Why Was "Pro-Palestine" Marin DSA Flyering For AIPAC's Yoav Schlesinger?; Marin I-J Bias Against Marin City and Its Preferred D2 Candidate Sridharan; A Fairfield Mayor's Email to Novato Mayor
Marin DSA Admits "Oversight" In Failing To Vet Former AIPAC Director Schlesinger Before Flyering for his San Anselmo Town Council campaign. But Weeks Later, DSA Still Hasn’t Publicly Rescinded Support
There's no shortage of news but only limited space in one article. Today’s three items:
Part I. Marin City's recent wins and its ongoing support for District 2 candidate Heather Sridharan despite lack of coverage from the Marin Independent-Journal;
Part II. Previously undisclosed active support from the Marin chapter of Democratic Socialists of America for former AIPAC director Yoav Schlesinger;
Part III. A stunning email from Fairfield Mayor Cat Moy to Novato Mayor Mark Milberg, retrieved from a recent public records act.
Part I.
Ongoing I-J Bias Can Be Enjoyed From Marin City To Central Marin!
In the months before he passed away, Fairfax's brilliant and much-loved peace activist David Glick agonized over the re-write of a letter he'd submitted to the Marin Independent-Journal. As is often the case, I-J Opinion editor Dave Allen made Glick rewrite and re-edit the piece until it had little of its original meaning. It seemed obvious that Allen was simply stalling Glick; the I-J had no intention of publishing his letter.
"Don't let them waste your time. They do this all the time to people in Marin City," I told Glick. It was true. I have even received exasperated emails from Republicans in Novato about how the I-J censors their letters if they challenge the I-J’s Dick Spotswood.
But after several weeks of back-and-forth with Dave Allen last summer, Glick called me one morning and told me with great excitement that he had "great news." He said Dave Allen had finally relented, acknowledged that his letter was perfect “as is”, and that it would run that week.
The gleeful relish that Glick took in announcing this to me was so well played that he fooled me for nearly a minute before he let out a bitter laugh, "I'm just messing with you, they still refuse to publish my letter!"
"You had me there," I told him, "you really did." Glick's letter never ran. But at least he found a way to roast me about it. (It’s a good letter, and I plan to run it in December along with other letters that never made it past “Opinion Czar” Dave Allen.)
Marin I-J Is Predictably Even More Biased Against Marin City
The Marin I-J’s bias has been felt even worse in Marin City, where the I-J has discouraged many residents and activists from even trying to get coverage of important issues. This past Wednesday, the I-J's Richard Halstead flatly told former Marin City Community Services District President Damian Morgan that the I-J was unlikely to cover the historic settlement in a federal lawsuit against the Marin Housing Authority filed by Royce McLemore of the Golden Gate Village Residents' Council. Per Morgan, Halstead claimed that the I-J isn't interested in covering it because it is a settlement.
But we all know that the I-J has routinely covered settlements when it favors the County's positions. I'll be writing more about the lawsuit, the settlement and related issues in November and December. (At least one well-known resident has agreed to record an oral history with me about the County's 1960-1962 burning of the wartime cottages in Marin City, which will be shared here as a podcast.)
It's that kind of bias by the I-J against Marin City that punished community leaders like Terrie Green (and before her, Bruce Risley) for decades.
Despite this, and despite decades of antagonism from the County, Green has succeeded in securing $14 million in assistance for flood control to Marin City. This was accomplished when Green and Damian Morgan went over the heads of local County electeds and appealed directly to Congressman Jared Huffman. The kickoff for the project will be this Thursday at 10 am in Marin City and I hope you will attend. The invitation is here:
In a similar vein, I note a parallel "selectivity" from the I-J related to Marin City's preferred candidate for D2 Supervisor, Heather Sridharan. While Marin City is not included in District 2, the seat still has great impact on Marin City because the Supervisors in Marin all serve as self-appointed commissioners on the Marin Housing Authority. (This arrangement wherein elected supervisors also serve as housing authority commissioners reinforces a particular strong anti-Marin City bias on the MHA.)
Thus have Marin City leaders like Terrie Green, Paul Austin and Damian Morgan not only endorsed Sridharan, but maintained their endorsements after Sridharan was unfairly maligned for allegedly changing her position on rent control. (Spoiler: Sridharan's position remains the same.)
Sridharan's letter in response to the October 26 Richard Halstead-penned hit piece on Sridharan's campaign has still not been published in the I-J. No one I have met in Marin City has stated any preference for Brian Colbert for D2 Supervisor, who is Katie Rice's preferred successor, and is also endorsed by the Marin I-J.
Part II.
When Is A Marin DSA Mistake Not A Mistake?
Many were surprised to learn that Marin DSA, a group that is at pains to identify itself as "unequivocally condemn(ing) the genocide taking place in Gaza and the Zionist ideology that is fueling it" had been distributing flyers for former AIPAC director Yoav Schlesinger. (Schlesinger also has the Orwellian distinction of being the Director of "Responsible AI" at Salesforce.)
The issue of Marin DSA's promotion of Schlesinger's campaign was first brought to my attention two weeks ago. I admit that I found Marin DSA’s stonewalling on the question of why they had done so to be disappointing, particularly as a workingclass woman who has previously donated a considerable amount of time and money to DSA-supported candidates and issues.
DSA: “Left” Organizing In A Box
Marin DSA is just one of many chapters in a larger national 501(c)4 nonprofit known as Democratic Socialists of America. Dues-paying membership in DSA chapters skyrocketed with the 2016 Presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, and the group smartly folded itself into Sanders' populist message. It was still riding strong in 2018 when a number of actual DSA members started winning congressional races.
Since that time, many DSA chapters have been engaged in extraordinary work, while others appear to have been taken over by careerist types who could just as well have joined a local Young Democrats club. By August 2023, DSA membership had fallen, as disaffected members stopped paying dues.
But DSA membership surged again after October 7, 2023, largely due to the group's stated support for the Palestinian cause and its criticism of Israel. While this support was sometimes more optics than reality, the boost in DSA membership linked to DSA's professed support for the Palestinian cause was real.
And this introduced a familiar tension: in the last two weeks, as the Marin DSA group failed to publicly retract its support for Schlesinger, DSA NYC was struggling with similar issues about where to draw the line on support for pro-Israel candidates. In New York, there was a considerable walkout of prized organizers from DSA, after DSA NYC failed to draw a clear line against pro-Israel candidates in an internal vote on October 19.
Considering the Michael Harrington-based, centrist-leaning origins of DSA, it was probably predictable that the group would serve more as sheepdog for the Democratic Party than the revolutionary movement it promised. There's a longer piece to be written about this, but hardly enough space. I include below a breakdown of what I could piece together from interviews and public documents about Marin DSA‘s support for Yoav Schlesinger, and what the group's lack of public retraction might say about how neatly Marin DSA already conforms to the County's elected power structure, which is resoundingly pro-Israel.
DSA Marin's Terse Official Response Arrives Weeks Late
After multiple email queries to Marin DSA’s Co-Chair Curt Ries went unanswered, I was able to locate a phone number online that appeared to be linked to Co-Chair Sonia Parecadan. Parecadan called me back and assured me that I would have an official response by end of day Monday or by Tuesday at the latest.
But a response only arrived on Wednesday morning, notably after a similar inquiry was sent to Marin DSA by investigative reporter Peter Byrne. Marin DSA’s response to Byrne's inquiry was considerably more florid but not necessarily less opaque than what they finally sent me last Wednesday:
"We have addressed this matter via our own internal democratic process. No further comment."
Neither the terse response I received nor the longer response Marin DSA sent to Peter Byrne addressed the original questions I had asked about whether the group had engaged in a "bait-and-switch", wherein it burnished its progressive credentials by championing the Palestinian cause while promoting the pro-genocide, pro-Israel candidacy of Yoav Schlesinger.
Nor did either statement explain what DSA's "internal democratic process" entailed.
But most importantly, Marin DSA‘s responses declined to state whether Marin DSA had ever made any public statement to retract their implicit endorsement of Schlesinger after they had actively flyered for him. That correction would have been critical because residents who had been handed flyers by Marin DSA were (during the time of my inquiry starting Friday October 18), receiving, filling in, and dropping off their mail-in ballots.
DSA's Dependence on North Bay Labor Council Funding for Rent Control Advertising; NBLC Endorsed Schlesinger
According to multiple DSA insiders, Yoav Schlesinger first approached Marin DSA's rent control coalition for support for his campaign. Schlesinger had at that time either received or would soon receive the endorsement of the North Bay Labor Council, which has provided critical funding for DSA's rent control campaigns in Marin. That relationship appears at least to be indicated on this document showing NBLC’s Maddy Hirshfeld and Marin DSA’s Curt Ries as Principal Officers for “Fair and Affordable San Anselmo, Yes on O and N”:
The rent control coalition within DSA had been receptive to Schlesinger based on his stated support for DSA's rent control ordinance(s), but there had been at least some pushback from within the chapter due to Schlesinger's strong pro-Israel stance. As one member described it, there was concern that the group was unaware of the larger risks posed by Yoav Schlesinger "and the movement he was riding."
"The Movement He Was Riding": Schlesinger's Association With Kim Friedman's Islamophobic "MJPAU" Which Just Received SF JCF Funding
DSA members' caution on Schlesinger was a valid concern that should have been heeded, given:
1. That Schlesinger was part of the group that launched the Islamophobic attack on the San Anselmo Town Library's Middle East history presentation;
2. Schlesinger's past work as an AIPAC director; and
3. Schlesinger's association with Kim Friedman's Islamophobic "Marin Jewish Parents and Allies Union" (MJPAU).
Per an October 30, 2024 press release, MJPAU has just received funding from the pro- Israel San Francisco Jewish Community Federation. The press release indicates "$670K in grants to 26 organizations to combat antisemitism". If that money is distributed equally, then Friedman's Islamophobic group received at least $25,000, which would allow her to boost not only Schlesinger's campaign coffers, but those of Friedman’s fellow traveler Jenny Holden, now running for Tamalpais Union High School District School Board.
(I have so far reviewed at least 65 donors to Yoav Schlesinger's campaign. There is a lot of material in there, including an reportedly exploitative financially relationship that one donor had in Marin City, which will have to wait for later.)
Both MJPAU's Kim Friedman and Jenny Holden have donated to Schlesinger's campaign. So has Doug Kelly, candidate for Fairfax Town Council, who signed the Jewish Community Relations Council's anti-ceasefire petition. San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin also signed the JCRC anti-ceasefire petition and donated to Schlesinger, whereas San Rafael councilmember Rachel Kertz, an anti-ceasefire signatory, merely endorsed Schlesinger.
Schlesinger's donor list is filled with Marin residents who have donated to AIPAC and Friends of Israel, as well as former AIPAC and pro-Israel Kol Shofar Board members. Which means that AIPAC money in Marin goes a very, very, long way – apparently all the way into the heart of your local DSA chapter.
On The Possibility of Walking And Chewing Gum At The Same Time:
Marin DSA's failure to publicly retract their support for Schlesinger is a matter of reputation and trust; providing assistance to Schlesinger's campaign would make Marin DSA's pro-Palestine efforts appear opportunistic, or worse, intentionally deceptive. That would be grossly unfair to the many hardworking DSA members whose support for Palestine is sincere.
But there’s another, equally serious problem with Marin DSA’s support for Schlesinger based on his claimed support for rent control. Schlesinger has never held elected office, he has not even served on any committees. He has no record of holding promises to constituents. There is absolutely no reason to believe that his promised support of rent control is worth anything at all.
Marin DSA Co-Chair Sonia Parecadan Claims Marin DSA Never Checked Schlesinger's Resumé:
During Monday's phone call, Marin DSA Co-Chair Sonia Parecadan informed me that the group had not been aware of Schlesinger's past history at AIPAC. Parecadan then questioned how far down on his resumé that detail must have been, as if DSA leadership was not responsible for reading the resumés of those who court the free labor of DSA members.
I explained to Parecadan that even if the AIPAC detail was near the bottom, the very top of Schlesinger's resumé, which lists him as a "Director of Responsible AI" for Salesforce should have been a dealbreaker for any DSA chapter, given the steep costs of AI both to labor and the environment.
Parecadan then said it was an "oversight" but that DSA's flyering for Schlesinger had been "minimal". But she notably didn't define "minimal". I remain skeptical that the flyering was "minimal", but any amount of flyering for Schlesinger should have been publicly corrected.
By refusing to issue any retraction, Marin DSA is sending a fairly obvious message: flyering for Schlesinger had been no "oversight", but rather a deliberate choice to promote a pro-Israel and pro-genocide candidate who just happened to be the favored candidate of their benefactor, the North Bay Labor Council. They just didn't think anyone would dare to ask any questions about it.
DSA Members Also Decline To Publicly Retract DSA's Support for Schlesinger
At the time I spoke with Parecadan last Monday, there was still some hope that DSA members would individually call in to correct their oversight the following evening during San Anselmo Town Council. But in fact, only one DSA member called in, and at no point did they concede that DSA had been flyering for Schlesinger, or concede that said flyering was in any way in error. In other words, even DSA’s members declined to take any responsibility for the "oversight".
Were DSA members afraid to criticize their own group? That does not sound very "democratic", and it may explain why the DSA demographic remains so racially narrow.
But there is unfortunately a longer pattern with Marin DSA wherein the group, far from fulfilling any semi-"revolutionary" action, positions itself somewhat consistently in line with whatever is the favored policy of seated County officials. Over the past few years of the chapter's operations, this has included withholding legitimate criticism from County (and NBLC) favorites like Assemblymember Damon Connolly; silence on severe human rights abuses enacted jointly by the City of San Rafael and the County in the “SSA” internment camp (an issue covered in The New Yorker Magazine but totally ignored by DSA and whitewashed by local media); partnering with the opaque, County Probation-funded Multicultural Center of Marin on a fundraiser for Palestine (an event that might have been more successful without the MCM participation); "declining" to show any support or even interest in Marin City's fight to retain any hold of Golden Gate Village, and so on.
Always Ask For Receipts From People With Political Ambitions
People are often unaware that many “grassroots” organizers in Marin are already engaged in an undisclosed horse-trading for endorsements and/or donations for themselves and their cohort. Yesterday, a white, male Marin DSA member and activist who had previously run for a local council seat and is tightly linked to a rising “star” within the local Democratic Party, responded to my questions about the group's flyering for DSA.
This DSA member claimed they had no idea that DSA had been flyering for Schlesinger until I had informed them. This struck me as an extraordinarily remarkable claim from a DSA insider. They then claimed that flyering for Schlesinger had been the last straw for them, and that they had quit the group.
But in classic DSA style, they provided absolutely zero evidence for either the claim that they had left the group, or that had not known of the flyering – not even a forwarded email. It was all just "trust me, bro."
I can't stress enough that at this point you need to ask "grassroots political organizers" for receipts. Many of these people will ask you for your time, your labor, and your money, and you have every right (and responsibility) to kick the tires on all that they are trying to sell you. We will never have better political processes or representatives if we fail to engage in the most basic element of democracy: asking relevant and valid questions so we can at least know where we are going.
Part III.
Fairfield Mayor Cat Moy Email To Novato Mayor Mark Milberg
This email from Fairfield Mayor Cat Moy to Novato Mayor Mark Milberg was produced by the City of Novato. It is so absurd that I'm providing it with no comment other than: If you don’t have questions about whether this really went down as stated with alleged “snipers on roof” then God bless you, you are literally the most trusting person on earth.
Thanks to all the readers of this substack and fingers crossed for whatever happens this Election Day and beyond.
©️2024 Eva Chrysanthe