DSA NPC Statement Censuring — Not Expelling — Danny Fetonte from NPC

NPC Statement on Its Censure of Danny Fetonte and Its Decision to Retain Him on the National Political Committee

August 28, 2017

Decision

On Sunday evening, the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America voted to censure Danny Fetonte, a member of the NPC, for uncomradely and misleading behaviour inconsistent with what is expected of a leader of our movement. In addition, the NPC voted against removing Fetonte from the NPC by a vote of 8.5 against his removal to 7.5 votes for his removal (the half vote result from the YDSA co-chairs splitting their one vote).

This fell short of the 11 votes needed to remove Fetonte from the NPC.

These decisions follow a robust discussion on the appropriate response to Fetonte’s omittance of important information during the most recent national elections. In reaching this decision, NPC gratefully accepted comments from numerous DSA Chapters and Working Groups and sought an amicable resolution by engaging in mediation with Fetonte, which broke down this weekend.

Background

Many local chapters, working groups, and individuals have written emails and submitted resolutions demanding Fetonte’s removal from the NPC due to his omittance of his past employment history during the recent NPC election. While Fetonte is not, and never has been, a police officer, these members have raised concerns that his prior work as a trainer on union matters for an association which organizes police officers is incompatible with our organization’s commitment to the abolition of prisons and the racist police state, as affirmed by the vote on the consent agenda at convention. Additionally, many members expressed concern over the impact that Fetonte’s membership on the NPC has had on our racial justice organizing work, especially in the aftermath of the horrible events in Charlottesville.

At the same time, other members have expressed concerns that Fetonte’s removal from the NPC would set a terrible precedent for due process and minority rights in a “Big Tent” political organization seeking to build a mass movement. They have additionally cited mitigating factors, such as the several years of Fetonte’s employment by CLEAT, the complicated nature of police union affiliations with large unions, his long history of support for the rights of immigrants and LGBTQI people, and his well demonstrated commitment to principles of equality and anti-racism in keeping with the finest traditions of our movement.

Reasoning

In the last week an NPC-appointed mediation team spent over 20 hours attempting to come to a mutually agreeable solution with Fetonte, but said efforts failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. The NPC was then faced with taking action and wanted to do so in a democratic way. In doing so, the NPC was cognizant of both its responsibility to the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws, and to the organization’s political position and work.

There can be no doubt that Fetonte’s behavior during the national elections prevented delegates from receiving all the information necessary to make an informed decision on who to vote for. The outcry which the revelation of Fetonte’s past work history sparked is ample evidence that it would have been relevant information to many delegates when choosing how to vote. Whether Fetonte’s behavior was worthy of condemnation was never in question.

We want to stress the unprecedented nature of these proceedings. There was very little in DSA’s Constitution and Bylaws to establish a clear process or procedure for dealing with this issue, and there was not any historical precedent we could draw on to guide our actions. In the majority’s view, malfeasance only applies to actions as a DSA officer — not before and not as a Co-Chair of his local. In addition, there existed no guidance, in precedent or letter, for not just what constitutes malfeasance but how to fairly reach a determination of malfeasance.

Article VIII of the Constitution, ‘National Political Committee’ reads, in part,

“Section 7. An NPC member may be removed for malfeasance or nonfeasance by a two-thirds vote of the NPC, with nonfeasance defined to include unexcused absences from two or more consecutive meetings.”

Beyond that the Constitution and Bylaws are silent on the removal of a member of the NPC.

The same article also states,

“Section 1. The National Political Committee (NPC) shall be the collective leadership and the highest decision-making body of the organization between meetings of the Convention. It shall meet at least four times a year.”

This gives the NPC the power to lead the organization between conventions.

A resolution was made to remove Fetonte from NPC, which did not pass. Under the constitution, 2/3rds of NPC members must vote yes to remove a member from the body. We have published the votes of the members of NPC in the interest of transparency. They were:

In Favor of Removal

Allie Cohn

Christian Bowe

Delé Balogun

Leslie Driskill

Ravi Ahmad

R.L. Stephens

Zac Echola

Ajmal Alani (one-half of YDS vote)

Against Removal

Catherine Hoffman

Chris Maisano

Chris Riddiough

Ella Mahony

Jeremy Gong

Joseph Schwartz

Natalie Midiri

Theresa Alt

Michelle Fisher (one-half of YDS vote)

The majority of NPC felt there is no support in DSA’s constitution and by-laws for removing Fetonte from the NPC. The actions or inactions he took in running for the NPC do not constitute nonfeasance or malfeasance. We recognize that the omissions by Fetonte in his campaign materials did not violate any of DSA’s existing rules or standards. Overturning the results of a democratic election is something that our rules make intentionally difficult. Given that, the NPC could not remove Fetonte from office.

The NPC also defeated by a vote of 9 no and 7 yes, a subsequent motion to set a date for a hearing on the Fetonte issue and to select a team to draw up charges for a future hearing. The vote here was:

Against the Motion for a future hearing

Christian Bowe

Jeremy Gong

Catherine Hoffman

Ella Mahony

Chris Maisano

Natalie Midiri

Chris Riddiough

Joseph Schwartz

Ajmal Alami

Michelle Fisher (casting one vote as YDS co-chairs)

For a future hearing

Ravi Ahmad

Theresa Alt

Dele Balogun

Allie Cohn

Leslie Driskill

Zac Echola

R.L. Stephens

The NPC also considered organizing a re-vote of all delegates who had voted, on the grounds that the current situation is harmful to DSA and it is the NPC’s job to solve such problems. In the end, we felt it would establish too dramatic a precedent for removing an NPC member from office, without time to think it through, and in a fashion directed by leadership instead of sanctioned by the organization’s rules or our members gathered in convention. It is also not clear whether a re-vote of all delegates is compatible with a ranked choice voting system designed to allow less-voted, ideologically minority candidates onto the NPC.

Conclusion

We recognize that there are members who will not be happy with this outcome. We fully respect the views of these comrades, and share in many of them. Fetonte’s conduct during this controversy has been uncomradely and we understand the frustration of many delegates who say they would not have voted for Fetonte if they had been aware of his employment history as a CLEAT trainer and organizer. There were no good answers here, but we believe that we have come to the best decision, in keeping with the rules of the organization and the principles underlying our movement.

Roughly 2,400 new members have joined DSA since our convention, which concluded only three weeks ago. Only last week, new members from small cities, towns, and rural areas joined our national pre-organizing committee chapter training call to plan and strategize the creation of even more new DSA groups across the country.

The “Big Tent” of DSA allows for differing views on issues and requires comradely and respectful interaction among members. It is one of the main reasons why our organization has been so attractive to so many people. Solidarity is more than a word used to sign emails and put on posters. It is a concept that we must work toward as we struggle for the common good of humanity. No matter where we fell on the question of how to respond to one would-be leader of our movement, we must remain committed to building a stronger DSA in which we can work together, regardless of differences of geography, political tradition, age, and social ties.

The terrible violence in Charlottesville reminds us of the historic mission incumbent to our movement. Our nation faces a decision: socialism or barbarism. We will all need to stand together if we are to win.

Addendum:

Resolution Passed on Censure and Explanation of Majority Actions (by vote of 10–0–6)

Voting for:

Theresa Alt

Christian Bowe

Jeremy Gong

Catherine Hoffmann

Ella Mahony

Chris Maisano

Natalie Midiri

Chris Riddiough

Joseph Schwartz

Ajmal Alami

Michelle Fisher (YDS reps having one vote total)

Abstaining or Absent (at end of call):

Ravi Ahmad

Dele Balogun

Allie Cohn

Leslie Driskill

Zac Echola

R.L. Stephens

To rebuild trust in the organization and to guide our work moving forward, the NPC adopts the following actions, perspectives, and principles: