platform

The following individuals are proud to announce their candidacy for the leadership of DSA Metro Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The candidates are as follows:

• Sarah Callahan for re-election as Steering Committee Co-Chair,

• Katy Eales for Steering Committee Co-Chair,

• Olivia Merrill for re-election as Chapter Secretary, and

• Henry Manning and Mike Viozzi for At-Large SC Members.

These candidates collectively form the GROUNDWORK SLATE, which when in office will work towards building the chapter into a consequential political force in Cincinnati via twin focuses on strong electoral work in concert with the community, and intentional recruitment and training outside the chapter. To engage these newly recruited members, we will expand the chapter’s operations to allow for more meaningful and varied efforts with respect to labor fundraising. 

A Chapter of Consequence

Many DSA members look to the leadership and accomplishments of large chapters like New York City and Los Angeles, who are able to pass legislation and elect open socialists to public office. These actions inspire the national organization and tell us that a different world is possible. To win such large victories ourselves, our chapter needs to expand. We should expand our outreach and recruitment operations with a goal to achieve a net change of 60 additional members by the end of 2025. This bump in membership will give us the resources and volunteer-hours we need to make a sizable impact going forward. 

Additionally, our chapter should begin to focus on long-term, statewide efforts. With an incoming Republican trifecta on the federal level and the usual Republican dominance statewide, it is clear that one chapter alone cannot meaningfully influence statewide politics - a coordinated, unified effort is required. To this end, the Groundwork Slate proposes the creation of a statewide coordination body of all DSA chapters within Ohio. This body would facilitate communication and coordination between Ohio-based chapters without imposing top-down demands. This would improve the praxis of all chapters involved, since best practices in messaging, organizing, canvassing, etc. would all be shared based on each chapter’s individual experiences. Additionally, if one chapter wanted to make a statewide effort or needed additional volunteers for a large action, other chapters could be called upon to get buy-in or to recruit volunteers. This would effectively multiply each chapter’s power at the local level, and allow for more ambitious action statewide.

With these ambitious goals in mind, the Groundwork Slate proposes that our chapter places a long-term focus on the passage of a statewide trans rights ballot issue within the next four years. Not only would this significantly improve the rights and safety of trans Ohioans in a state that is hostile to their existence, but it would be an inspiration to all socialists working in hostile political terrain. These lofty goals can only be reached with the passion and dedication which the Groundwork Slate offers for our Steering Committee.

Ohio Elections

Despite our chapter’s relative weakness on the state level, we are still able to influence local politics with our effective electoral ground game. That said, socialists still remain outsiders in Cincinnati’s halls of power. This is due to a few different factors, but first among them is our limited funding. City records from the 2023 Cincinnati municipal election show that winning campaigns have at least $12,750 in funding before election day, which is an amount our chapter would struggle to raise just from its own members. Therefore, the Groundwork Slate supports setting as a priority the passage of a campaign contribution-matching ballot issue in 2025, with an eye towards a City Council run in 2027. A City Council position would give us a significant platform to agitate for socialist ideas and to increase the stature of DSA Cincy on the local level. 

In the meantime, the chapter should use ballot issues and a local Green New Deal pressure campaign to develop cadre organizers and increase the chapter’s experience with campaign management. 

With a viable City Council run two years away, our chapter would benefit from a deeper bench of experienced volunteers. Since our chapter has a well-developed electoral arm with a history of developing cadre organizers (Henry and Mike both started their DSA journey with 2024’s No on 2 campaign in Kentucky), we should lean into using this operation to develop more organizers. To this end, we should continue to engage with ballot initiatives in both Ohio and Kentucky which contribute to our shared vision for a socialist future. 

Additionally, the chapter should create a Green New Deal Committee to support agitation and pressure campaigns for effective climate legislation. This new committee will build organizational muscles that ballot initiative support cannot - namely, electoral challenges and pressure campaigns against specific politicians that oppose or slow-walk our efforts to fight the climate crisis in Ohio. Organizing around climate will not only give us another vector to engage and develop members, but will set us apart from the Democrats, both nationally and locally. 

Expanding Chapter Operations

This platform has mostly focused on electoral organizing, since the Groundwork Slate believes it is our chapter’s strongest area of expertise so far. However, there are a few areas in which we’d like to grow the chapter’s operations and cater to more members’ interests. 

First, we’d like to expand the ways in which members can get involved in the Labor Working Group (WG). At the moment, the WG is directly supporting the Teamsters in their efforts to unionize the Amazon Air Hub at the Covington airport, and flyering in support of the Starbucks Workers United union at various Starbucks franchises in the Cincinnati metro area. While this work is key to supporting working class Americans in their fight for better working conditions, most of the day-to-day work is limited to those with existing connections to organized labor or whose workplaces are in the process of organizing. The Groundwork slate would like to expand the operations of the Labor WG by setting up a local branch of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. This would position DSA Cincy as an important force in organizing smaller shop floors that are typically ignored by the largest unions. This would also establish a pipeline for developing more DSA cadre members with experience confronting capital.  

Also, our chapter should increase the number and scope of fundraising efforts it heads in an effort to support existing labor action and deepen the chapter’s involvement within the community. By expanding fundraising, we can not only position ourselves as a force for good within the community, but we can practice our fundraising skills that will be put to the test during an electoral campaign. 

Finally, this slate would like to place a specific focus on new member recruiting and retention. All of our projects will be strengthened by a deeper and more diverse roster of organizers, each with their own connections to communities and institutions which we can draw on for more effective campaigning. To adequately grow the chapter, we will need to combine an active effort towards recruitment with excellent political education for those new members to absorb. Additionally, the Groundwork slate aims to place a focus on recruiting People of Color into the chapter so we can more faithfully represent Cincinnati’s multiracial working class. Olivia and Henry have already begun to present some of these opportunities with DSA 101 and Socialism 101 events for new and developing members. And the expanded chapter functions outlined earlier in this platform will serve to continue engaging members new and old with opportunities to fight for the future.