Socialists in Office - Transparency in Action!
Friends,
I hope you’re enjoying your weeks. It’s been a busy and fruitful week on the City Council! Just this week, many of my priority items have been passed out of committee. The short list includes:
-Short-term rental ordinance
-Backyard breeding ordinance
-Vision Zero task force creation resolution
-Downtown Economic Enhancement District (which pays for enhanced support for homeless folks)
I was overjoyed for this flurry of activity in what has sometimes felt like a slow-moving legislative year so far!
This is also a great time to pause and regroup and plan out the last five and a half months of the year.
To that end, I’m pleased to announce that in lieu of this month’s normal Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) meeting, my friends and comrades have agreed to host a more public discussion of how well I’m doing in my office and what more the community wants to see from me.
DSA insists that politicians who are members and who call themselves socialists should not be simply trusted to govern on behalf of the membership. Instead, our organization prides itself on holding politicians accountable and demanding transparency and open conversation and communication. It is in that light that we will be hosting a conversation this
Sunday, July 21st, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm at the IUI Encampment (aka Intifada Plaza).
The students at the encampment have been peacefully occupying an outdoor but shaded area for over two months now to insist that the university’s administration respect their demands. I have kept a sign reading “IUIDivest.com” on my desk at full Council meetings for the last two months in solidarity.
They are happy to host us, and will speak about some impending repression from IUI administration and how we can stand up for free speech rights as a community.
Please bring some food or beverages to share! No pork, please, and vegetarian / vegan options would be highly appreciated.
We will have a Zoom option for those not able or willing to meet in person - but we won’t have food to share over Zoom. Just reply to this email if you’d like the link for Zoom or better directions to the meeting! Whether you call yourself a socialist or fear and distrust that word, whether you love DSA, hate the organization, or have never heard of us, I think you’ll have a good time and enjoy the conversation about what we want to build towards as a city. Please come out Sunday at noon!
In love and solidarity,
Jesse