Columbus DSA

Building democratic socialism for over 30 years. The earth for all the people: that is our demand.

We are the Columbus Ohio chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). As a political activist group, our efforts involve many movements and ideas to progressively evolve the world into a more equitable society. We are affiliated with Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the United States.

05/30/2026

At-large voting has produced a culture of auto-pilot governance by electeds who acquiesce to the demands of the donor class instead of their constituents, the most recent example of which is the handover of McCoy Park to the Haslam Sports Group.

05/26/2026

Join us for Sewcialists: in the Park, our popular creating-based social! This is a time for community members to enjoy the outdoors and share space and ideas, while working on their personal projects and passions.

2-4pm Sunday, May 31
Goodale Park (120 W Goodale St)
next to the playground

*All are welcome! You do not have to be a DSA member to attend

Knitting, crochet, making zines, sewing, painting, drawing, coding, making a D&D character, or whatever you are working on, join us and hang out with others.

Not working on any projects, but still want to hang out, you are more than welcome to still join!

05/21/2026

This Saturday, May 23rd from 11am - 5pm, we will be at Land Grant (424 W Town St) canvassing Strawberry Jam! Join us to help gather signatures for our amendment to create a real District system and bring democracy to Columbus City Council elections!

We will meet in the picnic table area (purple circle on map), come by to help at any time! There will be canvass leads posted up there the whole time.

We’ll have a brief training, so no experience required!

05/15/2026

Labor Social is this Wednesday at Seventh Son (1104 N 4th St), 2nd floor, from 7-9pm, we hope to see you there!

Workers and labor organizers from all over Central Ohio get together, talk about labor organizing, share struggles in our unions and get to know each other. Everyone is welcome whether you’re a union member or not(yet), a union activist, or just someone who is a fan of unions!

05/13/2026

This Saturday, May 16th from 10am - 3pm, we will be in German Village canvassing Village Valuables! Join us to help gather signatures for our amendment to create a real District system and bring democracy to Columbus City Council elections!

We will meet out front of the Schiller Community Center (1069 Jaeger St), come by to help at any time! There will be canvass leads posted up near the entrance the whole time.

We’ll have a brief training, so no experience required!

Sign up here: https://secure.ngpvan.com/n2Ypv4GnskKC3tT1aZgDzQ2

05/07/2026

Join us this Saturday, May 9th, at 11am, for our General Meeting, at the Martin Luther King Library, (1467 E Long St). We’ll be voting on two things this month, a resolution to centralize chapter work to Discord and a resolution to update the Creating Democracy in Columbus Campaign reauth documents.

RSVP: https://dsacb.us/GMattendance

Food & childcare will be available
Mask provided & required

05/04/2026

Columbus City Council’s Attempt to Co-Opt Our City, Our Say Ballot Initiative

A statement from our Creating Democracy in Columbus Campaign
https://www.columbusdsa.org/2026/05/04/columbus-city-councils-attempt-to-co-opt-our-city-our-say-ballot-initiative/

Today Columbus City Council is hosting a “community conversation” on the current voting system for City Council Districts. Since last spring, Columbus DSA has led the actual community conversation in Columbus on the issue of City Council Districts. Residents are sick and tired of their elected officials ignoring their neighborhood concerns while turning around and giving billionaires anything they want without question. The recent McCoy Park debacle exposes just this: the interests of the billionaire class are served over those of the residents of this city. And we saw City Council respond in their usual way: deflecting blame and performative response while maintaining the status quo. Today is no different.

Columbus’ current City Council voting system is a farce, the so-called “Districts” in this model are an illusion having no actual impact. Because we maintain at-large voting, requiring a candidate to win votes across the entire city and not just their “District”, these “Districts” could simply not exist and the outcome of the elections would be the same, as we saw in November.

At-large voting favors the well-funded and those in power at the expense of real community representation. It is why most cities have abandoned at-large elections for city council seats. Columbus is one of the very few cities of its size in this country still using this archaic system.

Our proposal is simple: eliminate at-large voting and make the Districts real. In order to represent a District, you must win the election in just that District. This gives neighborhoods a real say in who represents them in city government and makes candidates answerable to their neighbors.

We are happy to see the issue has captured Council’s attention, but we should set the record straight as to what is actually going on today: an attempt to co-opt a citizen-led initiative to build our own power. Council is not holding this hearing for the working people of this city but for their own benefit.

If Council truly cares about the District issue, they should drop the pretenses and just let us get on with our good work. We don’t want to see Council attempt to redirect this energy into any proposal retaining at-large seats. We don’t want to see any competing proposals that would confuse voters. The Our City Our Say coalition is working towards a simple true-districts amendment for this November’s election. We look forward to winning real representation for the people of Columbus!

05/01/2026

Columbus DSA 2026 Primary Election Voter Guide

Read the full text at dsacb.us/VoterGuide

04/27/2026

Join us this Sunday, May 3rd, for our annual May Day Picnic & Labor History Bike Ride Tour at Goodale Park!

PICNIC: noon - 4pm
BIKE RIDE: 2 - 4pm

We will be on the Southside of the park, at the picnic tables, next to the playground. We’ll be grilling burgers & hotdogs(meat & veggie of both), along with snacks & drinks. The bike ride will start at 2pm, be approximately 2 hours long and be around 5 miles in length. The ride will start and stop at Goodale Park. Please arrive by 1:50pm to attend the bike ride. We encourage you to wear red for this ride and don’t forget to bring water!

May 1st, known as May Day, is also International Labor Day. This date was chosen to commemorate the Haymarket Affair, the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. What better way to celebrate than learning about your own local labor history? Join Columbus DSA for a labor history bike tour of Columbus!

Our bike ride will show that the struggles of yesteryear are still today’s struggles, but despite that, change and progress are possible in Columbus. Learning the context of where we’ve been can help with understanding where we’re going and where we can see mirrors. In some ways, our tour of Columbus will feel like a ghost tour of labor horrors past - places that once stood and held the power of the people that are no longer standing. Disappointments and bitter defeats alongside some hard fought wins. Some things unexpected out of the city we know. Ultimately, our bike tour will be about the universality of our struggle and solidarity with workers in our city and the world over.

You’ll also have the opportunity to experience every different aspect of Columbus’ bike infrastructure: the good, the bad and the ugly.

04/24/2026

Join us from noon - 4pm at Scioto Audubon Metro Park (400 W Whittier St), to gather signatures for our amendment to create real Districts for Columbus City Council elections, at the Earth Day Celebration hosted by Green Columbus.

There will be canvass leads posted up near the restrooms (pointed out in the second image) the whole time, stop there first when you arrive to get materials.

We’ll have a brief training, so no experience required! Come by to help at any time, all are welcome!

Address

Columbus, OH

Telephone

+16149642372

Website

https://www.columbusdsa.org/, https://linktr.ee/dsacbus

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