The rise of Democratic socialist in local politics
The rise of Democratic socialist in local politics
Syracuse will have two Democratic Socialist candidates on the ballot in November, following a nationwide trend. This is what democratic socialism could mean for local politics
In June 2025, the Syracuse chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) attended the Syracuse Pride event near Onondaga Lake. The local chapter received a shout out on Syracuse’s reddit page for providing free water, sunscreen and snacks to paradegoers.
Most commenters praised the DSA’s generosity, but not everyone felt the same.
Reddit user TomorrowLittle741 snarkily commented that they “liked private property.”
“It really sucks that the whole chapter has to share one toothbrush-who gets it this week?” said Amelia Bittel, secretary treasurer and mutual aid co-chair for the Syracuse chapter of the DSA, in a later conversation about the post.
DSA candidates are winning primaries not only on the federal level, but on the state and local levels as well. Primary elections were held June 23 in NY’s 129th District.
The ballot included Bill Magnarelli, the incumbent who has held office for nearly 30 years, and Maurice “Mo” Brown, a current Onondaga County legislator and DSA candidate. Brown won the primary by 104 votes. Until this year no one had run against Magnarelli in the primaries.
“Generally, it’s the fact that everything is kind of terrible right now,” said Lore Kinnie, communications organizer for the Syracuse chapter of the DSA.“Everything is expensive, it doesn’t feel like the government is working toward our interests, nobody can afford to live, nobody can afford to buy a house, you can’t afford food, you can’t afford medicine — people are looking for other options.”
Voters are looking for change that they aren’t seeing with traditional Democrats or Republican candidates. They’re willing to try something new, including Democratic Socialism.
“The tenets really, are taking from where there’s too much, and putting it where there’s not enough,” said Bittel.
Democratic socialism encourages the redistribution of resources to organizations and people who need them the most.
“Tax [corporations] what they owe…and put that back into society,” said Bittel, “The democratic side of it is doing it so that the government isn’t doing it all of their own volition.”
According to a report published by the Pew Research Center in December of 2025, the U.S. continues to experience increasing levels of political polarization, and cities like Syracuse are struggling with rising costs and poverty levels.
“The DSA could make a dent in that, and could make a real change,” said Amy Spitzer, 56, a Syracuse resident and teacher at Jamesville-Dewitt Middle School.
With Election Day nearing, the Syracuse DSA chapter continues its work endorsing their candidates. The chapter thoroughly vets candidates while supporting their work throughout their campaigns.
“There’s a form that [candidates] need to fill out that basically verifies that we’re aligned,” said Kinnie, “but also we have to take an active participation in the campaign.”
Residents have hope for the future of Syracuse if a DSA candidate wins the election in November.
“If you could have seen my face,” said Spitzer. “I just got super optimistic.”
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