There wasn’t a secret handshake. No incense or candles.
On a whim, I attended a meeting of the Columbus Democratic Socialists of America meeting on November 11. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I was not satisfied with how Franklin County or the Columbus city government had been making decisions. To my surprise, I was surrounded by a diverse group of about a hundred other people who felt the same way.
Sitting in front of me was the legendary Joe Motil, former candidate for mayor. Sitting to my right was Jesse Vogel, former candidate for City Council District 7 (who won the voters of District 7, but still lost the election). And behind me sat Kate Curry-Da-Souza who ran as an independent in the primary for District 7 City Council.
Everyone had different, but authentic complaints.
From the greedy developers to blatant city corruption, the rising cost of electricity and water to the lack of any master plan for the city. After an hour of passing the microphone, we came to the conclusion: the people we’ve been electing don’t care about us. They are selfish and only care about themselves… and if we really loved Columbus we were going to have to do something about it.
Our complaints swirled like a dirty toilet bowl, but kept returning to the same two problems:
- Democracy - The failure of the city district at-large voting system. Lack of transparency of City government. Ignoring and manipulating citizens.
- Affordability - Housing, transportation, water, electricity, school funding.
In New York City, Mamdani won the race to become mayor running as a Democratic Socialist. It could be done. The recent District 7 City Council election between Ross and Vogel was the first time in years that anyone challenged the status quo. They believe in democracy but also making the correct decisions that sincerely help people.
It was weird. I had never thought of myself as a Socialist, just a Democrat.
But what I know is that the current system of electing local leaders is failing our county and our city. I know that there are decisions being made by the city that are flat out wrong (paying off a staff member who was abused by a Council member but not asking him to repay the amount or resign). The existing party in power will never change and they have unlimited amounts of money to spend. It’s an uphill battle, but if it can be done in New York City, it can be done in Columbus.
I believe in democracy.
I believe in making life affordable for everyone.
This was my first meeting of the Columbus Democratic Socialist of America. It was time well spent. I will be going back and challenge you to do the same. Columbus is your city and it’s being run like a circus with intoxicated (and verbally abusive) clowns making all the wrong decisions. Take ownership for your city.
Also, they had pizza after the meeting. I didn’t know that Democratic Socialists like pizza, so I have that in common too. That’s nice.
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Columbus DSA is committed to fighting for real democracy in our city. Columbus should be a city where working people can afford to live and can have a real say in how things are run. The recent election has once again shown that our local Democratic Party maintains its strict control over our city's politics, and their time controlling these elections and our city council has proven that they are beholden not to the people, but to their donors and real estate developers.
