Details
Please see the NoVA Branch Elections for 2025-03-16 wiki page for details.
Candidate Statements
Stacey M
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
Frustration. In 2017, I was frustrated with Trump taking office, with the Democrats for continuing to be the Democrats, with all of the ‘common sense’ that had brought us to that point, and ultimately with myself for having more anger than answers. I joined to find the ‘right answers’ and instead found so much more in an organization that asks sharp questions, learns together, and takes effective action to change the game, including the rules. After stepping back, I rejoined last year due to that returning frustration, even more confident that this is the best channel for it.
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
Migrant justice. I’m probably the oldest person in my extended family who was born in the U.S., and that has always informed my worldview, but actually organizing with that perspective has sharpened my politics at every level. This has been my lens for better understanding the functions of borders, empire, racism, labor, gender, abolition, and other factors to reckon with when fighting capitalism. It’s also given me more insight into how we draw more (kinds of) people into the fight and how effective coalitions come together. I’m passionate about bringing this perspective to labor and tenant organizing.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
DSA offers a practical way to change our understanding of politics and strengthen our muscles as political actors, especially in a participatory democracy. My idea of community building is to bring more people in, not just as extra hands involved in existing work but as fresh minds to think through our issues and develop our strategies. I want to encourage people to share their perspectives, have constructive debates, and feel accountable to each other. We are all necessary to this project, so we also have to take care of each other to keep it going in the long-term.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
Racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, and so on — these aren’t mere ‘distractions’ that keep us from building socialism. They form the terrain of struggle. Given how adaptable these systems have long been, and given how they function to keep us isolated from each other, we have to counter this by bringing the full spectrum of the working class into our organization. We need everyone’s perspectives to better understand what we’re up against and where to strike back, and we need to take care of each other to keep everyone in the fight. We model the world we want to build.
Dan G
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
The people. Most organizations look to address the symptoms of society’s ills rather than the causes, if they even do anything at all. Words are cheap and need to be backed up by action. DSA members like you know the root of humanity’s problems and tackle it head-on. I always enjoy meeting new DSA members and hearing what they add to the struggle.
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
Most societal issues boil down to the powerful abusing the powerless. We overcome this problem by organizing, growing the networks and organizations of everyday people. In addition to joining the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOK), I am currently working with Street Team and Publishing to broaden our message and attract new membership.
I authored the article “Why Do You Need Democratic Socialism?” for the March 2025 edition of The Washington Socialist, which exemplifies the kind of messaging I prefer. I am also coordinating to help displaced and threatened federal workers. Reach out to me if you need help.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
As a federal consultant, I teach, mentor, and guide the natural courses of organizations. DSA members already have plenty of passion and knowledge. The best leadership channels people’s efforts, giving shape and form to what was already there.
I wish to be a guide and focus, especially regarding outreach, recruitment, and messaging. We need to better embody the needs of both our membership and everyday people. I want to empower individual members and hear what personally resonates. My email is dmgluck@gmail.com if you have anything you wish to tell me.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
All great efforts require cooperation, and building our shared society is the greatest of all efforts. To build a more equitable society, we need everyone. Through fracture, that endeavor is destroyed, and with solidarity we build it.
We are all human. Despite how my neurodiversity often alienates me from others, my struggles are not so different from those of you or anyone else. We all live, struggle, and die; compassion is what makes that struggle worthwhile. Bridge those gaps and be the change you seek.
Jane N
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
After the October 7 attacks and the brutal invasion of Palestine in 2023, I decided to join DSA in hopes of meeting other people and comrades who shared the same beliefs as myself. It was when I joined DSA that I came to realize that there were not only others who felt the same way about the anti-imperial and anti-capitalist struggle as I did, but I also met people who I now consider close confidants and friends alike. It is my belief that in order to build a strong left, we must focus on bringing in people who want to put in the work.
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
call myself a recovering International Relations student, as I firmly believe in the concept that all communities and cultures are inherently important to being a human, but global capitalism and nativism has led to the demise of the working class solidarity amongst these groups. I also grew up in an upper class, Southern environment, which has led me to deconstruct my own beliefs in how the world and how communities of all types are supposed to interact with each other. My faith, my educational background, and my belief in a better world is what led to focus on Palestine solidarity work.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
I serve as a steward for the Internationalism Working Group. Over the past year, I have participated in many events and protests related to the ongoing genocide in Palestine, which I have helped to coordinate. I also helped to develop and write the Internationalism working group’s priority campaign proposal for 2025, which is going to focus on the boycott of Chevron, which the American Friends Service Committee is also a part of. After our 2024 Convention, we found out that our priority campaign to focus on Palestine was approved and I will be one the main coordinators for this campaign in 2025.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
At NoVA DSA, our mission to build a better, more equitable world is rooted in the principle that all people deserve dignity, justice, and a voice in shaping their lives. To achieve this, it’s vital that our branch is a space where socialists of all backgrounds, particularly those from marginalized communities, feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. Capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, ableism, and other systems of oppression do not affect everyone equally. BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and those from working-class backgrounds often face unique and intersectional challenges. For our organizing efforts to succeed, we must actively listen.
Aura K
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
I joined DSA in early 2017. At the start of the first Trump term I found people committed to putting principles into actions, and discuss and organize to make this a truly member-led organization. My initial work was in migrant justice, from the deportation profiteer actions in 2018 to helping build and support the coalition work NoVA Branch is still a part of today. I have also been heavily involved in other work (electoral, antifascist, Palestine solidarity, and trans rights) and internal organizing as I can.
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
First is migrant justice: I started here when I joined because of my own background, and because fascism starts by targeting the vulnerable. I learned from others how to research, organize actions, and apply pressure, then brought this into coalition work we’ve sustained since 2020.
Second is trans rights: I’m a trans woman so I feel this personally, but more so, DSA over-indexes for trans comrades and it shows in our organizing. We have been leading on the fight against oppression here because so many of us know what’s at stake and the risks we face as a community.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
My overriding principle is that we are member-led, so members should have what they need to collectively shape our direction. This means removing barriers, helping new members know what’s going on, and supporting longtime members to avoid burnout. Unless someone’s vision violates DSA’s principles, I’ll help them advocate to the best of my ability.
I also strongly believe in coalition work: mutual aid and support in a common struggle has let us do much more. I’ve been involved in several of these efforts in migrant justice and anti-Amazon work, and support members as we deepen our connections to other communities.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
I’m a trans Muslim communist. DSA was one of the first places I felt comfortable being out. DSA also leads on trans rights precisely because of the collective strength, experience, and knowledge of our trans comrades - these things are related.
We can only build and organize collectively to the extent that we are welcoming; conversely, we have been lacking to the extent that DSA has not been welcoming for some (whether intentionally or not). So on principle, no one should be shut out of organizing because who they are is not respected.
Preston K
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
I joined DSA because I got tired of waiting for the eventual rise of a political group I could join that perfectly encapsulated my niche beliefs about the correct variant of leftism that would bring the masses around to a proletarian revolution. I joined DSA because in a world of small, top-down, ineffective leftist organizations, DSA managed to grow an order of magnitude larger than any other socialist organization, have elected officials applying for endorsement, and manage to function as a multi-tendency organization without splitting. I joined DSA because there was and is no alternative.
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
Mutual aid: This has been my focus recently; we just finished our first reading group and are preparing to host a seed swap. We must highlight the contradictions of capitalism and emphasize its inability to feed and house the working class, and we must do what we can to help.
Organization: In my brief time on Steering, I’ve tried to identify small inefficiencies that plague the Branch. I’ve updated our account management, and am now streamlining our inbox. The more redundant work we can eliminate and automate, the more time we’ll have to organize, and the less will fall between the cracks.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
I’m a member of our Publications Board, and a lead editor of our Weekly Update. I find my positive experiences within Publications (and negative experiences with the rest of DSA) to be instructive. DSA frequently burns out organizers, and when they burn out, they take their knowledge and skills with them. Within Publications, we strive to document repeatable workflows, onboard members on them, and assign multiple people to each to minimize failure points and allow rotation. That’s how I envision leadership: making clear routes for new members to get involved and stay (sustainably) involved.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
The exploitative nature of capitalism impacts marginalized communities the hardest. We must draw connections between the conflicts of all marginalized communities and the entrenched interests of the white, patriarchal, and carceral oligarchy we exist under. If we don’t look like the communities we claim to be fighting to liberate, then those communities are telling us that we are failing in our goal. And that is a real, not hypothetical, failure we must constantly grapple with, particularly at a national level. Our recent passing of an anti-Zionist resolution at our local convention, for instance, is one part of addressing that.
Alex Y
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
I joined DSA shortly after moving to NoVA in 2022 as a way to get more involved in local politics and organizing as well as a way to meet and be around like minded people. I had been aligned with socialist policies and politics since Bernie’s 2016 campaign, but it took moving here to have a push to finally join. And since then, I have had no regrets about my decision. I am proud to be a part of the NoVA branch and to call you all my comrades and friends!
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
I am mainly involved in electoral work, both in the branch and the whole chapter, too. I’m drawn to electoral work since I already have a lot of political knowledge and with the hope that we can elect better candidates than the spineless cowards who are everywhere in the Democratic Party currently. And hopefully, we will endorse and help electoral someone in NoVA soon! When I have the chance, I also like to help out in the Bodily Autonomy and Internationalism working groups, especially with how urgent their work is.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
In terms of leadership, I am good both at delegating work or filling wherever needed. I also like to come up with new ideas and to question why we do things certain ways to potentially come up with ways to improve how we operate. I also like to be present as much as possible so that everyone in the branch is familiar with me and to make it easier to approach me with questions, or for help, etc.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
We need to be inclusive because we need to represent everyone and be welcoming to people from all backgrounds. Part of that means stepping back to give space to those voices, doing our best to include those voices in conversation, and not putting the burden of educating others about the oppression and struggles their community faces and has faced. How can we claim to be helping all working people if everyone isn’t actively welcomed and involved in our organization? We aren’t free till we are all free.
Hina A (Prince William County, Manassas, & Manassas Park)
- Why did you decide to join DSA?
I joined DSA about a year ago, looking for a place where I could harbor some hope for the future. Both of the major political parties have let me down so severely in my adult life, but I don’t want to give up. Not yet, at least.
- What are one or two issues you care deeply about? Feel free to touch on issues NoVA DSA organizes around like migrant justice, Abolition, tenant organizing, Medicare 4 All, elections…or any other issues!
The issue that’s really radicalized me has been the genocide in Palestine. This issue has led me down a rabbit hole of books to try to get the facts straight, and watching our elected officials become genocide apologists has really brought it all into focus for me, at least. I have also embarked on a general search of rooting out the causes and continuation of systemic racism, which is embedded in the above issue.
- Think about your current and/or past experiences in leadership roles, community organizing, or engaging community groups like your religious community or civic organization. What is your style of leadership or community building? Put another way, how do you engage groups like the NoVA DSA Branch to help us further our collective goals?
I’m usually a sit down and conversate type of person. I want to hear where someone is coming from and assess whether that person might be open minded. I have run for office locally, here in Prince William County, losing with 30K votes to the incumbent who snagged about 80K votes. C’est la vie! While running for office, I did make a lot of local connections and am not unfamiliar with manning a table or two solo for events.
- We want our NoVA DSA Branch to be welcoming to socialists of all backgrounds, especially those of marginalized identities (BIPOC, womxn, LGBTQ+, class, dis/ability, etc). Why is this so important to building our community and organizing around our shared goals?
What impacts some of us, impacts all of us. In order to affect the most change, we need to include as many people as possible.