Member Statements on EER06: Endorsement of Gabriel Acevero for Maryland House of Delegates, District 39
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 Gabriel Acebero. The PEC’s full recommendation and analysis can be found here.
Maryland House of Delegates districts each elect three members, with voters being able to cast up to three votes in the primary, meaning the top three candidates advance to the general election. In 2022, those three candidates were Lesley J. Lopez (7,847 votes, 29.27%), Gabriel Acevero (7,480 votes, 27.90%), and Kirill Reznik (6,816 votes, 25.43%). In 2018, the same three candidates advanced to the general election – Lesley J. Lopez (5,422 votes, 21.3%), Gabriel Acevero (5,116 votes, 20.1%), and Kirill Reznik (5,088 votes, 20.0%). Metro DC DSA endorsed Gabe in both of his previous primaries, and he is now seeking endorsement as an incumbent running for a third term.
Del. Acevero is a two-term incumbent who unflinchingly identifies as a democratic socialist and has fought many lonely battles in the state legislature, including on often controversial and intractable issues such as police accountability and Palestine solidarity. For example, he introduced a state-level ceasefire resolution and worked with then-Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani to draft and introduce the Not On Our Dime Act. Protecting our incumbent socialist elected officials, including Del. Acevero, who will be facing an establishment-backed challenge this cycle, is a significant strategic priority for our party-building project. Only a small sliver of District 3 overlaps with State House District 39, and the PEC has assessed that we do not have the capacity to meaningfully intervene in both races simultaneously. Although Gabe remains a strong candidate for reelection due to his eight years of incumbency and because he appears poised to receive many of the same endorsements from progressive organizations and labor unions that have backed him in his previous primaries, this time around the establishment-backed challenge from his right has a stronger third candidate for the slate, Gaithersburg City Councilmember Brandon Wu, than in 2022. Gaithersburg overlaps only slightly with District 39, so Wu’s base of support is mostly outside the district, but the PEC assesses that it is not a foregone conclusion that Del. Acevero will be reelected. Lastly, the chapter may help elect another socialist in the state legislature (the PEC has recommended endorsing Raaheela Ahmed in State Senate District 23), creating the possibility of forming a State SIO Committee and ensuring progressive legislation is introduced in both chambers in Annapolis.
If the chapter does decide to endorse in both County Council District 3 and State House District 39, the PEC strongly recommends knocking the vast majority of doors in the county level race. There is only a small sliver of Gaithersburg in both of these districts, and the “DSA Difference” will have the most impact at the county level where the branch has invested considerable resources into electoral, tenant, and other forms of organizing that have begun to bear fruit.
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 the following statement on Gabriel Acevero. The caucus’ full writeup and analysis can be found here.
Gabe is, in our view, a cadre candidate, with a long and lonely track record of fighting for democratic socialism in the legislature, and of representing the chapter proudly and publicly. We believe strongly in the need to protect incumbents. There’s a reason every political organization in history prioritizes incumbent protection. If we can’t credibly say, “if you vote with us, if you take lonely and unpopular votes on our behalf, we will have your back,” we have no power, no ability to enforce our line or organize SIOs. If we allow someone who has held our line to lose without putting up a fight, it is a loss and will be portrayed as a loss for our organization, specifically, and our politics broadly, whether we endorse or not, and that will resonate with legislators.
However, there are some reasons not to endorse Gabe again this year. The Montgomery County branch has a well-thought-out, successful strategy focused on county-level structural reforms, in particular, rent stabilization. This race does not necessarily support that strategy and may divert resources from it. Gabe’s seat is more of a “tribune of the people” seat, where he speaks truth to power in the legislature, rather than one that can successfully move structural reforms.
The final, and most compelling, drawback is that the canvassing energy in the branch is focused on other races. For various reasons, it is hard to see much organic energy going into holding this seat. We are loath to recommend an endorsement that may, in practice, be a demand to canvass for a candidate who has not been able to organize members to actually want to engage in the canvassing needed. We did not choose to take a position on this endorsement.
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 Montgomery County Branch Steering Committee has submitted a recommendation IN FAVOR. The branch’s full writeup and analysis can be found here.
For the past seven years, Gabriel Acevero has demonstrated strong leadership on some of the toughest issues in Maryland, particularly union rights, policing, and solidarity with Palestinians, all while standing up to Democratic leadership and immense pressure. He is unapologetically socialist and unrelenting in his fight for just policy. Our branch leaders have worked with him throughout the past several general assemblies on legislation regarding county clubs paying their fair share in taxes, as well as ceasefire resolutions, efforts to drop funding for the MIDC. and the Not on Our Dime Act. We are committed to continuing to support him in his effort to advance socialist policies at a state level, and believe defending his seat is part of our larger long term project to build a governing socialist statewide bloc in Annapolis in 2030. As we outline in our recommendations in favor of Zola and Josie, we believe that we must fight on all levels to build as wide a governing coalition and network of socialist electeds wherever we can, fighting back against the real estate industry and forces of capital, and we can’t leave Annapolis uncontested.
Gabe’s district, comprising parts of Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Montgomery Village, is also strategic in many ways-- it is a historically working class, renter-dense district, with residents from a wide range of immigrant and diaspora communities. Our branch’s upcounty organizing working group has built strong relationships in that part of the country over the past two years, recognizing the importance of basebuilding in this district. Endorsing in his race would enable us to continue developing the leadership of the members we have engaged in that district and continue recruiting others to join.
We believe that Gabe has a good chance of being re-elected, noting that he has wide name recognition having held office since 2019 and incumbents rarely ever lose. However, we recognize that his victory is not a given by any means-- he is facing a competitive election with the other Democratic incumbents in his district slating against him, so we want to ensure that we endorse his re-election and support him against attacks.
IN FAVOR by Lexie G
Metro DC DSA Chapter Members,
I am writing in favor of Resolution EER06: Endorsement of Gabe Acevero for Maryland House of Delegates. Gabe Acevero is a proud socialist who has consistently shown a steadfast commitment to fighting for working class interests in Annapolis, even when he is the sole voice to do so. However, without our support, his seat is at risk as Democratic incumbents in his district have added a primary challenger to their slate in an attempt to oust him. I believe that we should rally behind him, and that we can do so without compromising our ability to simultaneously play a key role in the Montgomery County Council elections.
In this past election cycle, I was a member of the group in our branch that worked on Omodamola Williams’ campaign for Gaithersburg City Council. Although Omo’s campaign had a disappointing outcome, I am incredibly proud of the work our branch members did, with a volunteer base made up overwhelmingly of MoCo folks knocking over 12,000 doors in 4 months. As a volunteer for Omo, I got a lot of experience canvassing in Gaithersburg (which comprises part of House District 39) and also learned how to serve as a canvass field lead. I would be eager to put this experience to use in supporting Gabe Acevero’s campaign.
Thank you,
Lexie G.
Steering committee member
Montgomery County branch
IN FAVOR by Anthony S
Comrades,
I’m in support of endorsing Gabe Acevero for District 39 delegate. I am Tony, a member of the Montgomery County branch I live in Gabe’s District. Gabe is a principled socialist committed to making the lives of everyday people better. He’s currently the only socialist in the Maryland legislature. He is a crucial anti-Zionist, progressive voice In Maryland. He co-sponsered the “Healthy Maryland Act” which is Medicare for all in Maryland. He’s also done work on police accountability legislation during his tenure. In the past, DSA has had to endorse more establishment Democratic candidates and we could be betrayed. In these times of rising fascism, it’s more important than ever to run Candidates who are committed DSA members. Gabe has been ahead of the curve in this regard and I think Metro DC DSA should endorse Candidacy for district 39 in Maryland.
Tony
IN FAVOR by Dami O
I’m not as familiar with Gabriel Acevero as a newer member, but he is very supportive of our candidates in PG County. I always see him at electoral events, especially during Frankie’s campaign and was one of the only few people that didn’t smear the people at the encampments as anti-semetic and as someone that was there I think it means a lot to have a politician that supports us. I think it would be a big loss to the left in MD if he lost, so I definitely encourage an endorsement vote in favor.
IN FAVOR by Ingrid F
Metro DC DSA has endorsed Gabe Acevero in two prior elections and I took pride and satisfaction in spending a significant amount of my personal time knocking on doors for him. In his time in office, he has been the ideal DSA-endorsed candidate. He has stood firm in his socialist values despite the enormous pressure for conformity exerted by state party leadership. He has championed numerous policies that have been of long-standing concern to the MoCo branch, including eliminating tax breaks for country clubs, prohibiting nonprofit orgs from providing support to the Israeli military and settlers, and banning egregious policing practices, and he has been very loyal to DSA, speaking out on issues at our request. Gabe faces opposition once again and it is imperative that we continue to support him. He is a perfect example of the type of candidate we need in positions of power, and it would be a great disservice to all of our past efforts to get him elected, and the relationship we have built with him, to fail to extend our support and keep him in office. Endorsing Gabe is a necessity.
IN FAVOR by Suart K
Gabriel Acevero is a longtime Metro DC DSA member, two-term member of the Maryland House of Delegates, and steadfast advocate for the working class. I urge fellow chapter members to vote YES on endorsing incumbent Gabriel Acevero for the third time for the Maryland House of Delegates.