down for her — donating, calling/texting, and most importantly, canvassing! Join me in voting YES to our next cadre candidate and elected officials in DC.
IN FAVOR by Samuel M
Aparna’s work with Stomp Out Slumlords has always been impressive, and I’m grateful for how welcoming she’s been to new members! I associate her so strongly with DSA and SOS it’s hard to imagine not campaigning for her to join the city council
IN FAVOR by Julia P
Aparna was one of the first people I met when I joined DSA, and I immediately recognized her as a leader worth following. People with the grit to put in the years of grueling, often thankless work it takes to organize and win are rare, and Aparna is one of them. She’s one of the most dedicated organizers our chapter has ever known, and it’s incredible to see our second cadre candidate rising up right on the heels of Frankie’s incredible victory in Greenbelt. When I shared her donation link in my tenants’ association WhatsApp group on launch day, multiple people donated even though we live in a different ward because they were so thrilled to see an unapologetically pro-tenant candidate running for office. I’m so excited to see the way our chapter continues to build power, and Aparna is the candidate to get behind if we want to keep going. Please vote YES on endorsing Aparna!
IN FAVOR by Max H
I am asking my comrades to vote YES in endorsing Aparna Raj for Ward 1.
Aparna has consistently shown up for working people in DC over the years, both as a chapter member and as a public figure. I’ve seen her dedicate an immense amount of free time to canvas, march, show solidarity with and boost content for issues like Initiative 82, TOPA and Palestinian liberation. I can’t think of a better candidate in line with our work.
Beyond this, I personally see in my day to day as a bartender the excitement the public feels around her candidacy. A lot of the DC industry knows of her and feel she has gone to bat for us as workers. So I think her run will inspire DC’s working class and be great for our chapter’s recruitment efforts as well.
So please vote YES on this resolution and let’s get comrade Aparna elected!
IN FAVOR by Rohin G
Dear Comrades,
I strongly believe our chapter should endorse Aparna Raj for the DC Council. Aparna has demonstrated a deep commitment to building our chapter and our political project, serving as a chapter leader, mentoring new members like myself, and organizing tenants to take on their landlords and the real estate industry. Her experience in these roles will make her an excellent standard-bearer for our agenda.
I want to highlight the opportunity her campaign would pose to engage rank-and-file tenants in buildings Stomp Out Slumlords organizes in the political process, regardless of their voting eligibility. Our legislative campaigns have developed and engaged tenant activists from our tenants’ union organizing projects, and a campaign in which we are running a tenant organizer for elected office gives us the chance to deepen this engagement and further dismantle the conventional wisdom of who gets to participate in politics and civic life.
In Solidarity,
Rohin
IN FAVOR by John Q
I’ll keep it brief: electing Aparna in Ward 1 is likely the chapter’s best opportunity to elect a socialist and a fighter in the vein of Janeese Lewis George this election. Aparna’s a longtime organizer in the chapter whose proven herself a real organizer in her work for I82 to eliminate the tipped min wage, in organizing with tenants at Marbury Plaza, and in helping elect leaders like Janeese through the chapter. If elected, she’ll be a clear voice for us on the Council and back up a potential mayoral agenda from Janeese if she wins. She’s also running a truly grassroots campaign with impressive fundraising, canvass, volunteer, and event numbers - and with a platform sourced from our chapter’s priorities and our local allies’. Further, much of our core membership already knows her and is excited for her race - this is a great opportunity to build volunteering opportunities for new members and a victory we could clearly connect to the chapter’s work.
IN FAVOR by Imara C
Comrades,
Allow me a minute to speak from the heart about why I’m supporting Aparna Raj for endorsement, and why I think our chapter should, too.
Aparna isn’t just a candidate. She’s one of us. She’s been an organizer, a leader, a constant presence in the chapter for years. So much of what Metro DC DSA is today has Aparna’s fingerprints on it, from her work in coalition spaces, to internal organizing, to some of the biggest wins this chapter has ever fought for. We don’t have to guess at her values or her politics. We’ve built them together.
Most politicians come to us looking for an endorsement from the outside. Aparna is a comrade asking for our support as she steps into the arena. The difference matters. This is the kind of political project we’ve always hoped to build, one where we elevate our own people into positions of power rather than supporting political actors and hoping they return the favor.
Impressively, Aparna’s campaign is already showing what’s possible. She’s running huge canvasses, raising serious money, and building momentum without the chapter even formally behind her yet. Imagine what happens when our chapter does stand with her.
District 1 is one of our strongest bases of power. A win there doesn’t just advance democratic socialism in the abstract, it strengthens our chapter’s ability to fight and win on the issues that matter. Aparna on the council will directly affect a large portion of our membership, and it positions one of our most committed organizers to govern with and for working people.
To me, Aparna represents the future of our political work. She’s a cadre candidate, someone shaped through struggle, through organizing, through deep commitment to the movement. We would be out of our minds not to support a comrade with this level of capability, discipline, and alignment stepping forward.
I’m proud to support Aparna, and I hope you’ll join me.
In solidarity,
Imara
IN FAVOR by Ken B
This year, Metro DC DSA made history by electing our first cadre candidate, Frankie Santos Fritz, to the Greenbelt City Council. Next year, we have a chance to go even further and elect a cadre chapter leader to the DC council, one of the most powerful legislative bodies in our region.
Our Chapter Program, adopted this Saturday at our local convention, calls for us to engage in and prioritize campaigns like Aparna’s, saying: “Most of the candidates we seek to run will be what we call “cadre candidates,” organizers who came up through DSA and served as active chapter members, preferably in one or more leadership roles. MDC DSA aims to increase the number of cadre candidates we endorse: member-leaders who are accountable to our organizational democracy. Over time, our goal is to exclusively run cadre candidates, democratically selected to run by our members and running on our chapter’s program, with a mandate to represent the chapter and bring workers into struggle and membership of the organization. The goal here is working-class political independence, with MDC DSA as the organizational vehicle for the workers’ movement in the region.”
Aparna is exactly the model of this sort of cadre. An organizer trained and built through DSA who clearly aims to help us build a socialist party here in the DMV. Through her experience as an SOS leader, she has broad support amongst tenants in Ward 1, and this campaign offers an opportunity to clearly connect tenant struggles to DSA’s other areas of work and explicitly politicize them. Aparna is also a union member and child of immigrants, and I am confident that she will be the strongest advocate for workers, tenants, immigrants, and DC autonomy that the council has ever seen.
Ward 1 is possibly the best terrain in the region for DSA right now. It is extremely dense and walkable, and we have a very high membership density there. While many apartment buildings can sometimes be a hindrance to canvassing, as they are often inaccessible, in Ward 1 they will be an asset, because we have enough members in the ward and contacts through Stomp Out Slumlords that we will be able to reliably gain access to apartments and knock a large number of doors relatively easily. I believe that this campaign in Ward 1, with a perfect candidate, excellent terrain, and already having massive enthusiasm in the chapter and broader community, will allow us to shatter our previous records for door knocking and demonstrate to the DC political scene just what Metro DC DSA is made of. Please vote YES to build the party and beat fascism!
IN FAVOR by Ben G
Comrades, I urge you to support endorsing Aparna Raj for DC Ward 1 City Councilmember. I have canvassed twice now with Aparna’s campaign, and the support and excitement I’ve witnessed is overwhelming. I’ve been welcomed into people’s homes, had non-members sign up to canvass on the spot, and had countless conversations about the hope this people-focused campaign is bringing to DC. The city is ready, and now is the time to throw our weight behind a true cadre candidate.
Her labor and tenant organizing are well known within the chapter, and non-DSA Washingtonians have taken notice. When speaking with long time residents while canvassing, many are already aware of her work and excited to have a working class champion represent them. DC has an appetite for socialism and our time has come to step up and give the people what they’re looking for.
There’s not much I can say that other comrades have not highlighted; Aparna has shown a commitment to socialism in words and practice and the council seat is within her grasp. I cannot think of a better candidate to endorse and I look forward to knocking hundreds of doors to ensure Ward 1 has the champion they deserve.
IN FAVOR by Sheely E
I couldn’t be more enthusiastic to write this statement IN FAVOR of endorsing longtime member and leader in the chapter, Aparna Raj, for DC Council in Ward 1.
When I think about Metro DC DSA and the decade of work that has made us a force in this region, Aparna Raj immediately comes to mind. She cut her teeth as a tenant organizer at Marbury Plaza in Ward 8, where the residents recently won a huge legal battle and tens of millions of dollars in restitution from their former slumlord – after five long years of organizing! That’s the type of deep, long-term commitment and tenacity we deserve to have fighting for us on the District Council. We have an opportunity to elect a cadre member of our organization to the most progressive ward in the District, anchoring the Council with a trusted socialist for years to come.
Moreover, Aparna will clearly hustle to pressure her colleagues to adopt our positions. As a first-time candidate, she broke the record for day one fundraising and accessed public matching through the DC Fair Elections program in two hours! She has made herself a ubiquitous presence in the ward for years, and has already received endorsements from five local labor unions, some of which we have spent nearly a decade developing strong relationships with. Ward 1 is accessible, small, dense, and progressive, with a huge number and percentage of renters, making it extremely favorable turf for us to canvass in – I dare say we will knock on the door of every registered voter not once, not twice, but three times! 50,000 doors in this race is truly massive and will be the “DSA Difference” in an open field with many candidates under ranked choice voting (should it be implemented in time). This is not to say it is guaranteed, it’s not, we will still need to organize hard for this victory!
This is far and away the best, most strategic race in DC for us to throw down in this cycle, and I encourage every single comrade to vote YES for Aparna Raj.
IN FAVOR by Katlyn C
I’m an organizer with Stomp Out Slumlords, and I served as a coordinator of SOS alongside Aparna for a couple years. During that time, she organized at Marbury Plaza in Anacostia, which is one of our longest and hardest fought campaigns. And while in the trenches there, she fought with tenants against mold and mushrooms growing out of their carpets, through many shenanigans of their landlord circumventing their TOPA rights and denying court orders, and ultimately helped build the biggest most militant tenant union in our structure, which recently won the largest tenant victory in DC history, over $30 million in restitution to tenants. All of this was made possible by the bravery of the tenants and the committed, long term organizing done by Aparna and the other folks on the ground. So I’d be really proud for us to endorse someone who has done such deep organizing with DSA and out there with the community.
Then zooming out, last year was pretty brutal on the policy front for DC - the Council and Mayor came after TOPA, the right to protest, I-82, sanctuary policies, and totally left our neighbors to the wolves when ICE descended on DC. Electing one position on its own won’t solve everything, but I’m hopeful that this campaign could help us get a lot more people organized and mobilized to fight and claw back what was taken from our communities last year. I really think that supporting our own members, who’ve made long term commitments to building DSA and who unapologetically call themselves democratic socialists, is the move. So I urge folks to vote in favor.
IN FAVOR by Alex S
The chapter should endorse Aparna in her campaign for the Ward 1 council seat. Her campaign is the culmination of so much of what this chapter has been working toward the past 5+ years, and endorsing her should be a no-brainer. As a cadre chapter member, Aparna is precisely the type of person that we should be endorsing. The open Ward 1 seat is a great opportunity to move the DC council left by electing a committed socialist like Aparna. She will be a champion of workers, tenants, immigrants, and everyone else the city should be defending, and she will vocally support our cause.
This is a winnable race in which DSA and its politics can be front and center. Beyond getting her elected, the campaign will be a great way to recruit new members into DSA and develop newer members into experienced canvassers and leaders.
On a personal level, I’ve known Aparna through DSA and Stomp Out Slumlords for over five years. I’ve been amazed at her commitment to the chapter and its work. She has helped make Metro DC DSA what it is, and I have no doubt that she will take her same commitment, fight, and beliefs to the council and help make the city better and fairer for the working class.
I do not think the chapter should take electoral endorsements lightly. We should only endorse candidates we are ready to fully support. Aparna is such a candidate. There is no one I would more want to canvass for than Aparna. I have already done so, and I look forward to continuing to do so the next few months, hopefully with the chapter’s endorsement.