As of Wednesday’s vote count, Sawant has a 402 vote lead: Sawant: 83,095 votes = 49.99% Conlin: 82,693 votes = 49.75%
oaklandsocialist
The administrator of this blog site, I am a lifelong socialist and a retired carpenter and the former recording secretary and an expelled member of Carpenters Local 713. I was expelled for my leading role in the 1999 SF Bay Area carpenters wildcat strike as well as for his opposition to the union bureaucracy in general. I was one of the founding members of a small group called Labor Militant, which was the forerunner to Socialist Alternative. Along with a small group of others, I was expelled when that group started to adapt to the union bureaucracy. I have also visited the workers' movement internationally, including in Pakistan, Egypt (during the Arab Spring), Britain, Mexico and Chile (during the uprising there in 2020). Unless otherwise specified, I am the author of the articles that appear here. Although I am the main author, Oaklandsocialist welcomes articles on any issue that relates to the working class. Contact us at Oaklandsocialist@gmail.com.
Sawant in lead
According to the latest news, Sawant is now in the lead by 41 votes. If Sawant wins, look for some “left” Democrats to start to emerge. But don’t be fooled… We need […]
US Secretary of State Kerry in Israel/Palestine
The US Secretary of State Kerry is in Israel/Palestine. He recently gave an interview there with a representative of the Israeli and the Palestinian press. The interview was interesting from several angles. […]
Socialist Sawant nears victory

Socialist candidate for Seattle City Council, Kshama Sawant, appears to be closing in on a victory over a long time incumbent corporate Democrat. Mail-in ballots are being counted and as the later […]
Murder in Greece

Two members of the Greek fascist group “Golden Dawn” have been shot dead on the street. There should be no mistake about who Golden Dawn is. We do not use the term […]
Interview: What is WIN?
“We have no such pretensions. We are simply making a modest contribution towards the development of ideas which we hope will help to clarify the next steps forward. We are a tendency […]
We Overhear the NSA Again
NSA Overheard…. Again On Sunday, October 27, the conservative S.F. Chronicle political columnists Matier & Ross carried a report on how various Democratic politicians pressured the BART Board of Directors to accept […]
South African Union Militant & “Race to Bottom”

This web site recently ran a story on longshore workers in Oakland, California, being led through a picket line by their leadership. It cited what we imagined to be a telephone conversation […]
What is Socialism?
Produced over five years ago, this short pamphlet tries to answer the question “what is socialism?” In doing so, it explains how capitalism developed out of feudalism, how it was a necessary […]
Should socialists support Kshama Sawant?
We have received a critique of the campaign of Kshama Sawant, who is running for Seattle City Council as a member of Socialist Alternative. The critique makes a number of arguments why […]