HDSA General Meetings

2026-05-15 General Meeting Minutes

Date: May 15, 2026 

Location: Eureka Labor Temple

 Presiding Officer: Marlee, Matthew 

Recorder: Vee 

Members in Attendance: 28 

Quorum Number: 10 

Quorum Met: Y

---

Adoption of Previous Minutes

• Moved by: Eryn / Seconded by: Sam
• Vote — Unanimous
• Result: Passed / Failed

---

Officer Reports

Co-Chairs Report

Presenting: Matthew

Notes:

• The chapter is transitioning from a short-term Interim Steering Committee to its first official Steering Committee with year-long terms.
• Leadership retreat is being planned in Sacramento for all of northern California DSA.
• Article introducing our chapter is being published in Democratic Left. Report text

Motions Arising:

• None

Treasurer’s Report

Reporting: Mark

Notes:

• $825.20 in cash
• May Day event cost $1074, covered by donations. Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

1. Incorporate Humboldt DSA as a 501(c)(4) public benefit corporation
   • Moved by: Mark / Seconded by: Renee
   • Speakers For: 1 / Speakers Against: 0
   • Vote — For: Unanimous
   • Result: Passed
   • Text as adopted: I move that the Humboldt DSA incorporate as a 501c(4) Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. This involves filing paperwork with the California Secretary of State and the IRS.

YDSA Report

Reporting: James

Notes:

• Dakota Johnson is the new YDSA president.
• Dakota is going to Chicago for YDSA convention this summer. Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

• None

---

Committee Reports

Mutual Aid Working Group

Reporting: Zach

Notes:

• Met with Garden Gang and Mutual Aid sovereignty on partnering to advance a community garden.
• Next meeting Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30pm via Zoom Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

• None

Healthcare Committee

Reporting: Vee

Notes:

• Trans sanctuary: Working to strengthen the county proclamation; letter sent to legal counsel; seeking local organizers in Fortuna, Blue Lake, Ferndale
• CalCare: Bill dead for this session; exploring Chamber of Commerce engagement as a local pressure opportunity
• GAC mutual aid: Mapping a local mutual aid structure for gender-affirming care; Open Door fundraising $40K reserve for minor patients
• Co-chair vacancy: Pippa’s role temporary.
• Next meeting: May 11 at 7pm Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

• None

Palestine Committee

Reporting: Philip

Notes:

• Boycott campaign: Targeting Chevron businesses, especially Redwood Oil, who have ignored letters asking them to call on Chevron Corporate to divest from Israel
• Next steps: Tracking signatures, planning Farmers Market presence, building ally relationships
• Next meeting: Monday May 18th Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

• None

Outreach & Member Development Committee

Reporting: Renee

Notes:

• Raised over $900 to feed people at May 1 rally. Thanks to Central Labor Council, Centro Del Pueblo, Humboldt Solidarity Coalition, and committee members.
• June 16: Lost Cost Pride in Ferndale. We will be tabling there.
• Tabling at Juneteenth event in eureka June 20, volunteers needed
• RPG game night is canceled, socialist movie club is on pause.
• OTCC closed, book club meeting at familia instead. Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

1. Proposal for Disbursement
   • Moved by: Matthew / Seconded by: Angel
   • Speakers For: 1 / Speakers Against: 0
   • Vote — For: Unanimous
   • Result: Passed
   • Text as adopted: Authorize a disbursement not to exceed $400 to be agreed on in the May 26 ORMD committee meeting. (Primarily for printing, banner, and a pop-up shelter.)

Electoral Politics Working Group

Reporting: MC, James

Notes:

• Ward 1 and ward 3 seem the most promising for electoral campaigns.
• Not prepared to endorse Rose Penelope Yee but possibly at the June GM… It’s not likely to be in before the primary.
• Local Dems putting out anti-anti-alarmism message around polling and voting rates. Full Text of Report

Motions Arising:

• None

---

Election of Chapter Officers

Candidates:

Co-Chair:

• Zach S.
• Marlee N.
• Philip S.

Member Development:

• Rebecca

Secretary:

• Vee L.

Treasurer:

• Mark W.

Outreach:

• Matthew B.

View Candidate Statements

Results:

Marlee and Philip elected co-chairs. Mark elected unanimously by voice vote Vee elected unanimously by voice vote Matthew elected unanimously by voice vote Rebecca elected unanimously by voice vote

OpaVote Election Tally:

Humboldt DSA Election May 2026

There are 3 candidates competing for 2 seats. The number of voters is 29 and

there were 29 valid votes and 0 empty votes.

Held through OpaVote software, Counting votes using Scottish STV.

Anonymized voting record stored in Chapter Google Drive.

Winners are Marlee N. and Phillip S.

Member Announcements

• Ed Musgrave: running for state assembly.

---

Adjournment

Time adjourned: 8:00 Next meeting date: 6/19/2026

Co-chair Candidates

Zach B.

I’m excited to announce my candidacy for Co-Chair. When Alayna and I moved to Humboldt last year, HDSA was one of the first organizations we chose to get involved with. It was clear, even in the chapter’s early stages, that this is an organization that cares about its members, about creating community within Humboldt County, and about playing a part in making the world a better place. 

Since joining, I’ve engaged in committee work, assisted behind the scenes, and stood with YDSA in their efforts on campus. But most importantly I’m building connections with the people who make up this chapter. Building real community has been true across my career too, whether as a science teacher, mental health educator, or conservation outreach coordinator: mutual respect and a collective mindset are what bring people together to achieve sustainable change. 

As Co-Chair, I aspire to be the mycelium of HDSA, to facilitate internal cohesion and make sure each committee has what it needs to thrive while pulling us together as one organization (or ecosystem if you’ll continue to humor my eco-analogy). That means supporting all branches and individuals of HDSA to expand our effectiveness throughout Humboldt County and ensure that our growth reflects the unified force that brings us together as democratic socialists. I’m excited for HDSA’s next chapter and everything we’ll accomplish in the future. Thank you for considering me as Co-Chair, and thank you for fighting for a better world.

Marlee N. 

I am once again running for co-chair! As the incumbent candidate I feel well prepared for this role. I have been in the co-chair position for approximately 6 months now. In that time I feel I have accomplished lots for our chapter. I attend many committee meetings and devote a significant amount of my time to this work. One of my proudest accomplishments is that I organized the strategic campaign training and got a quarter of our chapter to attend. I am passionate about mentorship, community, and solidarity. I also have represented HDSA in a few media interviews. It has been a great experience being part of this chapter and helping facilitate its growth. I hope to continue this work. Thank you for your trust and consideration.

Philip S.

I am announcing my running for Co-Chair! I have often wondered how best to be of assistance with our group. Our processes were vital to go over during the writing and review of the bylaws. Connecting people that are influential and passionate individuals of our community had drawn me to DSA. As our democratic process is a vital function for creating the space to change community which we all need. As such, I’ve learned a lot as part of the process of our growth. I intend to learn more to fulfill gaps we may have in our experience and hope to find the experience in each of us to fill in opportunities for change. I have valued my times from the Avelo campaign and the boycott Chevron Banner Drop. But I also found it insightful to assist with the review of our bylaws used for our chapter status and providing what insights to our group where I can. I hope to hear your many experiences, insights, and that we will grow together, in whatever way we structure our steering committee. Thank you for considering me.

Outreach Officer Candidate

Matthew B.

I am running for Outreach Officer. I believe this position is the best match for my personality and skills. I have been in the Outreach committee since the beginning. I have helped table at various events. This included the Defend Democracy Fair last year which was one of my first outreach events. I have also canvassed at the Farmer’s Market and tabled at the North County Fair. Tabling at these events has helped recruit folks to Humboldt DSA.

Listwork is one of my passions. I enjoy contacting and talking to people. I helped craft the current listwork system. Each month I help go through our member list to invite people to the GM. I also spent a lot of time doing listwork during our last recruitment push last summer. There are many folks in the organization I originally contacted through this work. I hope to coordinate and drive listwork as Outreach Coordinator. 

Finally, I have already begun to take over some Outreach duties. I am working with MD/OR folks to construct tabling opportunities over the summer. We are hoping to table at Pride, Oyster Fest, Juneteenth, and more. I hope to receive your vote so I can continue my work to grow Humboldt Democratic Socialists of America. 

Member Development Officer Candidate

Rebecca B.

I’m running for Member Development Officer because I believe political education and member development are how we turn interest into energetic organizing power! I want to contribute to fostering a leftist space with access to the continued education, debate, and discussion about leftist ideology and democratic socialist politics that is vital to our success as a chapter.

Some specific ideas I’m planning to introduce are: internal skill-share workshops where members teach each other, a mentorship system for newer members finding their footing, and recurring trainings in canvassing, facilitation, labor organizing, and campaign strategy. I’d also like to build clearer pathways into the chapter’s committees, working groups, and projects with the aim that when someone walks in curious, they leave with somewhere to go.

My focus would be on providing programming that’s topical and genuinely accessible at every level of involvement, plus carrying forward what’s already working while actively building and developing our local organization. Ultimately, I want to help cultivate a chapter culture where members feel politically challenged, practically supported, and connected to something worth showing up for. As always, power to the people, comrades!

Secretary Candidate 

Vee L.

As your Interim Secretary for the last 7 months, I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the position of Secretary under the newly ratified chapter bylaws. For me, the role of chapter secretary is about making the workings of the chapter accountable and accessible to members. Useful and accurate meeting notes, written committee statements from general meetings, and a calendar of all chapter meetings have been important steps in this direction during my tenure. In this next term, I intend to streamline access to these documents, making it easier for chapter members to understand what’s going on even in committees that they don’t have time to attend. Improving the accessibility of notes from committee meetings will help steering and membership stay informed about all kinds of chapter activities as the chapter grows in size and ambition. This is the kind of work I’m excited to pursue as the chapter secretary.

Treasurer Candidate

Mark W. 

I am running for Treasurer again as Humboldt DSA transitions into a fully chartered chapter. In addition to the day-to-day responsibilities of financial management and reporting, the Treasurer will have several major responsibilities in the coming year: (1) incorporating the chapter as a nonprofit; (2) preparing an operating budget for the chapter; and (3) developing standard operating procedures for future Treasurers. 

I have been involved with Humboldt DSA since it was a small gathering of like-minded people and have seen it grow into a chapter with more than one hundred members. During that time, I have served continuously on the Interim Steering Committee, including as Co-Chair, Secretary, and for the past two terms as Treasurer. Combined with my professional experience working at a nonprofit, I believe this gives me the background and institutional knowledge necessary to continue serving in this role.

Greetings,

Folks

Over the course of the last month we have worked to prepare for the transition to our first Steering Committee. Previously we were an Interim Steering Committee which served for several months at a time. This will be a big transition as new members move into steering for year-long terms. We are happy to see so many folks willing to step up into leadership roles! 

Marlee has spent a lot of time working to coordinate the upcoming Leadership Retreat in Sacramento. Renee and Marlee wrote an article for the Democratic Left to introduce the chapter. Vee helped edit it. I have been working to prepare to transition over to Outreach Coordinator. We are working to make sure we authorize sufficient funds for Outreach events this summer. 

We hope that folks who are not in a working group talk to leadership to get more involved. Finally, we hope anyone not in DSA joins today! I am available to help with this after the meeting. Folks interested in working groups should talk to the leadership of the working group they want to join. 

We are currently pursuing three areas of work:

1. Trans sanctuary proclamations

We continue to work to improve the protections for trans people in this community. We are now working to strengthen the existing Humboldt County proclamation, which was modified by county legal counsel before passage. We have sent a letter to the Humboldt County legal counsel to explain their reasoning and concerns in order to plan our advocacy for stronger language. We are still interested in advancing more local resolutions. Residents of communities like Fortuna, Blue Lake, or Ferndale who want to help with a sanctuary city campaign in their community should talk to us.

2. CalCare

We met with Max Cotterill of California Nurses Association. The Cal Care bill wasn’t referred to committee this session and is effectively dead for the year, but the campaign for single payer nonetheless continues. One useful local opportunity: no Humboldt Chamber of Commerce came out against CalCare, so there’s room to engage their boards. Healthcare costs and access are a concern for all kinds of people in the county, and we are researching how Chambers function, with an eye towards a persuasion or pressure campaign.

3. Mutual aid planning for gender-affirming care

The federal landscape around GAC remains unpredictable, and clinics are exposed directly to federal decisions on what services they can offer, despite a recent court order barring this kind of targeting. A recent development: Open Door is fundraising toward a 40K reserve to cover GAC costs for their minor patients. We’re mapping the services a local mutual aid effort would need to offer to bypass federal restrictions while protecting patients and providers. GAC mutual aid planning doc

Committee business

Anyone interested in replacing Pippa as committee co-chair is welcome to step up.

Next meeting: May 11, 2026 at 7pm.

Over the last couple weeks, the HDSA’s EPWG began to expand on Power Mapping in the city of Eureka. The group is focusing on Ward 1 and Ward 3, as those two wards have an impending election cycle a little later this year. There is a specific focus on power mapping information within Ward 3, as that is a City Council seat that the EPWG has identified as having the most plausible influence of HDSA value(s) alignment. The kickoff for that electoral support will begin in July, so we have placed a brief pause in this investment to fast-track a time-sensitive project!
After a fulfillingly influential Leadership/All Hands meeting, the EPWG Chairs (MC Chavez and James Menendez) have jumped at the opportunity to draft a Charter. At 10 AM, May 24th, EPWG began working on a rough-drafted outline for a Charter for the Electoral Politics team to move from a Working Group into an official Committee. 

We look forward to what these steps mean for our group and its future endeavors. 

Thank you for your time! 

The Mutual Aid Working Group met on April 29th with a primary focus of establishing the next steps with our community garden initiative. We’ve identified a couple advocacy activist groups (Garden Gang and Mutual Aid Sovereignty) which are operating a small network of food gardens to provide access to food for the houseless and general local food scarcity. Philip has since met with these groups individually to ensure alignment of our goals. At the April 29th MAWG meeting we voted on a couple dates for our groups to meet during our next MAWG meeting. We’ve received a response and our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30pm via Zoom.

Within this work we have discussed future possibilities and the logistics involved in scaling up in due time. However, this is initial Zoom is more to explore the potential paths ahead as we ensure feasibility and sustainability. As of now we will see what gaps we can fill with the current groups doing this work and what their short-term ambitions are for immediate action.

This work has been highlighted as a priority because of the potential to combat food insecurity, establish meaningful connections external to DSA, act as a robust outreach tool, develop community spaces, and provide an opportunity to expand our mutual aid reach and educational efforts.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30pm, we would love to have more members attend this meeting and in the future, including those who may have a green thumb and want to see our green mutual aid efforts expand!

Good evening Comrades,

The Outreach and Member Development Committee has been very active this month!

I would like to highlight our involvement at the Mayday Rally at the beginning of this month. With the donations and support from our membership and the greater community, we were able to raise over $900 to feed the rally goers and community members. I would like to thank The Central Labor Council and Centro Del Pueblo for making this event possible, and thank The Humboldt Solidarity Coalition for holding space to build relationships with the sympathetic organizations in our area. Most importantly, many thanks to our dedicated committee members who spent the whole month of April making sure our involvement was possible. Please stand or raise your hand if you helped plan or execute this event so we can acknowledge and thank you for your labor.

As we roll into summer, we will be doing outreach at outdoor events! There are two upcoming events we will be tabling at: on June 13th we will be tabling at Lost Coast Pride and on June 20th we will be tabling at Black Humboldt’s Juneteenth event. Black Humboldt also requested that we have members volunteer on Juneteenth and/or other events they are holding this summer. If you are interested in either event or volunteering for Black Humboldt please let us know after the meeting. 

We are making some changes to our social events calendar you should be aware of. RPG Game Night has been indefinitely canceled due to low turn out. There is currently no plan to rework this event. Socialist Movie Club is on pause for the time being while we rework this event to better fit the goals of the Outreach & Member Development Committee. 

Our upcoming events between now and next General meeting are as follows:

Reading Discussion Group is at 10am tomorrow at Familia in Old Town Eureka . Reading Discussion group happens every two weeks. The readings for each discussion are stand alone, this week we are discussing Paul Le Blanc’s “Notes on Trotskyism in the United States” Matthew will be facilitating this discussion. 

Monthly Brews is at 6:30pm, Thursday the 28th at Redwood Curtain in Eureka. Come have a drink, play a game, and enjoy some time with your comrades!

To RSVP for any of these events you can find the QR codes on the table by registration, or on our website’s calendar.

Our next OR/MD Meeting is 5/26 at 7:00pm. This committee is open to all members. You can RSVP on the members calendar or through your weekly member email. 

Finally, we have a motion to bring to the floor, so I will hand it off to Matthew.

Good evening everyone!

In Palestine Committee we met May 4th, discussing our Roses and Thorns for future signature campaigns. In fact we have Paul to thank for bringing petitions tonight! And I hope you all will join us by adding your name. To clarify, the Palestine Campaign is focused on promoting and expanding the Boycotting of Chevron businesses and especially Redwood Oil. We have made them aware of the campaign when we delivered letters to them appealing they join in our call to Chevron Corporate to divest from Isreal. They have ignored us. So, we are including them in the work as part of our community. In our next meeting we will be going over how many signatures we have, how our approach is progressing, and what future events we will spread awareness in. This will include public events such as the Farmers market and allies we hope to work with. We hope you will join us in our next meeting Monday May 18th to help us grow the community power.

General Meeting Minutes 2026-04-17

Chapter:	Humboldt DSA
Meeting Type:	General Chapter Meeting
Date of Meeting:	April 17, 2026
Location:	Labor Temple
Presiding Officer and Recorder:	Marlee and Vee
Quorum Status:	Met, Quorum # 10
Were Votes on Substantive Resolutions Taken?	Yes

Adoption of Previous Minutes

• Moved by: Marlee/ Seconded by: Matthew
• Vote — Unanimous
• Result: Passed

---

Officer Reports

Co-Chairs Report

Matthew Reporting

We need new steering members for the enlarged steering committee under our new bylaws!

Motions Arising:

• Adopt the Democracy Commission Affiliate Agreements Resolution
  • Moved by: Matthew/ Seconded by: Unknown
  • Speakers For: 0  / Speakers Against: 0
  • Vote — For: Unanimous
  • Result: Passed
  • Text as adopted: Link to Text

Treasurer’s Report

Mark Reporting

$695 on hand for general expenses

As a chapter, we must incorporate as a 501(c)(4) to receive dues properly. We need help with this!

Motions Arising:

• Adopt the Proposed Interim Chapter Disbursement and Remibursement Policy
  • Moved by: Mark / Seconded by: ??
  • Speakers For: 1 / Speakers Against: 0
  • Vote — Unanimous
  • Result: Passed
  • Text as adopted: Full Text

YDSA Report

Madeline Reporting

YDSA has its charter from national! Just in time to send a delegate to the national conference.

Tenant’s union campaign progressing.

Motions Arising: None

---

Committee Reports

Mutual Aid Working Group

Zach Reporting

Exploring working with the Community Emergency Response Teams!

Mapping food pantries and community gardens.

Full Text

Motions Arising: None

Healthcare Working Group

Pippa Reporting

Meeting with the California Nurse’s association before next meeting.

Interested in trans mutual aid connections.

Full Text

Motions Arising: None

Palestine Solidarity Working Group

Paul Reporting

Chevron boycott campaign continues.

Full Text

Motions Arising: None

Electoral Politics Working Group

MC Reporting

EPWG meets every Sunday with snacks!

Meeting with local campaigns and political parties to make connections.

Met with Victor Garcia at campaign launch event

Creating a voter guide to make it easy for chapter members to vote.

Full Text

Motions Arising: None

Outreach & Member Development Committee

Renee Reporting

• New events!
• Marsh field trip
• $800 dollar budget plan for the May 1 event, mostly to buy tacos from Esmeralda’s.
• HDSA 102 this month
• Renee is going to step down from Member Development Officer and become the technical officer.

Motions Arising: None

---

Motions Summary

Text as adopted: Full Text

Democracy Commission Affiliate Agreements Resolution

Result: Passed

Speakers For: 0  / Speakers Against: 0

Text as adopted: Link to Text

Interim Chapter Disbursement and Reimbursement Policy

Result: Passed

Speakers For: 1 / Speakers Against: 0

Vote — Unanimous

Greetings Folks,

We are happy to report that Humboldt DSA has finally been made an official chapter of DSA! We have also grown since our last meeting. We are now at 100 members! I encourage anyone interested in supporting our work to go to the breakout group of your preferred working group. Those who are not already members should see Marlee or myself to join DSA at the end of the meeting. Finally, we call on anyone interested in steering to apply to run. We will have one open position for cochair. I am personally looking to move to Outreach.

From: Mark Walker (Treasurer)

To: Humboldt DSA General Meeting

Date: 04/17/2016 

1. Financial

Cash On hand: $795.00

$200 of this (Mario’s donation) is committed to May Day.

2. Incorporation 

Now that we are a chapter, we are eligible for dues sharing. This will initially be through a PEX card, which has monthly reporting requirements. Dues sharing will be through the PEX card for either 6 months or two years, depending on what you read—I am clarifying with National.  After this period, we need to incorporate as a 501(c)(4) non-profit and have a bank account.   If anyone has knowledge of this process or an interest in it, let me know.  

3. Procedures for Disbursements

I motion that we adopt the Proposed Interim Chapter Reimbursement and Disbursement Policy to streamline disbursements and set standards for reporting (advance notice and receipts). Key element is Section II. Procedures, as this removes some power from the General Meeting, but we won’t need to vote on every outlay for office supplies and small print runs. 

Procedures

All requests for funds for use by the Treasurer must be approved by the ISC or General Meeting.

Purchases of $50 or less may be approved at the Treasurer’s discretion. Payments made under this provision shall not exceed $100 per month. 

Purchases over $50 up to $250 must be approved by the Interim Steering Committee. Payments made under this provision shall not exceed [$250] per month.

Purchases over $250 must be approved by the General Meeting.

Chair Vee Loring

Interim Co-Chair Pippa Coulter

The healthcare committee met on March 30 on April 13. The March 30^th  meeting was a presentation by Vee on the legislative history of Cal-Care and another by Pippa on the potential impacts on healthcare clinicians and patients, followed by a discussion among members. We resolved to send an official chapter email to these other chapters about their healthcare organizing strategy. The April 13^th meeting was a continuation of the same work, analyzing responses from other chapters, possible allied organizations and the positions of local legislators on AB 1900, the current CalCare bill. Vee and Pippa have signed up to work with California Nurses Association individually, to get some closer experience with their strategy and organizing tactics around this issue. 

We continue to strategize around protecting the trans people of Humboldt County. Progress towards trans sanctuary campaigns in smaller municipalities of Humboldt county such as Fortuna and Blue Lake remains exploratory, and we still are seeking anyone living in these communities who would be willing to bring a resolution to the city councils.

We are now considering the idea of pursuing stronger language at the county level. The county trans sanctuary proclamation does not specifically prohibit use of county resources against trans people or clinicians, but it does include a brief statement about California laws which make it illegal for them to participate in such actions. We received encouragement in campaigning to strengthen this language from organizers who passed the original resolution. As yet we do not have a specific strategic plan and will be discussing this at our upcoming meeting. 

Outside the arena of pressure campaigns, it is a goal of the committee to facilitate mutual aid and information sharing around trans healthcare. As threats to things like the prescription of HRT grow more realistic, we believe it is essential to connect people so the community can provide the assistance that institutions may no longer be able to. This will also be the subject of our next meeting on the 27^th of April.

We are also still seeking members who would be interested in serving as co-chair, as I do not have the capacity to remain in this role long-term.

This month, the EPWG has met every Sunday at either 10AM or 11AM, with free snacks provided during the in-person meeting! Over the last month, members of the group have collected information about local races such as meeting with Rose Yee’s Campaign, attending the Humboldt Progressive Dems calls, attending Green Party potluck, and working with Oliver Ma’s campaign to obtain resources from wider bodies. We are expanding our reach and making connections with other organizations in Humboldt County to expand our web. 

We are also working on furthering our involvement with the local elections, such as reaching out with to Fernandez to discuss his reelection campaign needs, and meeting withVictor Garcia, who recently had their city council campaign launch (it had at least around 100 people in and out of the event) with lots of energy and excitement for future plans in Eureka! 

While HDSA is currently not providing endorsements, the EPWG has also begun drafting a politics education spreadsheet to inform the general body of the current candidates running for state offices, this will include races such as governor, house seats, and our very own city council. The focus IS local elections, however, we do feel it crucial that our fellow comrades have access to beneficial political information. 

Our Group’s action plan this next month is to ensure further involvement and education within the political electoral field.  

Our next meeting is Sunday April 19th- it’ll be virtual! 

Hello fellow Comrades! 

Humboldt DSA is in a season of growth, and with that comes great opportunities to strengthen the impact we can have within our member community and throughout Humboldt County. That’s what DSA is all about at the end of the day, fighting for a better, more connected world where we can rely on each other and benefit from collective efforts. 

With our growing chapter, the Mutual Aid Working Group is no exception. In recent meetings, we have been brainstorming ways in which we can make mutual aid a sustainable keynote of our chapter’s presence. We of course have our ride share system, where we currently have drivers on standby to provide transportation for other HDSA members to food pantries, doctor appointments, DSA events, protests, or even ensure safe travel home from a night out if needed. 

But we’ve also been exploring other avenues of mutual aid, such as training with local Community Emergency Response Teams, facilitating clothing & food drives, and mapping out food pantries and community gardens in the County. On that topic, if you know of a food pantry or community garden, please post the approximate address in the mutual aid Discord channel or DM Z217 and we’ll add it to the list! 

As a reminder, we have a member that can assist people signing up for CALFresh! And that if anyone is part of a work study program you would automatically qualify. Please contact me or Philip to receive contact info and get assistance. 

Mutual Aid can take a lot of different directions so we’re being intentional about where we place our efforts as a working group to not only maximize our impact, but to create sustainable systems. With that said, if anyone would like to contribute to our HDSA mutual aid network, we’d love to have you at our next MAWG meeting on April 29th at 7:30pm. The more people we have involved, the greater impact we can make, and the stronger community we can build. 

Solidarity generates mutual good. Mutual good generates solidarity.

Good evening comrades!

The Outreach & Member Development Committee has been continuing our monthly events and we have some exciting new events for you to attend or volunteer at!

The next HDSA 102 is at 6:30pm on Thursday the 23rd. We recommend all members, old and new, attend a 102! The 102 covers resources, organizing strategy, and ways for you to be involved in DSA on a local and national level. The 102 is closed to members only, next month we will have a 101 which is open to the public!

We will be taking a field trip to the Arcata Marsh on Saturday, April 25th from 2:00-3:30pm. There will be a guided tour by Friends of the Arcata Marsh. We will meet at the Interpretive Center. We will walk the Marsh, view wildlife, and learn about how the Marsh connects wastewater treatment, outdoor recreation, and native ecology for the benefit of all.

I am very excited to share that we have been working with local organizations to support the Central Labor Council and Centro Del Pueblo’s May Day Rally happening at the Eureka Courthouse on May 1st! We are providing and coordinating food and drinks for the rally.

Because we have no clue how many people are going to attend we decided to set a lofty fundraising goal of $800 dollars which will be used to purchase 600 tacos from Esmerelda’s. Other orgs are providing sweet treats and flatware, and we are seeing if another org wants to provide refreshments. If not, we will divert some of the money for tacos to use for refreshments. 

We will “pass the hat” tonight to collect donations from anyone who desires and is able to help us reach this goal! Right now we are at $365 so we need $435 to meet our goal of $800! 

Other events you can join us for:

Tomorrow is our Reading Discussion Group at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates in Old Town Eureka, we start at 10 am and are discussing the essay titled “Against Activism”. The link to view the essay is on the RSVP.

On Monday the 27th is RPG Game Night at Next Level Games in Old Town Eureka, we start at 6:30 pm. This is a super fun event, so if you are into DnD or even curious, I highly recommend going! Felicity is an excellent DM and is very helpful with new players!

Rounding out the month we will have Monthly Brews at The Local Cider Bar in Arcata starting at 6:30pm. Come have a beer or soda and hang out. Around 7 we play a dice game called Low Ball which everyone has so far really enjoyed!

As a reminder…

You can RSVP for any of Humboldt DSA events through the calendar on our website. Member only events can be RSVP’d for through your weekly member email OR in the members only section of our website. 

If you need help accessing our events or other technical issues- come talk to me or email HumboldtDSAcomms@proton.me (comms with 2 m’s). 

There are also a bunch of QR codes at the registration table that link to the RSVPs for these events!

Thank you for your time!

The Palestine Solidarity Committee met on 4/7 and reviewed our steps in the Boycott Chevron pressure campaign to divest Chevron from their role in war profiteering and genocide with Israel’s military and illegal settlement activity. We reviewed the creation of a letter from Redwood Oil customers demanding that it cease business with Chevron which will be available for
community members to sign onto in order to present to Redwood Oil the amount of local solidarity behind this effort and get them to come to our side. To this end, we also identified a formal letter sign-on, a more anonymous pledge form, and physical window-signs, etc., for franchisees to use to show their objection to Chevron’s decisions.

Plans were made for more flyering actions and to make available the community sign-on letters and educational material around this campaign, locally and internationally, at tabling events. Palestine Solidarity Committee finished by assigning tasks and planning our next meeting, which will be Tuesday, April 21st on Zoom from 7:30pm-8:30pm and which everyone is invited to.

Palestine Solidarity Committee will continue with this Boycott Chevron pressure campaign and congratulates the general membership on official DSA chapter status.

General Meeting Minutes 2026-03-20

Chapter:	Humboldt DSA
Meeting Type:	General Chapter Meeting
Date of Meeting:	March 20, 2026
Number of Members in Attendance:	N/A
Were Votes on Substantive Resolutions Taken?	No

Adoption of minutes from February 20 General Meeting

Minutes adopted

Guest Speaker: Centro Del Pueblo

Presented by Krysta and Payton https://www.canva.com/design/DAHCFJ3AHOc/Xoj3KTwsoSBv7s8vIvS_Bw/view?utlId=h02646c2b2b

Officer Reports

Co-Chair’s Report

Presented by Matthew

We are almost a real chapter! Our application is pending review.

One last thing we have to comply with is the democracy commission recommendations, we have a resolution to pass at the next GM

Marlee spoke at zero to fierce about working with youth activists.

Treasurer’s Report

Presented by Mark

Our only expenditure was $20 for the labor temple, we received $40. The worksheet is in the chapter Google Drive. 

YDSA Report

Presented by James

YDSA is officially chartered by national and a club at CPH!

Supporting protests on campus on Palestine.

Working to develop connections with the tenant’s union and bring attention to housing problems at the university.

Establishing connections with other campus YDSAs and receiving training from DSA.

Committee Reports

Mutual Aid WG

Phillip

Full Report

Continuing to provide ridesharing and build teamwork among DSA members

New Co-chair – Zach

Organized the potluck for the general meeting this month!

Also offering designated driving to the brews event

Healthcare WG

Presented by Vee

Palestine Solidarity WG

Phillip

Full Report

This Sunday there will be a banner drop from the pedestrian bridge over 101.

Boycott of all Chevron products has commenced.

Outreach & Member Development Committee

Presented by Matthew

Full Report

Continuing the successful educational events

James:

Proposing a barbecue for May 1 and seeking a disbursement to pay for the event. Looking for parks to host the event in. The goal is to hold the barbecue at the water pump station because it doesn’t cost anything. Park rental fees are $105

Range of possible expenditures from 276 to 381.

Motion: Table this budget for the April GM when we have more of a sense of the scale of this event.

Mario is willing to donate $200

The motion was tied 7 to 7, Marlee broke the tie and the motion failed.

Motion: Assign ORMD to plan an event with a budget around $200 that has vegan, gluten free and diet soda options.

Motion passed: 1 opposed.

Electoral WG

MC & James presenting

Full Report

Candidate advocacy: to support local political candidates while assisting the committee alongside that.

Motion: support Mario’s reelection campaign and investigate Victor Fernandez. NOT A DSA ENDORSEMENT

Debate: 5 for, 3 against

Motion withdrawn unilaterally. 

Candidate Victor Garcia recognized to speak in the meeting. Gave quite a long speech. Key points:

•  Talking about the vulnerability of the community to natural and economic disaster, trying to strengthen our community and implement things like a rent board to strengthen tenant’s rights and prevent eviction, and create housing solutions that are more fit for our community, like boarding houses.
• Creating a healthcare district that centralizes and structures local healthcare and keeps it local.
• Making sure local agriculture is supported and we can still get local food.
• Emphasis on campaigning via mutual aid and community assistance.

Call to Action Elected and Appointed leadership

Some of us have more than one job! We would love to have more leadership.

Steering will need a new member as per our bylaws and an appointed membership.

Strategic Protests

DSA is not affiliated with the local No Kings protest. Our logo was used without permission.

We are concerned that the organization of this No Kings protest will lead to risk and danger to people who are not prepared for it. No Kings plans to take the street without a permit and we think this is inadvisable given the reputation of the previous rallies.

We had previously tabled at these protests but we are not willing to do so this time. If people want to canvas, that may still be acceptable.

Member Announcements

Rose Penelope Yee is campaigning extensively and likely to visit Humboldt, follow her social media accounts to find out when.

Greetings,

Folks

There has been a lot of progress for the organization this month! I am happy to report our bylaws have passed! The last step is a bit of paperwork and a review of our application by the National Political Committee. Then, we are a chapter!

We have helped onboard new chapter leadership into the organization. We have spent a lot of time making sure we are in compliance with Democracy Commission recommendations. Luckily many of the new requirements we are already doing. I suggest people read the member memo available on Discord and in the monthly email. We will bring a proposal to make sure we are in compliance in the April GM. Finally, we have also worked to interface with the community. Marlee spoke at the Zero to Fierce festival on a panel about listening to youth activists. 

Overall we have seen a lot of progress in the organization. We encourage everyone to get involved with one of the working groups by meeting with the leadership after the meeting. Additionally, if you are not a member come see Mark afterwards to join us and support our work. 

This month, the electoral politics groups have met every Sunday at 10 AM to begin the process of a functioning (future) electoral committee. Attendees have engaged in first step tasking that includes the review of local office seats, reaching out to the DSA National Electoral Committee, drafting the media networking list of the local county, and establishing connections with Mario Fernandez and Victor Garcia to help with city council campaigns [pending a call to action vote], as well as establishing connections with Oliver Ma’s campaign to get resources.

We have garnered from the last general meeting that those in favor of this working group are in favor of a focus on local elections. As we continue to gain more information about these campaigns and their alliance with DSA, we call to action those who are interested – and capable – in spending their time to support the electoral politics group’s efforts to develop candidate
advocacy plans. We are not currently asking for financial support; we are calling for an action of donating time. This would include door-to-door knocking, canvassing at local events, and volunteering for fundraisers/group aid events. (The concepts of group aid events are inclusive, but not limited to, potential tail-light replacement, town/beach beautification, and car washes.) Such events are aimed at giving back to the community, acknowledging that governing starts during the campaign, not after.

Connect with Matthew about the ways you can get involved! (Since James and MC are out of town!)

Hello my fellows and organizers of Humboldt!

We at the Mutual Aid Working Group are pleased to announce that this meeting we have ran an election for a Co-Chair with much success! Through the diligence and initiative of our membership we have previously provided the mapping and the avenue to provide you, and our larger work the support of alternative transportation to local needs and DSA events! But today we make our organization more effective and ensure the communal values of self organization through teamwork! Please welcome our new Co-Chair Zach!

Please also provide a round of applause for those of us who brought food tonight! This effort to ensure we have nourishment is how we hold a community and community organizing effort together. Ensuring that our needs are or can be met though organizing! And with that said I would like to thank Matthew, Marlee, Renee, Chloe, and Rebecca for everything that was done to make sure that we all ate tonight!

A monthly reminder! Please do not drink and drive. If you need a DD, please contact your comrades! We support each other. Including at our events!

Some last minute reminders recently one of our members informed us they can assist signing people up for CALFresh! And that if anyone is part of a work study program that they would automatically qualify. Please contact me or Zach to receive contact information and get assistance.

Humboldt Bay Fire CERT training is happening regularly and Mutual Aid Working group members are posting in the discord regularly about their scheduling.

Good evening comrades,

The Outreach & Member Development Joint Committee has continued our social and educational events series with great success. Our HDSA 101 this month was the largest one we have had so far- all attendees were either already members or became members shortly after the 101. Since the last General Meeting our chapter has also held a Strategic Campaign Planning Training that had 22 attendees! 

Next month we are holding a HDSA 102 which is for members only, if you are a member you can RSVP through your weekly email, we will also promote it on the Discord and Signal Announcements, and of course you can find it on the members only calendar on the website. 

Our upcoming social events include:

• Tomorrow, Reading Discussion group is meeting at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates. We will be discussing the essay from the ABCs of socialism called “Why do socialists talk so much about workers?” by Vivek Chibber.
• RPG Game Night this Monday the 23rd at Next Level Games we are playing D&D 5th edition
• Monthly Brews night this Thursday the 26th. This month we are holding Monthly Brews in Fortuna at Eel River Brewery. Please fill out the carpool form attached to the RSVP if you need a ride.
• Socialist Movie Club meeting Friday, April 10th.

RSVP for the social events using the QR codes at the registration table or through the calendar on the website. Please email us at HumboldtDSAcomms@proton.me if you are having any technical issues accessing the calendar or our other communications tools!

As we approach summer there will be more opportunity for tabling. On Sunday we will be tabling at Palestine Committee’s Boycott Chevron Drop. Alayana and Mark signed up to table, but more are welcome- if you would like to table come talk to us after the meeting.

Mayday is coming up and Outreach & Member Development is wanting to hold a Mayday community BBQ. We are calling for any of our members who are in unions to help us plan!

James has drafted a budget for us to approve so I will hand it off to him to take us through it.

I propose we adopt this budget and OR/MD plans a Mayday Community BBQ.

Thank you!

Hello Comrades, today we are here to both inform and request your assistance with your various experiences and purposes for being here listening to us today.

On March 22nd at 1:00pm at the Pedestrian bridge in Arcata, we need you to join us in the next stage of the previously voted on purpose of this group. We are moving forward together on the Banner Drop! And we will need you to make it clear to everyone who has been opposing the divestment plans which have been put forward that we need to pursue these ends. But even more urgently with the recent Iran war we are further pursuing ends together across an agenda which is significant across the pivotal support which Isreal and our war machine receives to perform these harms across the globe! This is in conjunction in timing with the other National Boycott Chevron Campaign! And it will be family friendly with lots of people.

In preparation of this we will be publishing the now reviewed letter to the editor announcing our purpose and the ends which we have pursued.

We will be approaching other orgs and activist groups to work with us to draw attention to the broad effects and specific purposes we are organizing for. Please come and make friends!

If you would like, please bring food, clothing or other donations for people in the area suffering duress, those who will be assisting us in broadcasting this message and for DSA’s overall mission to Socialism here at home.

General Meeting Minutes 2026-02-20

Chapter:	Humboldt DSA
Meeting Type:	General Chapter Meeting
Date of Meeting:	February 20, 2026
Number of Members in Attendance:	25
Were Votes on Substantive Resolutions Taken?	Yes

Adoption of Minutes from January 23 general meeting

Minutes adopted unanimously

Guest Presentation: Digital Security for Socialists

Sam Silbory

Officer Reports

Co-Chairs Report

Full Report 

It is imperative that we begin building a strong DSA that can act with a unified vision. If you’re not a member, join DSA. If you are a member, join the discord and contribute to the chapter. If you are in discord, get involved with the committees! If you are involved with the committees, come to the strategic campaign training on Feb 25! (Or the leadership intensive on March 7+8)

Treasurer’s Report

Mark will be drafting procedures for disbursements to working groups and individuals for chapter necessities, so that we don’t have to have a general meeting vote for every reimbursement

Chapter funds stand at $437. Recent expenses were $20 for the Labor Temple rental and $20.94 for an easel pad for our meetings.

Motion: Reimburse Mark 20.94 for an easel pad.

The motion passed unanimously.

We are approaching the season of tabling again, and that requires a greater outlay of funds. Please donate!

YDSA Report

YDSA PRESIDENT Madeline presenting

YDSA has officially applied for status, both as a CPH club and a YDSA chapter!

First general meeting last week, nine new members attended.

Member development committee organizing reading group and protest marshal training.

Student protests have been occurring at CPH about divestment from Israel and campus sanctuary policy. Won a public forum with the vice president!

Committee Reports

Mutual Aid Working Group

Phillip Sutter presenting

MAWG has been mapping out food sources and offering transportation to events. Chapter members are encouraged to carpool to optimize resources. A request-a-ride form is being created.

Healthcare

Full Report

Vee Loring presenting

Palestine

Paul Presenting TKTKTK ALSO ANOTHER NICE OLDER LADY CYNTHIA?

Redwood oil deadline is coming up! Their response will determine whether the boycott is total or focused on other chevron stations. Currently crafting a letter to send to chevron station managers explaining the purpose and function of the boycott.

Outreach and Member Development

Renee presenting

Website has been updated with information and minutes from general meetings. Committees and working groups now have their own information pages. Members-only section has calendar with all events including members-only pages.

“Graduation” moved to the monthly brews event.

Motion: recognize Rebecca and allow her to introduce herself as the new HGO

Motion carries unanimously

Bylaws

Bylaws were successfully reviewed and returned to the chapter. It’s time for the vote! Electronic voting will require steering to set things up and require at least 15 members to vote via email. After a bit of paperwork our chapter should be officially voted in as a chapter of national DSA!

T-minus-2 months to this, roughly.

Interest in forming a Red Rabbits organization to work on protest safety.

Rationale for a Strategic Planning Committee

Vee Loring presenting

Proposal for opening an Electoral Committee

MC Chavez presenting

Motion: Open an electoral committee to manage endorsements, electoral organizing, voter registration, etc.

Amendment: Amend the above to charter a working group not a committee.

Amendment carries.

Much debate, for and against

Question called

Question called successfully.

Motion passes unanimously.

Member Announcements

Some kind of movie thing Sunday night with a TAG person involved. TKTK DETAILS?

Red Rabbits Signal group established: contact Renee

Digital security related questions? Contact Sam on discord.

Greetings,

Folks

Current Events

This past month has felt like a constant bombardment of bad news. Epstein’s friends walk free. The affordability crisis deepens and ICE continues to terrorize our streets. We believe the best way to combat this is through getting organized in DSA. 

Organization

To this end we have been working in steering to solidify our organization. We have worked to better coordinate YDSA with HDSA. Madeline is meeting with us in the steering committee now. Marlee, myself, and Mark have been preparing to do a Strategic Training with our national liaison. We have begun to discuss how best to set priorities to strengthen and move the chapter forward. 

Call to Action

I challenge members and non members to get involved. We ask all members to join the strategic campaign training which will be held on February 25th at 6:30pm. There is a QR code to RSVP. Those who are not members please come chat with me after the meeting. I will help get people into the Discord and help folks join DSA. Finally, if you want to get involved with any of the working groups you can chat with the leaders after the meeting.

Mark will be drafting procedures for disbursements to working groups and individuals for chapter necessities, so that we don’t have to have a general meeting vote for every reimbursement

Chapter funds stand at $437. Recent expenses were $20 for the Labor Temple rental and $20.94 for an easel pad for our meetings.

We are approaching the season of tabling again, and that requires a greater outlay of funds. Please donate!

The healthcare committee is currently exploring the possibility of campaigning for trans sanctuary city resolutions in other local jurisdictions. To do this, however, we need members of these communities who are willing to serve as the ambassadors for these resolutions, presenting them to their city council and speaking about why protecting trans people is important to them. If you live in Fortuna, Blue Lake, or Rio Dell and are willing to take on this important task, talk to me after this meeting or come to the next Healthcare Committee Meeting on March 2nd!

Hello Comrades, today we are here to both inform and request your assistance with your various experiences and purposes for being here listening to us today.

At our next scheduled meeting we will be discussing and voting for a co-chair to work as other groups operate and keep in structural integrity of DSA work. Co-Chairs divide duties such as taking notes, reviewing, researching, and planning out agenda items that the working group discusses and votes on. Unless otherwise delegated for internal purposes. This has been an honor to be helping facilitate in the chair position. But I am concerned about it’s efficiencies with being led by myself only. It is not fair to the group, organization, or you as individuals. This experience is worth while. It creates times of empowerment and accomplishment. As well as we need the robustness of two in case of situations which incapacitate one of the facilitatorizers because the group should be able to check in with each other and the assignments with little interruptions.

This working groups purpose is to locate community and membership needs, facilitate plans to provide support. Recently we implemented the Ride-Pantry share program. We are here to provide transport to the membership, as our immediate community and their work. Please reach out to us in the Links provided if you need transport to any Pantry, grocery, food assistance, All DSA meetings, events or supported protests! Our next meeting found in this email is open to all DSA members as is the Co-Chair position. Please come join our work, facilitate our community and consider joining leadership positions!

A biweekly reminder! Do not drink and drive. If you need a DD, please contact your comrades! We support each other.

Peace if you’re willing to fight for it. – F.Hampton

Good evening comrades!

The Outreach and Member Development Committee has been chugging along in our efforts to make the chapter flourish! We have much to share with you all.

Starting off, the website has had some major updates! There is a page called General Meetings where you can find minutes and reports from previous General Meetings and view the agenda for this month’s General Meeting. By the end of each month the minutes and reports from that month’s General Meeting will be available on this page.

There is now a page for each of our committees and working groups- we plan to flush out these pages with more information about each group and related media (images, videos, etc.) to make them more engaging.

The members only section of the website is also open now! If you are an HDSA member, you can see the passcode at the bottom of the weekly email you receive. If you are having trouble accessing this section of the website for any reason please don’t hesitate to DM me on discord or email HumboldtDSAcomms@proton.me

In the members section there is a calendar where all of our events can be RSVP’d for (the public calendar does not include all HDSA meetings and events). This is also the information to contact the HGO if you are being harassed.

We have completed the first round of the member orientation series. All of the sessions went well with only some minor hiccups that are being addressed and fixed before the next round.

The next round is as follows:

Monday, March 9th at 6:30pm is the next HDSA 101. If you are curious about being a DSA member or you just joined this is a great place to start your journey with us and learn more about how you can engage in our organizing work.

In April the 102 and 103 will also take place on weeknights, tentatively they are scheduled to take place on Thursday, the 23rd and Friday, the 24th of April but the finalized dates and times will be shared at the next General Meeting, and will also be available on our website calendar soon.

As a reminder- each round of the orientation series alternates from weekends to weeknights in effort to accommodate people’s schedules. The 101 is open to the public- but the 102 and 103 are closed to members only. 

We decided to drop the “graduation” part of the orientation series for logisticial reasons.

The Reading Discussion Group continues to meet bi-weekly at Old Town Coffee & Chocolates in Old Town Eureka. The next meeting is tomorrow and starts at 10am. We will be discussing the essay in the ABCs of Socialism titled “Wouldn’t a more Democratic World Just Mean a Bigger Environmental Crisis?”` Thank you Mark for facilitating this event.

We have now had 2 movie nights. We are still working out the kinks of this event. Currently this event is closed to members only, so members stay tuned for updates on the next movie night which will be Friday, March 13th. Thank you Rebecca B for facilitating this event, and thank you Mark for hosting. 

Felicity is now our facilitator for a monthly recurring RPG Game Night! This Monday the 23rd starting 6:30pm at Next Level Games, Felicity will be DMing the first in a series of related one shots based on D&D fifth edition rules (including expanded sourcebooks) set in a classic fantasy world. They are asking players to come prepared with a 5th level character; however, a number of pre-made characters will be available for those new to D&D. Thank you Felicity for facilitating!

Topping off our social events for this month is the Monthly Brews! This month we are meeting at Bigfoot Taproom in Mckinleyville next Thursday, the 26th, at 6:30pm. In effort to not make everyone always drive to Eureka we will rotate which town we are meeting in. Thank you to Eryn for facilitating!

All of our events can be RSVP’d for using the QR codes OR through the calendar on the website.

On the Outreach side of things…

The stellar interview Marlee and Sam gave to Redwood News boosted our social media presence, drove traffic to our website and increased RSVPs to our events. Thank you to Marlee and Sam- you both did a really wonderful job representing our chapter and spreading the good word. 

To the members of the public who are attending this event because they found out about us through this interview or from our social media pages- thank you for coming out tonight and spending your Friday evening with us. I sincerely hope you will stick around and work with us to build a better future here in Humboldt County. 

Hello Comrades, today we are here to both inform and request your assistance with your various experiences and purposes for being here listening to us today.

On March 22nd at 1:00pm at the Pedestrian bridge in Arcata, we need you to join us in the next stage of the previously voted on purpose of this group. We are moving forward together on the Banner Drop! And we will need you to make it clear to everyone who has been opposing the divestment plans which have been put forward that we need to pursue these ends. But even more urgently with the recent Iran war we are further pursuing ends together across an agenda which is significant across the pivotal support which Isreal and our war machine receives to perform these harms across the globe! This is in conjunction in timing with the other National Boycott Chevron Campaign! And it will be family friendly with lots of people.

In preparation of this we will be publishing the now reviewed letter to the editor announcing our purpose and the ends which we have pursued.

We will be approaching other orgs and activist groups to work with us to draw attention to the broad effects and specific purposes we are organizing for. Please come and make friends!

If you would like, please bring food, clothing or other donations for people in the area suffering duress, those who will be assisting us in broadcasting this message and for DSA’s overall mission to Socialism here at home.

The Bylaws Committee was reopened at the last General Meeting. This was because the chapter pipeline reopened and our draft bylaws were (finally) reviewed. It was our responsibility to review the feedback and make corrections. In our 80 minute meeting with about 8 attendees we were able to successfully review all of the changes. Many of them were non-substantial changes related to fine details, such as punctuation. A few paragraphs were changed to reflect a larger steering committee and the exact roles once we reach chapterhood. We also clarified we are the Humboldt County, CA chapter and not Humboldt County, Nevada.

Now that the edits have been made and the Bylaws Review Team has  approved them, it is time to vote on our bylaws! This vote is required to be electronic, so we cannot hold the vote today, unfortunately. DSA National wants us to use specific software that will take a little bit of legwork to set up. We need at least 15 members to vote. Please watch your emails for further information and a link to vote! 

Once the vote is completed, the Steering Committee has some administrative paperwork to do: a Chapter Member Sheet. It should not take long. We will submit the voting record, bylaws, elected officer information, and Chapter Member Sheet to the Bylaws Review Team. The Bylaws Review Team will confirm that we sent everything in correctly. 

Finally, the Bylaws Review Team will pass the application to the National Political Committee (NPC). The Bylaws Review Team stated that it typically takes the NPC 2-4 weeks to vote on a chapter application once it’s been received. 

Comrades, it’s been a long road and we’ve worked hard to reach chapterhood status. We are so close! Based on the timeline we were given, we are looking at becoming a chapter in the next 2 months. This will be something to majorly celebrate! Thank you all for your hard work and dedication as we officially move from an Organizing Committee to a fully fledged chapter! 

For more information check out this website: https://activistchecklist.org/

General Meeting Minutes 2026-01-23

Chapter:	Humboldt DSA
Meeting Type:	General Chapter Meeting
Date of Meeting:	January 23, 2026
Number of Members in Attendance:	35
Were Votes on Substantive Resolutions Taken?	Yes

Adoption of minutes from Nov 21 general meeting

Minutes Adopted Unanimously

Guest speaker – Humboldt Tenant’s Union

Bradley is speaking for the tenant’s union

Humboldt county is extremely rent burdened

The Humboldt tenants union has resources and a tip line to help renters and fight predatory landlords

Co-chair report

We have a response from the National Bylaws Committee! They have given us their recommended edits. 

Three steps remaining before our bylaws are fully ratified: Make suggested changes, Ratify the amended bylaws and Resubmit to National.

Motion: Reopen bylaws committee to work on recommended changes to the bylaws.

Motion Carries Unanimously

The plan is to make this a closed membership committee, as last time.

Treasurer’s report

20/hr rate for the labor temple will be continued under the new building manager.

Please donate, this is still our only source of cash!

Committee reports  

Mutual aid working group

Offering rides to meetings.

Healthcare committee

Passed transgender sanctuary resolution.

Palestine Committee

Paul and Phillip are new co-chairs. 

First action in the pressure campaign to convince Redwood Oil to disaffiliate from Chevron: delivered letters to local chevron stations owned by Redwood oil demanding they divest from projects supporting Israel. Without a response, in three weeks the campaign will progress to next steps including banner drops and boycott calls.

Outreach and member development committee

New website functionality including committee sites and members only calendar.

Orientation is now a three meeting series: 101, every month 102 and 103 in odd months along with an in-person “graduation” and new member mixer event.

Reading and discussion group is now hybrid, in-person at OTCC

Movie night: Last Thursday of the month: social meeting at the speakeasy.

Interest in facilitating a D&D game but seeking a facilitator. Sam or Felicity are interested

View all reports in full below.

Upcoming Strategic Campaign Training – Feb 25 6:30-8pm

Marlee, Mark and Matthew are working with a national facilitator to run a training on planning strategic campaigns. This is a very important training that as many comrades as possible should attend.

HGO Appointment

The steering committee appointed Rebecca to be our harassment and grievance officer. Membership is required to ratify the HGO appointment.

Motion: Appoint Rebecca as HGO

Motion Passed Unanimously

The role of the HGO is to consult with people who are in conflict and report to the steering committee. There will be an email and a discord role for her.

Interim Steering Committee Election

The three month term seemed to work quite well. Three months might also align well with when the bylaws will be ratified.

Longer terms were proposed to ensure this is the last ISC we have to elect.

Concerns about burnout also apply.

Motion: elect the ISC to a four month term with a simple  vote to extend the term after that.

Motion passed unanimously

Motion: amend to make the term extension vote at three months

Motion passed unanimously

ISC Election Results

Co-chair: Marlee

Elected unanimously

Co-chair: Matthew

Elected Unanimously

Treasurer: Mark

Elected Unanimously

Secretary: Vee

Elected Unanimously

Membership Coordinator: Renee

Elected unanimously

Member announcements

Bruce lives in Chico, and is forming a DSA chapter. He is also the field manager for Rose Penelope Yee who is running for Congress in Humboldt’s newly redistricted district 2.

Rose Penelope Yee:

• Grew up in the Philippines under the Marcos dictatorship.
• Bernie Democrat.
• Running against Jared Huffman
• supports single payer.

Greetings,

Folks

Over the last two months we have had a lot of success. We have gained 11 dues-paying members in that time. Our November breakout rooms helped spur new members into the organization. We have enhanced our listwork process. 

As for bylaws we have received an email detailing extensive suggestions to our bylaws. These will need to be reviewed and either adopted or adjusted through dialogue with DSA National. The next step after that is to do an online vote to adopt the byways. Finally, we can then complete and submit our final application. 

DSA national has reached over 95,000 members and Zohran continues to be a beacon in our decrepit political system. However, we have seen the Trump administration accelerate their operations of oppression. We have seen people killed in the street and Venezuela’s leader being kidnapped. 

We believe building power in DSA is the solution to these problems. We believe only together can we stand against this threat. I hope you will join DSA today if you have not. I hope if you are a member you will get more involved. We only have each other. 

Hum DSA has $194.29. Donations are encouraged. We had an informal (i.e.. undocumented) arrangement with the previous manager of the Labor Temple for a discounted rate of $20 for the room rental. I will follow up with the current manager to see if this still holds.

In anticipation of chapterhood, I have been reviewing the DSA treasurer’s guidelines, suggested spreadsheets, and reporting requirements.

I am pleased to be able to report that the Eureka City Council has passed our Transgender Sanctuary City resolution!

This is a significant accomplishment for the chapter and shows that we have the ability to make change for the better in our community. It has also driven a significant amount of attention from local media, which we can benefit from in our efforts to increase membership and build a political coalition for the working class in Humboldt county.

For the Healthcare Committee, this is a time to celebrate, but also one of change and reevaluation. My Co-chair Sophia Nyx has stepped down after nearly a year of excellent work chairing this committee, and I wish to thank her personally for her steadfast commitment to the chapter. None of this would have been possible without her.

This means that not only do we need to start searching for a new healthcare-related campaign for the Healthcare Committee to pursue, there is an opportunity for someone new to lead that campaign from the beginning! Both of these topics will be discussed at the next Healthcare Committee meeting on Jan. 27th at 7pm.

MAWG committee has officiated the itinerary, map and list starting Jan 2026! We began this prospective committee in October, 2025. Through many discussions of ideas which we were excited to take on! We came to offer a variety of perspectives, organizing experiences, & preferred skill sets to fulfill a number of community benefits and support. Immediately we realized how passionate, informed, and equipped with preferred tool sets everyone had! And we also realized that we didn’t have an immediate understanding of what was needed to provide support to those who were going to be most affected be the upcoming up heaval of systems and available services.

So, after working with Renee and Sam we were able to get three questionaires made to be available as individual polls and then implemented in the Weekly email. This was done in hopes that even if we missed members in the initial polling in the creation of the poll. But that we could continue taking note of any changes in these polls to quantify the immediate communities direct need.

Once we had the polled results we came to note that Food access had a result of 15 people marking needing assistance. The interesting quirk that directed our priorities was that at almost the same rate, the Travel accessibility had a result of 14 people needing assistance. So after some discussion we found that the most immediate and adaptable program we could put forward is to provide tools such as an Interactive map, a list of available known resources to fulfill a variety of food needs, and our list of volunteers to provide that assistance.

Shortly after discussing the concept Becca, Matthew, Merissa and others took to discussing what was available. Listing and creating slide decks of all of the available ads. Then once it was listed Merissa mapped and depicted the results in the excel list. At this most recent meeting we went over and confirmed the final results of these documents. We intend to be able to continue editing and updating. And the Notices and the documents were made available to DSA Members in the Pantry-Ride-Share channel in Discord on 1/23/2026.

Hello Comrades!

The Outreach and Member Development has been hard at work since our last general meeting. We have a few items to share and a couple of asks to make.

New updates are coming soon to the website. Each working group and committee will have their own page and we will be adding a members only calendar that will have all of the links to all of our events. This calendar will exist in a “members only” section of the website, for which a password will be emailed to you. The working groups and committees will now have the option to have their meetings open to non-members. If they opt for this the RSVP links for their meetings will be put onto the public calendar. 

The Outreach & Member Development Committee is offering a myriad of social and educational events that will take place throughout the year.

We have broken our orientation series into three virtual meetings followed by an in-person “graduation” event. The orientation series is as follows:

The 101

Audience: non-members and brand new members

Topic: basics of DSA national and Humboldt DSA. 

Frequency: odd months

The 102 

Audience: all members

Topic: HDSA organizing strategies and communications.

Frequency: even months

The 103

Audience: all members

Topic: Socialist theory and parliamentary procedure.

Frequency: even months

The graduation will be a casual celebration of the members who have worked through orientation series. The long term goal is that the graduation will be treated as a new member mixer where our seasoned members and newbies can connect. Although the content for the orientation series will mostly stay the same throughout the year, we really encourage all of our members to attend the 102 and 103 at least once regardless of how long they have been a member!

The Reading Discussion Group has restarted after our break for the holidays. We are meeting tomorrow at 10 am. Reading Group happens every two weeks and will now be offered as a hybrid event. So you can attend in person or call in via Zoom. Thank you to Mark for being the main facilitator of this event.

For our comrades who don’t like to read we are hosting a monthly Movie Night the first Friday of the month. We will watch a movie followed by a political discussion. We are looking for an in-person location for this event which will be communicated over email to you. Thank you to Rebecca for being the main facilitator of this event.

The last Thursday of every month we are doing “Monthly Brews”, a social event at a bar or brewery. This month we are meeting at The Speakeasy at 6:30pm. We will bring some easy games (dice, cards, etc.) so we can play or just chat and enjoy each other’s company. 

Finally, Outreach and Member Development want to help facilitate a recurring RPG night but we don’t currently have any one on the committee who can run it. If you are interested please come to our next meeting or get in contact with the committee on our discord channel. 

On the outreach side of things- we canvased at the most recent No Kings protest and had the 101 the next day which was great timing and we definitely had at least two people who we met at the protest attend. 

Thank you,

Outreach & Member Development Committee

Palestine Solidarity Committee Report 

First organized action took place this week for our Boycott Chevron pressure campaign 

Tues-Wednesday letters delivered to every local Chevron operated by for Redwood Oil franchise owner 

Letters request a show of support publicly for divesting Chevron from projects financially supporting Israel & its military through displaying a sign on their property supporting the change and or signing on to a public pledge 

Letters call for action by franchise owner in response to Humboldt DSA by 3 weeks from letter deliveries date, which would be February 12. 

Next step on pressure campaign revolves around whether franchise owner sticks to corporate position or not, and is expected to involve a local education & media campaign, along with banner drops & other actions and activities 

Next Meeting Monday 1/26 7:30-8:30 

Thank you