2023 Local Officers and Branch Coordinator Elections/Elecciones Período de Declaración de Funcionarios Locales de 2023

Once again, it’s time for our annual Local Officer elections! Here’s all you need to know.

When?

The nomination period for this election is open now and lasts until December 6th at 11:59 PM. DSA-LA members in good standing can nominate themselves using this form.

Voting begins Monday, December 12th, and will close Monday, December 19th at 11:59 PM.

Winners will be announced on December 20th once all votes are counted!

Elections for Local Subgroups (such as committees) will be conducted in January.

Which positions are open now?

Communications Director (Steering Committee) – Coordinates public-facing statements from the chapter, including on our website and social media, but encompassing other media as well. 

Treasurer (Steering Committee) – Responsible for the chapter’s funds and financial recordkeeping. They will help ensure membership dues are paid and up to date, keep our local budget, and produce financial reports both for convention and as requested by Steering.

Recording Secretary (Steering Committee) – Takes minutes at all Steering meetings, disseminates them to membership, and is the official record keeper for the chapter, including maintaining our membership records in conjunction with Admin committee

Campaigns Coordinator (Steering Committee) – Coordinates the activity of committees, working groups and branches. They help make these activities transparent, accessible and participatory, and report to the Steering committee on how campaigns are progressing. They also help coordinate external relationships with other organizations.

(5) At-Large Steering Committee Members – These 5 officers don’t have specific delegated tasks in our bylaws, but they are also part of our steering committee and share the responsibility of guiding the chapter’s work according to our priority resolutions and mission.

YDSA Coordinator – Responsible for maintaining a network of coordinators and representatives from YDSA Locals across Los Angeles, as well as extending that network to include nearby regional DSA and YDSA Locals. They help to coordinate between our chapter and YDSA chapters as well and request resources and support from the chapter for YDSA locals.

Branch Coordinators – Each of our 5 branches (Central, San Fernando Valley, South Central/Inglewood, Eastside/San Gabriel Valley and Westside) will elect 2 branch coordinators. They’ll be working to build relationships between branch members, hold branch meetings, and work with branch members to build power locally.

What can I expect in these roles?

Any member of the Steering Committee, regardless of the role, should expect a time commitment of a minimum of 3-4 hours weekly (2 hours of that is the Steering Committee meeting alone), though will vary depending on chapter activity. For example, prior to chapter meetings or convention, the time commitment increases and can range from 6-10 hours weekly. It will also take more time out of your day when you are on inbox monitoring as there are many emails per day that require responses. The workload of the Steering Committee can be made more manageable when everyone puts in an equal amount of effort and communicates openly with each other.

Who is eligible?

If you are a member of DSA in good standing, and you’ve been looking to lead, nominate yourself! Unsure whether you’re a member in good standing? Check your membership here.  

How do I nominate myself?

The nomination form can be found here: https://airtable.com/shrjjPfVaWzyV3ZZW

How are we voting?

We’ll be using the Scottish Single Transferable Vote voting method on the OpaVote platform for voting this year. 

More Information

We’ll be announcing several updates here throughout the election process, as well as via email, the member portal, and on social media. After nominations close, we’ll update with candidate statements and voting instructions.

Questions or Concerns?

Please email us at [email protected]!