Chapter Notes: September 2026
Hey, comrade! The latest edition of the Pinellas DSA newsletter is here!
August was another exciting month of base building and growth for our chapter. In fact, we concluded the month with an exciting milestone: we’ve now officially had more than 100 new and prospective members of Pinellas DSA attend an orientation this year!
Of course, that’s just one of the highlights we’ve got to talk about. Read on to learn more about what we’ve been keeping busy with!
August Highlights
As I’m sure you’re aware, our Dump Duke campaign has been steadily gaining traction for well over a year now. But, our members decided this month to launch two additional campaigns for our chapter to undertake — the DeFlock St. Pete initiative and the No On 3 campaign. We’ll provide more details about each of these new campaigns below.
Looking beyond The Bay — unfortunately, despite knocking over 41,000 doors and making over 750,000 calls the campaign to elect our comrade Oliver Larkin to congress down in Broward County was unable to overcome the nearly $3 million raised by Zionist reactionary and self-styled “DeSantis Democrat” Jared Moskowitz. But, the big story on election night was the incredible upset pulled off by Jacksonville DSA member Angie Nixon to win the Democratic nomination for the US Senate! Angie’s campaign caught the pollsters off guard, winning a commanding victory against Alex Vindman. We’ll be following Angie’s campaign closely over the next two months!
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: DeFlock St. Pete
More than 100 community members came out to the Barack Obama Library in St. Pete on the morning of Saturday, August 15, for the initial interest meeting for the new DeFlock St. Pete initiative.
If you’re not familiar, Flock cameras are AI-enabled surveillance devices capable of tracking the movements of vehicles and people across an entire community. This private company, made possible with investment from Peter Thiel and other authoritarian elites, is creating vast collections of data about where you go and when you go there, all with no democratic input from the public. And, they’re just one of the vendors attempting to expand the surveillance state into our communities.
We maintain that these devices are tools of racial and class violence. And, the people of St. Pete clearly agree — turnout for our campaign launch event was overwhelming. In fact, we had at least two dozen community members who unfortunately were turned away due to capacity issues. But, that immense response just goes to show that resistance to AI-enabled surveillance devices in our community is a winning issue that our members were right to begin organizing around.
The DeFlock St. Pete campaign is going to be voted on for endorsement by the chapter at our next General Body Meeting. If endorsed, we will ramp up the campaign under the purview of our Socialists in Office Working Group. If you want to learn more about this new campaign, check the Discord and be sure to mark the next Socialists in Office Working Group meeting on your calendar on September 30!
Click here to learn more about the DeFlock St. Pete campaign
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: No On 3
Property taxes are a vital source of revenue for local governments in Florida. The taxes paid by property owners fund emergency services, libraries, transportation, flood infrastructure, schools, and many more of the services we all rely on every day, and represent the only form of progressive taxation in Florida. But, the far-right state government are insistent on trying to eliminate this vital lifeline for our communities by pushing Amendment 3, which will dramatically increase the homestead exemption, thereby cutting billions of dollars annually in tax revenue to our local governments.
In response, we announced the launch of our No on 3 campaign at a kickoff event Thursday night at the Clearwater East Community Library in Clearwater. The campaign is an effort to educate Floridians about Amendment 3, and raise awareness of its potential consequences for local governments, public services, and communities across Florida.
This initiative will be focused on educating the public and driving turnout to ensure that Floridians collectively say “No on 3!” this November.
Click here to learn more about the No on 3 campaign
Upcoming Events
We have more than a dozen political events, working group meetings, and social outings scheduled in September. You can always view our full calendar of upcoming events, along with the most up-to-date times and locations, on our website: pinellasdsa.org/home.
PDSA September General Body Meeting
Sunday, September 6 from 2:00–4:00pm. Barack Obama Main Library (3745 9th Ave N. in St. Pete) or on Zoom. RSVP here for updates or to attend via Zoom.
Health Justice Working Group Meeting
Monday, September 7 from 6:30–8:00pm. Zoom only! See the Discord for the Zoom link.
International Solidarity Working Group Meeting
Tuesday, September 8 from 6:30–8:00pm. Zoom only meeting; here is the Zoom link.
Canvass at The Portland Apartments
Thursday, September 10 from 6:00–7:30pm at The Portland Apartments (300 8th St N. in St. Pete). Inform tenants of the power of collective action and to encourage them to attend a tenants meeting where they can tackle issues facing the property together.
“No On 3” Canvass — North County
Saturday, September 12 from 10:00am — 1:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details.
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Dump Duke Canvass
Saturday, September 12 from 10:30am — 1:30pm. Meet at Wildwood Park (tentatively).
PDSA Steering Committee Meeting
Sunday, September 13 from 7:00–8:30pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details.
DSA Political Program Meeting
Monday, September 14 from 6:30–8:00pm at Allendale UMC (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Meet in the Hybrid Room to discuss Workers Deserve More and develop the chapter’s political program.
Canvassing at The Morgan Apartments
Tuesday, September 15 from 6:00–7:30pm. Canvassing at the Morgan to keep tenants informed on the campaign to prevent another slumlord by pressuring the City of St. Pete to purchase the Morgan and turn it into city-owned public housing. Meet in front of the Family Pak & Ship (2822 54th Ave S. in St. Pete).
“No On 3” Phone Bank
Wednesday, September 16 from 6:00–8:00pm. Check Discord for more details.
Housing Working Group Meeting
Tuesday, September 22 from 7:00–8:30pm at Allendale UMC (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Joint meeting of the Pinellas DSA Housing Working Group and St Pete Tenants Union to decide action on tackling the exploitative capitalist housing system. Zoom link.
Interest Meeting & New Member Orientation
Saturday, September 26 from 2:30–4:00pm at Barbara S. Ponce Public Library (7770 52nd St N. in Pinellas Park). RSVP here.
“No On 3” Canvass — North County
Sunday, September 27 from 10:00am — 1:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details.
North County Meeting
Sunday, September 27 from 1:00–2:30pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details.
International Solidarity Working Group Meeting
Monday, September 28 from 6:30–8:00pm.Zoom only meeting; check Discord for more details.
“No On 3” Phone Bank
Tuesday, September 29 from 6:00–8:00pm. Check Discord for more details.
Socialists in Office Working Group Meeting
Wednesday, September 30 from 6:30–8:00pm. Meeting location will be available in Discord.
2nd Annual Tri-Chapter Social
Saturday, October 3 from 12:00–5:00pm at John Chesnut Sr. Park (2200 East Lake Rd S. in Palm Harbor). Meet comrades from Tampa DSA and Pasco-Hernando DSA for a potluck in the park! RSVP here.
PDSA October General Body Meeting
TENTATIVE: Sunday, October 4 from 2:00–4:00pm. Allendale UMC (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete) or on Zoom. RSVP here for updates or to attend via Zoom.
NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change, so check the website regularly for updates!
If you would like to create an event on the Pinellas DSA calendar, please contact the Steering Committee no later than two weeks prior to the requested event date. You can always check the Pinellas DSA website for our full chapter calendar and email us with any questions at dsa.pinellas@gmail.com.
We hope to see you at some upcoming events!
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