Author: PGHDSA_ADMIN

The Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America recommends its members and the Allegheny County Community vote for Turahn Jenkins for District Attorney in the May 21st Primary Election.

Incumbent District Attorney Stephen Zappala has caused irreparable damage to the people of Allegheny County, especially Black and Brown communities, who face higher rates of incarceration and a terrifying lack of justice regarding police brutality in Allegheny County.

As a direct consequence of Zappala’s work, the Allegheny County Jail imprisons more than 2,000 people, and sees upwards of 100 new arrests per day. Zappala has also chosen to prosecute sex workers, as well as those charged with so-called “crimes of existing” such as loitering, public urination, and other behaviors necessary for survival that have been criminalized under the capitalist system. If re-elected, Zappala would continue and deepen the harms faced by Allegheny County’s most marginalized residents.

If we had a District Attorney committed to rehabilitative justice, communities all across Allegheny County would see improvements in their day to day lives. A District Attorney who believes that Black lives matter and is committed to abolishing cash bail, decriminalizing sex work, holding police accountable for their crimes, refusing to cooperate with ICE, and stopping the school-to-prison pipeline could save thousands from being forced into the criminal justice system and save lives.

The Primary Election on May 21st is our opportunity to choose that District Attorney by voting for Turahn Jenkins.

In his responses to our endorsement questionnaire and during the Q&A session at our meeting, Mr. Jenkins pledged to implement a slew of policies that would reduce the criminal justice system’s destructive role in Allegheny County communities.

First and foremost, he pledges to massively reduce cash bail through a presumption of release policy. He views cash bail as “essentially criminalizing poverty.” Additionally, Turahn Jenkins plans to create a conviction review unit to identify wrongful convictions and free the innocent, and to end the practice of overcharging defendants in order to secure plea deals. He promises to never cooperate with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency. Further, he has pledged to help unhoused people access treatment and other non-carceral services, and to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by opposing police presence in schools and favoring restorative justice initiatives in cases involving juveniles.

Turahn Jenkins is committed to the decriminalization of sex work, and promised to examine the predatory practices of the Pittsburgh PRIDE court.

Mr. Jenkins wants to expand the Citizen’s Police Review Board to be county wide, and says that he would handle cases of police brutality much differently than Zappala’s office has. Mr. Jenkins believes that no profession makes you above the law, and that being a police officer is not an exception to this rule. In regards to the recent trial of Michael Rosfeld, Mr. Jenkins has said that he would have done a number of things differently than Zappala’s office. Zappala did not try the case himself, and Mr. Jenkins said that he would have handled the case personally. He also would have called in an expert on police use of force, which Zappala’s office failed to do.

During our chapter Question & Answer session with Turahn Jenkins, many of our members expressed concern around Mr. Jenkins’ hurtful comments towards the LGBTQ+ community last year. Our members asked whether Mr. Jenkins had taken deliberate steps to educate himself around issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community, and whether he would support policies important to the LGBTQ+ community. He answered “yes” and shared with us how he has been educating himself and seeking education from the queer community. Turahn told us that he opposes conversion therapy and is committed to using his position as District Attorney to pressure Allegheny County Jail to treat LGBTQ+ people with the basic respect they deserve. This includes policies that improve the material conditions of those currently incarcerated, such as housing trans people in prisons that match their gender. Mr. Jenkins also pledged to have queer people on his staff and understands that he will be a better District Attorney with the queer community having a seat at the table.

Turahn Jenkins apologized to our LGBTQ+ members who were harmed by his remarks and actions. He acknowledged that he still has lots of learning to do and is actively working to do so. Because we know so many of Allegheny County’s LGBTQ+ community have felt torn deciding how to approach this race, we are hopeful that Turahn Jenkins will share publicly the steps he has taken to unlearn homophobia and transphobia, and the ways that as District Attorney he could reduce harm done to the LGBTQ+ community – in particular, because we believe it is important and commendable that those entrusted with power in an unjust justice system demonstrate an ability to recognize wrong in themselves and work to change, as he is doing and has done. With so much at stake for all of Allegheny County’s marginalized and oppressed communities in this election, we hope that everyone will get to hear about his commitment to justice that our membership so appreciated.

Turahn Jenkins understands well that the present criminal justice system and its old guard leadership like Zappala have undermined and incapacitated the poor and marginalized, thus sabotaging safety, solidarity, and justice. Together, his policies and stances reflect a  commitment to push back against this system of criminal injustice, institutional racism, and mass incarceration. As socialists, we admire a candidate who shares these commitments with us.

Electing Turahn Jenkins is the moral choice, one that would reduce the daily and ongoing violence waged upon the people of Allegheny County by Stephen Zappala’s unjust and racist term as District Attorney, particularly for the Black community.

For the past year, our streets have seen protest after protest demanding change, demanding justice, and making clear: Stephen Zappala has got to go. We do not believe one election or a different District Attorney will bring total justice. We do believe that District Attorney Turahn Jenkins would materially improve the lives of everyone in Allegheny County, particularly those disproportionately targeted by a white supremacist police and prison system.

We strongly encourage our membership to vote for Turahn Jenkins.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America endorses the National Prisoners Strike taking place from August 21 to September 9. We stand in solidarity with prisoners across the US bravely demanding their rights, dignity, and material well-being.

The National Strike has been called in response to a tragic massacre on April 15 at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina. When tensions between inmates that had been stoked by prison officials boiled over into a brawl, officials did nothing to intervene or treat the injured, culminating in at least seven people losing their lives. The blame for this tragedy lies at the hands of the institution, not the prisoners.

More broadly, the blame lies with a violent society that warehouses people for their social problems — unemployment, drug addiction, mental health issues, and more — instead of actually solving their problems. The vast majority of the imprisoned are not violent, having committed mostly drug and property crimes. Rather, the system of prisons and policing is inherently violent.

As we support the brave striking comrades on the inside, we simultaneously call for the abolition of prisons and police on the outside, knowing full well that this system provides more harm than security and exacts intolerable suffering on the marginalized.

For information on the striking prisoners’ 10 demands, and how to support them, visit the following websites:
http://prisonstrike.com/
https://fundly.com/2018-prisoner-strike
http://sawarimi.org/national-prison-strike

For printable flyers:
https://incarceratedworkers.org/resources/august-21-prison-strike-printable-flyers

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is thrilled to announce that Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee emerged victorious from the May 15th, 2018 primary elections for their respective State Representative races. Also endorsed by the national DSA, State Rep. candidates Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee have firmly demonstrated that bold left values hold broad appeal for working Pittsburghers.

These wins indicate that a renewed, vibrant left in America is not an aberration, but instead that working people are ready for real change, progressive policies, and a society that works for all of us, not a select few. Pittsburgh voters will require candidates who stand for economic and social justice, who fight against the injustices of our carceral system, who will ensure that we have clean water and air, who believe in fully funding public education and creating a system that provides healthcare for all, and who will fight for universal reforms for working people.

Endorsement by the Pittsburgh DSA includes the completion of a detailed policy questionnaire, a public statement and Q&A with our membership, and member debate and vote. These candidates were specifically endorsed—in near-unanimous votes—because of their shared belief that our current political and economic system is fundamentally unjust. Members of the Pittsburgh DSA have organized canvasses, knocked on over ten thousand doors, and engaged with Pittsburghers in these districts on the issues that mattered to them, from environmental justice to single-payer healthcare and more.

Though Kareem Kandil, also endorsed by the Pittsburgh DSA, was unsuccessful in seeking the Democratic nomination in House District 30, the tightness of this race in a historically Republican district is, in itself, a success for left politics. A significant portion of the voters in these districts have proven their support for the values of the American left.

The successes of Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee build on top of the wins of Pittsburgh DSA-endorsed candidates Mik Pappas, District Judge, and Anita Prizio, Allegheny County Council, in 2017. The Pittsburgh DSA is hopeful to look forward, ensuring that Sara and Summer will be successful in Harrisburg, and to continue building and growing here in Pittsburgh.

President Trump’s decision today to withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA with Iran is a harrowing development. Moreover, it is a clear violation of the terms of the deal. As democratic socialists, we object to actions that harm the marginalized at home and abroad, and we advocate building collective power through international negotiations toward denuclearization and demilitarization.

Along with détente with Cuba, the JCPOA was one of the few rays of light in an Obama foreign policy that otherwise institutionalized the perpetual war state of the Bush Administration. The deal was a success at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, according to leading nonproliferation experts as well as the U.S.’s and Israel’s own security establishments. It also removed the core justification for another aggressive U.S. war. Given the presence in Trump’s administration of lifelong Iran hawks such as National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, we should not be surprised if Iran’s purported “efforts to get a nuclear weapon” — which the JCPOA was the best tool available for stopping — are used as pretext for future hostile US actions, from more sanctions to all-out bombing or invasion.

Let us not forget, however, that in the summer of 2017 it was Democrats in Congress who paved the way for today’s withdrawal with their foolish Iran sanctions package, which they bundled with Russia sanctions in an attempt to coax President Trump into opposing Putin. Out of hostility towards Iran, Trump happily signed the bill into law. The single Democratic caucus member to vote against it? Independent Bernie Sanders, who cited the need for peaceful reconciliation, not war, with Iran.

As a historic agreement is being realized in Korea, today’s news is a stark and distressing contrast. But we must not lose hope — instead, we must fight back. Here in the U.S., that means uniting to demand that politicians of all parties, in all branches and at all levels of government, commit to a pro-peace, anti-war agenda.

— Pittsburgh DSA Anti-Imperialism Committee