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St Louiss approach to public safety, housing, and other critical issues could undergo a significant overhaul if a new campaign to shift the balance of power in the citys Board of Alders is successful at the polls on Tuesday.

The Flip the Board campaign is challenging entrenched establishment candidates, including three incumbents, in favor of four first-time candidates: Shedrick Kelley, 40, facing two-term incumbent Jack Coatar in Ward 7; Bill Stephens, 27, seeking to unseat Ward 12s Vicky Grass, who is running for her first full four-year term; Anne Schweitzer, 33, whose Ward 13 opponent Beth Murphy is seeking a third term; and Tina Sweet-T Pihl, 50, who hopes to win in Ward 17 against fellow first-time candidate Michelle Sherod.

Alderperson Megan Green, a two-term progressive on the 29-member board, came up with the campaign after years of frustration with the policy priorities of those in power in city government. Green told The Appeal she wants to see more solutions that address the citys problems in a way that makes meaningful change for all residents.

Right now we have 11 solid progressive votes and oftentimes can get a couple of other people over to our side, said Green. So if we get these four people elected, I think that puts us squarely at 15, which is what we need to have a majority.

The four Flip the Board candidates are running on similar platforms of change, campaigning on public safety reform, sustainable economic development, and housing reform but bring with them different life experiences. Kelley, an emcee who goes by the stage name Nato Caliph, is a business analyst for Wells Fargo and a community activist. Pihl is an economic development and housing expert who has worked for local and national nonprofits. Schweitzer is a community organizer and publicist. Stephens is a St. Louis Public Library employee who celebrates being an openly gay man on his campaign site.

The thing about the four people is the diversity we have in terms of race, age, and gender, Pihl told The Appeal. I mean, its just amazing. If you look at our backgrounds, its quite rich in terms of that. I think its phenomenal.

St. Louis is still in the throes of a political upheaval that is rooted in the last decade of social and political change. Nearby Ferguson, where Michael Brown was killed by a police officer in 2014, was the catalyst for some of the most intense Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the Obama years. U.S. Representative Cori Bush, whose district includes St. Louis, was one of those protesters and organizers and is today a new member of the Squad of young Democrats pushing for change in Congress.

Although all members of St. Louiss current Board of Alders are Democrats, the municipal government can be hostile to policies that put working people first, such as allocating federal funding for the city and ensuring public safety is taken care of in an equitable manner, Green said. She cited the fight this year over police use of spy planes that roiled the boardit voted 15-14 to give preliminary approval to the dealas an example of how close the margins are. (The plan didnt move forward in part because of a failure to secure funding.) Green also said the resistance to the boards more left-leaning members agenda that centers city residents comes even as voters increasingly support federal candidates that back similar policies. That means the future is bright for ideas about city government that put people first, she told The Appeal.

Whether it is this election cycle or the next election cycle, I think that time is on our side as progressives, Green said.

The openness to debating spy planes, which would have allowed city police to keep an eye on residents for up to 18 hours a day, is just one example of what the slate hopes to change about the boards approach to governing St. Louis. Green, along with some fellow alderpeople, has fought multiple attempts to privatize the citys airport and advocated for closing the notorious Workhouse, the medium security detention facility in the city that mostly holds individuals awaiting trial. With more progressively minded members, she said, they could take more decisive action. To the Flip the Board slate, the citys prior approaches to issues like policing, public safety, and economic development are not workable.

Weve neglected to see real change or any type of progress in a lot of areas such as crime, child poverty, or housing insecurity, Stephens said. We cannot expect our city to grow if we dont address these fundamental issues first.

The four candidates are instead focusing on expansive reform.

We need to do some things differently, Schweitzer told The Appeal. We must end cash bail, which is justice only for people with home equity, and end the incarceration for offenders who arent threats to themselves or to others. We must address the root causes of crime and reinvest money into neighborhoods we have allowed to deteriorate. We must prioritize affordable housing, affordable healthcare, safe neighborhoods, good schools, jobs that pay well and a good way to get to them, and adopt a citywide tenants bill of rights.

Respecting the basic humanity of residents is essential for handling public safety, said Kelley, who describes the city as being at a serious crossroads in how local government works.

The city can no longer afford the indecisive and reactionary leadership that it has endured for far too long, Kelley said.

Key to reforming public safety, said Kelley, is closing the Workhouse. The jails conditions and upkeep have long been the subject of citywide criticism and anger. But despite the board last year unanimously passing legislation to close it before the end of 2020, the debate on how to do so drags on.

The city also needs to invest resources in its Civilian Oversight Board, said Kelley, and investigate police behavior. According to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight and the Marshall Project, St. Louis paid out more than $3.1 million between 2015 and 2019 in police misconduct settlements.

Studies (and real-life examples) from around the nation, and the world, have shown that policies that are smart on crime show much better results than ones that focus on being tough on crime,' said Kelley in an email to The Appeal. We cannot out-police our issues with crime, we instead need to reevaluate and reallocate funds away from a system that clearly isnt working, and try a new bold path forward.

Stephens told The Appeal that he sees addressing the underlying, systemic issues that lead to poverty and crime as essential to dealing with the citys issues.

We must give every person in this city the opportunity to succeed, said Stephens. We arent doing that right now and, without it, we wont be able to course-correct our current path.

When it comes to housing, Pihl said her time with the Anti-Displacement Working Group would allow her to teach the board about the best approach to the citys housing concerns.

We are looking at policies that can keep people in place in their homes, in the community, and that targets the same thing with evictions, with COVID-19 and everything else, Pihl said.

Those ideas, Pihl said, include helping fund home repairs and keeping property taxes low in neighborhoods with high displacement. With the loss of jobs and income during the pandemic, she said, those solutions are more important than ever.

St. Louis residents appear to want change, and the city government is in a moment of upheaval. Two major figuresMayor Lyda Krewson and Alderperson Joe Roddy, who represents Ward 17 and is the boards longest-serving memberdecided not to run for re-election. Board of Alders President Lewis Reed failed to carry a single ward in the mayoral primary, shutting him out of the citywide contest in April. No matter how the votes come in next month, the citys new leader will be a break from the status quo.

On March 2, St. Louis used for the first time approval voting, which allows voters to select more than one candidate; the two candidates in each contest with the highest number of votes are proceeding to Tuesdays general election. All of the Flip the Board slate advanced, and Schweitzer topped the Ward 13 incumbent Beth Murphy, 68.7 percent to 38.8 percent.

Schweitzer told The Appeal that relentless campaigning door to door paid electoral dividends.

When Ive been knocking on doors, people often tell me that Im the first person who has ever come by to talk about a campaign, and certainly the first candidate to have done so, Schweitzer said.

The rest of the slate still faces a fight. Kelley, in Ward 7, received 45.2 percent to incumbent Jack Coatars 58.9 percent; in Ward 12, Stephens had 36.1 percent to incumbent Vicky Grasss 48.6 percent; and in Ward 17, Pihl took 46.2 percent to Michelle Sherods 69.0 percent.

Though three Flip the Board candidates fell short of their opponents in the primary, Green believes theres a good shot to get voters on board for the general through superior organizing and spurring enthusiasm leading up to Tuesday. And once the public sees what the new group does in office, she believes, its more likely than not theyll stick with the progressive slate in future electionsGreen outpolled her opponent Jennifer Florida, a former alderperson, 74.3 percent to 30.7 percent in March.

Theres a lot of volunteer energy thats going into these three candidates campaigns at the moment, and thats whats going to carry them over, said Green. I know that they have people that are donating to them, not just in their wards, but from across the city, because they understand what having a progressive board will do for the entire city of St. Louis.

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These Progressive Candidates Could Flip The Balance Of Power In St. Louis City Government - The Appeal

White House chief of staff Ron Klain met privately with a number of progressive lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. and Andy Levin, D-Mich., to discuss the filibuster and the minimum wage, signaling potential for a spirit of collaboration between the Biden administration and left-leaning Democrats.

According to Axios, Klain did not say whether Biden would move to support or oppose the filibuster, which has proven a significant roadblock for Democrats looking to approve gun bills in the Senate. Democrats have already passed two in the House, according to Insider, but it is extremely unlikely theyll see the support they need in the Senate.

There have been talks of removing the filibuster (i.e. the going nuclear) in order to skirt around an obstructionist GOP. It would take a simple majority in the Senate to eliminate the filibuster via cloture, a very doable maneuver with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking senatorial vote. Republicans have warned, however, that nuking the filibuster would end all hope for bipartisanship.

Biden has gradually inched toward a more progressive outlook on the filibuster, but also expressed hesitations about scrapping it entirely, stressing the need for incremental reform. Lets deal with the abuse first, he said in a press conference. If we have to, if theres complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, then well have to go beyond what Im talking about.

Although no deal on the filibuster was struck, Klain did reaffirm President Bidens commitment to enacting a $15 national minimum wage. Currently, the federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour, a mandate that has not changed since 2009. There was a progressive push to raise the minimum wage as part of the newest coronavirus relief package, as Salon reported last month. However, the Senate Parliamentarian parried the effort by ruling that it went against the rules of the budget reconciliation process, a legislative maneuver Democrats used to push the bill through despite significant Republican opposition.

Last week, Klain met with leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including the groups chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. During the meeting, the group pressed for Bidens commitment to progressive stances on a number of topics, including immigration, transportation, climate change, healthcare, child care, and paid leave, as Politico reported.

In the past, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has praised Klain. When he was appointed in November, she tweeted, Good news and an encouraging choice. According to the Daily Beast, Klain has an open channel of communication with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Progressives are a big part of our party and making sure their voices are heard here at the White House is a big part of my job, Klain said in an interview.

As Axios notes, the existence of a backchannel between the White House and the Congressional Progressive Caucus might help the President push through another sweeping piece of legislation against GOP opposition: a $3 trillion infrastructure and jobs package. According to The Washington Post, the bill is likely to contain provisions such as free community college, universal pre-kindergarten, a newly expanded child tax credit, and more.

The country has not had a real infrastructure bill since Dwight Eisenhower set up the highway system, said former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell. This could do more for American manufacturing and blue-collar jobs than anything else. Its crucial not just for Bidens legacy but for the legacy of the American government in the next decade. Its a seminal moment for the country.

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Progressive Lawmakers Met With the White House to Discuss Action on... - Truthout

Eight members of Congress, including prominent progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, are backing the program. A handful of likely incoming House freshmen, along with the Service Employees International Union, Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives and climate advocacy group Sunrise Movement, are also on board.

"There is no doubt we need to evict Donald Trump and immediately begin the work of repairing and rebuilding stronger, said Pressley. Our country is facing overlapping crises of public health, economic inequality and systemic racism. The People's Charter offers a pathway to work together toward healing and justice for everyone.

Biden supports some of the planks of the proposal, such as free Covid-19 testing and a ban on evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic. But he has already come out against other items, such as implementing single-payer health care and reducing police funding.

Its putting a stake in the ground that we believe Joe Biden can become a New Deal 2.0 president, said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), another member of Congress who has signed onto the plan. He has talked about the crisis that Roosevelt faced. He has talked about wanting to have a new New Deal for the 21st century. That should be the direction he goes instead of the incrementalism of the 90s.

Philadelphia City Councilwoman Kendra Brooks, one of several local and state officials who are supporting the plan, added that its something that gives voters some enthusiasm.

Maurice Moe Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said the organization will promote the agenda as part of its campaign to persuade progressive voters to cast a ballot for Biden.

We endorsed Elizabeth Warren and then we endorsed Bernie Sanders, so its not surprising that our party and our base have some policy differences with Joe Biden, said Mitchell. People, in order to be enthusiastic about voting, need to vote for something and the Peoples Charter provides folks with something that is outside of candidates politics to vote for. It also sets up conditions postelection to articulate that this election was a referendum on this agenda.

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Progressives unveil 2021 agenda to pressure Biden - POLITICO

White House chief of staff Ron Klain held private meetings with progressive lawmakers including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Jamaal Bowman, and Andy Levin this week, which many believe signals the Biden administration's willingness to have a good working relationship with more outspoken Democrats.

According to a scoop by Axios, this closed-door, in-person meeting touched on the filibuster and minimum wage.

Axios reported that Klain did not make promises to oppose or abolish the current filibuster rules. However, he did re-confirm Biden's commitment to upping the hourly minimum wage to $15.

These private meetings establish a basis for dialogue with progressive Democrats, even when the strategies on how best to approach issues and push matters forward may differ.

The meetings follow a Politico report last week that said Klain had met with leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including its chair, Pramila Jayapal.

Axios noted that the formation of a backchannel between the Biden White House and progressive Democrats could be helpful to the president, particularly ahead of his request to Congress to fork out $3 trillion for healthcare and infrastructure next week.

Biden has also been seen in recent weeks to lean toward a more progressive position on the Senate filibuster, saying on Thursday that he might be "open to doing more" besides incremental reforms.

"If there's complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, then we'll have to go beyond what I'm talking about," Biden said on Thursday.

The filibuster has been a huge obstacle for Senate Democrats who want to pass gun bills through the Senate. Two gun bills have already made it through the House, but they are unlikely to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate, which is currently split 50-50.

However, Democrats have been discussing the removal of the filibuster to make it possible to pass legislation at a simple 51-vote majority. Much opposition stands in the way, particularly as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has cautioned that the Senate would enter "a sort of nuclear winter" if Democrats were to scrap the filibuster.

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AOC, other progressives met with White House chief of staff privately - Business Insider

Sam Hernandez PO 24 argues that progressives should not call themselves democratic socialists if they still support capitalism. (Courtesy: Spencer Platt via Getty Images)

Over the course of the past few years, progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress The Squad have increasingly adopted the label of democratic socialist as a way to differentiate themselves from their more moderate counterparts. However, their policies have little to do with the actual political thought of socialism, and this misapplied label does nothing but hinder political discourse for everyone involved.

For the purposes of this article, I will be using the term progressives for those who label themselves as democratic socialists, though I understand that not all progressives identify that way.

Although there is a wide array of socialist thought regarding the precise definitions of socialism, the basics generally agreed upon include the abolition of capitalism, private property, the profit-motive and commodity production. Socialism is inherently anti-capitalist, and involves worker ownership of means of production land, factories, stores, etc. The term also entails an overhaul of how and why we produce things; under socialism, workers produce for the common good of the community rather than to generate profit for capitalists.

At its core, socialism strives to turn control of the means of production over to the workers and society as a whole.

For Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives, democratic socialism is the implementation of the welfare programs and social safety nets common in Western European and Scandinavian countries. I have no qualm with these policies, and in fact support pretty much all of them, but labeling them as socialist is a detriment not only to these politicians but also to actual socialists.

While the policies of progressive so-called socialists are admirable, they are distinctly not anti-capitalist, instead aligning with an ideology called social democracy. At most, these policies can mitigate some of the structural harms of capitalism such as perpetual poverty of a subset of the population, which is often disproportionately made up of already marginalized groups, rampant climate destruction and the abuse of human life in the name of profit and make the system more bearable; however, they do not undermine the system itself.

Even if progressives were able to accomplish all of their policy objectives, and we had universal health care, free college and a higher minimum wage, capitalism would still reign supreme. Private property would still exist, as would commodity production in the name of profit generation.

Sure, the outcomes for many people would be far more positive than they are now, but the workers would still lack ownership of the means of production, and the fundamental capitalist-worker dynamic central to capitalism would remain unchanged.

Theres still work to be done on educating Americans on what socialism entails, but theres fortunately a myriad of resources such as YouTube videos and podcasts actively dispelling the American misunderstanding.

Part of the reason for the adoption of the label of democratic socialist was because right-wing media and political opponents were going to call them socialist anyways, so by embracing it, progressives sought to disarm political opponents. However, as a result of the decades of McCarthyism and Red Scare propaganda in the United States, the term socialism is tremendously loaded in mainstream political discourse, evoking imagery of the USSR, Cuba and bread lines.

While much of this fear was and is manufactured by Western media and the U.S. State Department as an outcome of the Cold War, it nonetheless poses a challenge to progressives who now have to constantly clarify their ideological position, repudiate these associations and distance themselves from how much of the American public sees socialism.

Moreover, political opponents have an even easier time fear-mongering about how within the far left, radical socialists of the Democratic party are trying to take over America.

Furthermore, for those of us who embrace actual socialist politics, progressives are excluding socialist politics from the political conversation. Because these progressives are seen as the far left by many Americans, they impose a left-most limit on acceptable political positions, to the exclusion of anti-capitalist strands of thought like Marxism and anarchism.

By making socialism simply about giving people health care and expanding safety nets, socialism is stripped of its anti-capitalist message in popular perception, making the propagation of anti-capitalist ideas more difficult than it already is. Capitalist media and political parties both of them already ingrain the structures of capitalism within the fabric of our institutions and our collective thought, such that questioning capitalism is seen by many as inconceivable, and progressives co-opting revolutionary language and labels entrenches capitals power even further.

To make our politics less confusing, and expand the horizons of political discourse beyond capitalism as a whole, progressives should identify as the social democrats they are. In doing so, they stop obfuscating the crux of real leftist politics and make room for more solutions to the issues facing our society.

Sam Hernandez PO 24 is from San Antonio, Texas. He would love it if you would give this podcast a listen or this set of pamphlets a read.

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OPINION: Progressives should stop co-opting the label of socialism - The Student Life