My draft SDA December newsletter
My dear comrades,
Dear Comrades,
I have been watching — and participating in — the political game in New York City since 2005. Looking back, my involvement clearly falls into two phases:
2005–2015: “Go with the flow.”
2015–2025: “This shit has to stop.”
This will be my last toxic newsletter for at least the next ten years.
Too many people have spent too much time attacking me personally, from every direction. Some even paid membership dues in the hope that they could break the organization from the inside. That experiment has failed — not because of me, but because the structure works.
The toxicity we are seeing exists at every level. Internationally, we have watched factions connected to the Mexican PRI and the Spanish PSOE attack one another.
Locally, we see Democratic Party operatives attempting to discredit anyone who does not “go with the flow.”
The Social Democrats of America bylaws are ironclad because they are modeled on the European socialist tradition. They require participation, accountability, and real work from members.
These requirements are not arbitrary — they are organic, and they naturally suppress toxic behavior. That is what 146 years of institutional experience brings to the table.
At the local level
The image many of you have seen represents two realities at once. At the center is the same corrupt political circle that existed in 2005 — surrounded by those who went along with it.
In 2008, I was publicly outed as a Socialist. The response was immediate and blunt: “We are not Socialists.” From that point on, I was slowly pushed aside.
At the time, I was working the graveyard shift as a computer engineer at Time Warner Cable. Side by side with my IBEW Local 3 coworkers, I realized something very clearly: we were all peons in a corporate game — a game regulated by the same people in that picture.
I am certain the same dynamic exists in your communities.
On the International Level
The same exclusionary behavior played out with the Socialist International, which organized meetings without including us.
I equate that behavior to colonialism: coming into someone else’s house, claiming to want to fix the world, but refusing to invite the people who live there.
One clear example of this behavior is the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, based in Berlin.
In the United States — particularly in Washington, D.C. and New York City — the Foundation has chosen to align itself closely with liberal political institutions and figures, while excluding actual American Social Democrats from meaningful participation.
In December, the Foundation organized a North–South Forum. I personally reached out to the organizers to request that American Social Democrats be included in the discussion.
I wish them good luck without our American participation.
The same exclusionary pattern occurred with the Socialist International, which organized meetings in the United States without inviting us.
I can only describe this behavior as colonial in nature: coming into our house, claiming to want to fix the world, while refusing to invite the people who actually live here. That approach will not work.
No one fixes the world by pushing Americans aside — just as no one fixes it by excluding Europeans, Africans, Asians, or Latin Americans. International solidarity cannot be built on selective inclusion.
Today, Donald Trump and ICE are deliberately cultivating fear. Many international socialists are falling prey to that fear and choosing safety over solidarity. I understand the instinct — but we cannot accept it.
That is why I will be lobbying City Councils and Community Boards to push for the 2026 UN General Assembly to be held in Geneva, and for the NYPD overtime funds otherwise used for security to be spent instead on the people of New York.
The Reality of Organizing: 68 Hours Per Year
Across the country, people tell me the same thing: “I don’t have the time to organize.”
The truth is that SDA is about training leaders — and leadership is about efficiency, not endless meetings or reinventing the wheel at bake sales.
Using the New York model, organizing SDA takes approximately 68 hours per year.
This is the entire SDA calendar for 2026 in New York City:
About 3 hours of petitioning on your own block between February 24, 2026 and April 2, 2026
Tabling on February 22, 2026 and March 30, 2026
One SDA salon toward the end of January
One SDA salon in April to review our accomplishments in recruiting candidates
One SDA salon in May for open discussion
Before June 23, 2026, participate in the campaign by going door-to-door, asking neighbors whether they have voted, and encouraging them to vote for SDA candidates
July: regular SDA salon to identify SDA candidates to run for County Committee chair positions in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn
August: regular SDA salon to review our plans for the September County Committee elections
September: approximately 6 hours of tabling at Democratic Party events in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn
October: regular SDA salon to coordinate participation in the general election, including BOE workers, poll watchers, and international observers
November: regular SDA salon to prepare for the Staten Island and Manhattan County Committees
December: regular SDA salon to review the year
That is the entire year!
Organized correctly, we do not need chaos, burnout, or last-minute panic. Depending on your county, it may require even less time.
Ballot access in New York City
In 100 days, we will submit petitions to get on the ballot in New York City. At this moment, Paperboy Love Prince and I are the only Social Democratic Socialist candidates in the United States in 2026.
That is not enough! We need more candidates, more organizers, and more comrades willing to step forward and commit 68 hours a year.
Becoming a Socialist takes time. Our bylaws are clear: three years of active membership are required before running under the SDA banner.
You can see how easy it is to identify the Socialist slate here: https://repmyblock.org/TSOL/voter/guide.
Rep My Block and the Political Center
Rep My Block is open-source software.
The code is free, public, and open to improvement: https://github.com/repmyblock.
It follows the same principles pioneered by the Green Papers: free, no ads, no manipulation — just information: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/upshot/the-secretive-duo-guiding-the-delegate-count.html.
Rep My Block is explicitly modeled on that approach: plain data, presented clearly, without monetization or political interference.
I have been in discussions with the Green Papers team about active collaboration, so that we do not duplicate work while collecting the same underlying data for different analytical purposes.
A beta version of the upcoming voter guide is already available here: https://beta.repmyblock.org.
As shown in the usage graphs, voters primarily seek voter information in the days immediately before an election, while candidates engage earlier, during the petitioning window. Rep My Block is designed to serve both needs at the correct moment.
This data feeds directly into the European Model and American Model, generating live political-spectrum graphs. As candidates declare, file petitions, and campaign, we will be able to watch the Overton Window move in real time.
I published a detailed Reddit post explaining both models and why political representation in the United States is structurally distorted when compared to Europe: https://www.reddit.com/r/DemocraticSocialism/comments/1plg0fx/comment/nts7814.
Using the European model of representation, the political left in Europe occupies a clear, visible space. In the United States, that same space is fragmented, mislabeled, or pushed out of view. Rep My Block exists to make those distortions visible — and correctable.
My goal with Rep My Block is to have these graphs update automatically over time, based on data provided directly by candidates as they declare, file petitions, campaign, and govern.
I refer to this evolving system as the Political Center: https://politicalcenter.org.
The objective is simple: to create a living political map that reflects reality as it changes — not static labels, not pundit narratives, but data-driven political positioning updated in real time.
Why Membership Matters
To end the toxicity — locally and internationally — we need members.
The constant attempt to undermine SDA always comes back to one thing: questioning our numbers. Our bylaws are clear. Voting membership runs January 1 to December 31.
Politics is not a science. It is about human behavior, trust, and leverage. SDA has created the leverage necessary to remove toxic actors who place personal agendas above collective progress.
Voters no longer trust us because politics has become toxic.
We are watching that toxicity destroy others. Even our comrade Keir Starmer is paying the price, with polling predicting catastrophic losses for UK Labour.
Suddenly, SDA does not look so bad.
SDA does not rely on outside organizations. Everything we build from here forward will be built by American members. SDA has it’s consituted does not require the help any outside organization so, anything we build from now on can only be because of the American membership.
Looking Ahead to 2026
My hope for 2026 is that this newsletter becomes positive — reflecting real international organizing with comrades who have quietly supported our growth. Some names must remain private for now, because association still carries risk.
Finally, I ask everyone to become an official member:
Non-Voting Membership: https://socialists.us/non-voting/index/join or
Voting Membership: https://socialists.us/voting/calculate/join member.
If we do this right — 65–68 hours per comrade per year — we can end the toxic cycle, regain voter trust, and build something durable.
Happy New Year !
In solidarity,
Hasta la victoria, ¡siempre!
Theo