06/10/2026
We did not get the results we hoped for in Val & Shaun's races. We knew going in to these campaigns that we faced long odds against incumbents and their corporate backers.
Despite the loss, we can take pride in the incredible work our chapter put into these campaigns. Our electoral program has grown and improved significantly since our last race in 2024. This year, we mobilized 116 volunteers who knocked on 17,000 doors and made 140,000 calls. We trained a dozen members to be canvass and phonebank leads, and welcomed over 50 new members to our chapter during the course of the campaigns.
We're grateful for every single volunteer who spent their free time on these campaigns over the last few months. It was hard work, especially as the weather grew warmer, but we all kept showing up regardless. Even though we didn't get the outcome we hoped, we had thousands of conversations with our neighbors and made connections that will last beyond an election cycle.
We want to extend a special thank you the campaign leadership team who made it all happen: our working-class candidates Val & Shaun, Val's campaign steward & electoral working group steward Brady, Shaun's campaign steward Zoe, electoral working group steward Abe, and LVDSA co-chair Tiffany. We know they are all feeling this loss after putting so much time and energy into these campaigns. We appreciate their dedication and the outstanding organizing they did over the last six months.
So, what now? Our electoral working group will be poring through the data and planning the future of our electoral work together, and we'll continue showing up for our community like we've always done. If you'd like to get involved, visit lvdsa.org/join to become a member.
The fight continues 🌹
