South Bay socialist group’s membership swells

Mirroring the growth of an energized national socialist movement in the U.S., the South Bay chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has been expanding rapidly — and the group is flexing its growing political muscle this election cycle as it organizes in support of progressive ballot measures.

Just a few years ago, Silicon Valley DSA — a local affiliate of the national organization that encompasses Santa Clara County as well as portions of the Peninsula — faced high attrition rates and lacked a visible community presence, representatives said. But over the past year, the organization has seen its membership rolls increase by nearly 40%, growing to more than 800 people.

The surge has been driven by many of the same forces that have galvanized the national movement — anger over Trump administration immigration policies, alarm over the rising cost of living and growing doubts that mainstream Democrats will marshal adequate responses.

“People are past sick and tired of the status quo,” Jasmine Leyva, who chairs Silicon Valley DSA’s communications committee, told San José Spotlight. “They’re looking for action that they can participate in, action that is directly reflected in their communities.”

DSA members have championed a range of progressive causes in the South Bay. This year, they rallied opposition against a planned federal immigration facility near Gilroy, and they joined public meetings to speak out against the use of automated license plate reader cameras. Last November, a sizable contingent of DSA volunteers also played a hand in helping to pass Measure A, the countywide sales tax increase intended to shore up funding for the county health care system.

As the Nov. 3 election approaches, Silicon Valley DSA has focused its organizing efforts — which include door knocking, phone banking and distributing voter information — to rally support behind two electoral causes: Redwood City’s Measure E, a ballot measure that would introduce rent control and tenant protections, and Proposition 40, the proposal to impose a one-time wealth tax on California billionaires.

The South Bay political organization, which is not a party, has not officially endorsed any candidates this election cycle. However, the group has released a voter guide with a host of recommendations for local voters. The recommendations typically favor labor-aligned candidates.

The members who have recently flocked to Silicon Valley DSA, a chapter that formed in 2017, said they have taken inspiration from a string of election wins achieved by socialist candidates elsewhere in the U.S. In particular, they point to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member who won his seat last November by triumphing over an establishment Democratic candidate and a well-funded opposition campaign.

New Silicon Valley DSA members, such as Mark Gerow who joined in January, also pointed to recent national political upheavals as galvanizing moments that spurred their participation in the group.

Just hours before Gerow’s first chapter meeting was set to begin on Jan. 24, federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota amid a federal immigration enforcement crackdown. While he had originally planned to attend the meeting by Zoom as a way of testing the waters, the shooting convinced him to go in person.

“When I checked the news, I was like, ‘Screw that! I’ve got to clear my schedule. I’ve got to go to this because if I’m serious about this, I’ve got to be serious about this,’” Gerow told San José Spotlight.

Following its recent growth, Silicon Valley DSA now ranks as a medium-sized affiliate of the national DSA organization, which has formed chapters across the country and now boasts more than 120,000 members. In the Bay Area, the San Francisco and East Bay DSA chapters have more members than the South Bay outfit.

For some new members of Silicon Valley DSA, the organizing work offers an antidote to the despair they’ve felt since Trump took office.

“I feel like there’s a lot of community building within DSA, and getting to know people and making me feel like I’m making a difference that’s not doom scrolling,” Mina Mahamud, who joined the organization in July, told San José Spotlight. “It’s less like I’m listening to someone tell me I need to go do something, and instead actually doing it.”

Even at 800 strong, Silicon Valley DSA’s membership still makes up a tiny fraction of the roughly 1 million registered voters in Santa Clara County, about half of whom are registered Democrat.

Still, the energetic organizing muscle the group has marshalled could help advance progressive priorities in the region, Bill James, chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, said.

“I view it as a positive development,” James told San José Spotlight. “The DSA has been a very useful force in changing the conversation among California Democrats and nationally around a great number of issues, including healthcare for all.”

In addition to healthcare, James said DSA is well aligned with the local Democratic chapter’s support for worker-friendly policies and efforts to address the region’s affordability crisis.

It still remains to be seen whether the socialist momentum will continue in the South Bay. While the region’s politics land well left of center by national standards, local voters have tended to embrace centrist Democrats who often shy away from some of the more radical policies favored by DSA.

But Jessen Fox, who co-chairs Silicon Valley DSA, said with working class discontent showing no signs of diminishing, he expects the organization’s growth to continue.

“There tends to be a more radical tradition in places like San Francisco, in Oakland, where there’s some previous knowledge baked into the community a little bit more,” Fox told San José Spotlight. “But San Jose has all the ingredients to bake that cake.”

Contact Keith Menconi at [email protected] or @KeithMenconi on X.