Sarah MittelmanSarah Mittelman, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Kim Harless is my opponent for state representative in Washington’s 49th Legislative District. We disagree on policy, as candidates often do. But voters should also understand Harless’s relationship with the Democratic Socialists of America and what DSA says it expects from candidates it supports.
An August 20 resolution attributed to Southwest Washington DSA describes Harless as a “member in good standing” who “has and will continue to legislate in alignment with the DSA national platform.” The resolution says the Southwest Washington branch would endorse Harless if it had the authority to do so and asks that she be added to the Washington Legislative Socialists in Office Committee “as though she had been endorsed.” The reproduced vote was 27–0.
The organizational connection to Portland is also public. Portland DSA identifies Southwest Washington as one of its branches, serving Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties, and directs existing members to the Portland DSA chapter’s internal Discord.
That relationship matters because DSA’s own national endorsement criteria are unusually explicit. Candidates seeking national endorsement are expected to “commit to uphold DSA’s national policy platform,” “view themselves as socialist organizers first, and legislators second,” and caucus with fellow DSA endorsees and Socialists in Office Committees where applicable.
DSA’s campaign guidance further says candidates should understand how their campaigns advance the goals of its national program and should work with Socialists in Office Committees where applicable.
And this is not simply a platform of conventional progressive proposals. DSA’s current national program calls for abolishing the U.S. Senate; replacing the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress; establishing public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries; and redirecting police funding as steps toward “fully abolishing the police and prison system.”
The program describes an even broader objective. DSA says it is fighting to “draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.” It then states that although some demands may be achieved under the existing system, “complete victory will require building a new society from the ground up.”
That is why my concern goes beyond whether Kim Harless agrees with one particular policy.
When an organization says candidates should put socialist organizing at the center of their political role, uphold its national platform and participate in structures designed to coordinate DSA elected officials, voters have reason to ask what that means once someone reaches Olympia.
The 49th Legislative District includes Democrats, Republicans, Independents and people with no party affiliation. Whoever represents this district has a responsibility to all of them.
Southwest Washington voters deserve to know not only what candidates say during an election, but what organizations they align themselves with, what those organizations expect from their elected officials, and what political project those organizations are ultimately trying to accomplish.
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