How NYC DSA Won; Junk Fees Hit Tenants w/ Grace Mausser, Gustavo Gordillo, Tracie McMillan | MR Live
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Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖NYC DSA achieved massive victories in recent primaries, winning three out of four state assembly races and two congressional endorsements.
- ❖The Democratic Party's consultant class is criticized for incentivizing expensive digital and TV ads over effective grassroots organizing, due to commission structures.
- ❖Hakeem Jeffries' claims about voter priorities and district demographics are debunked with data showing strong progressive support among diverse working-class communities.
- ❖DSA's success is attributed to its democratic internal processes, collective ownership of endorsements, and a consistent focus on issues like taxing the rich, housing affordability, and anti-war stances.
- ❖Property management giant Greystar, managing over a million units, employs numerous 'junk fees' (e.g., boiler management, pet rent, property tax payments) to increase revenue beyond advertised rent.
- ❖These fees exploit regulatory gray areas and often make it impossible for tenants to avoid falling behind on rent, even for basic building utilities like water and trash.
Insights
1DSA's Grassroots Model Outperforms Corporate Democratic Strategy
The New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) secured significant primary victories by prioritizing grassroots organizing, volunteer power, and a broad working-class coalition. This contrasts with the mainstream Democratic Party's reliance on a 'consultant class' that profits from expensive digital and TV ads, leading to ineffective campaigns and a narrowed voter base focused on upper-middle-class professionals.
NYC DSA co-chairs Grace Mausser and Gustavo Gordillo reported over 9,000 volunteers knocking on 700,000 doors. The host details how consultants earn commissions from large-scale ad buys, unlike canvassing or phone banking, which are volunteer-driven. DSA won three of four state assembly races without endorsements from prominent figures, and their congressional candidates Darrelissa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez also secured wins.
2Democratic Establishment Misrepresents Progressive Voter Base
Democratic leaders like Hakeem Jeffries are accused of mischaracterizing the demographics and political priorities of districts where progressive candidates win. They downplay the broad support for progressive issues, particularly among working-class and minority communities, and falsely attribute wins to 'higher-income' districts or single issues like the Middle East conflict.
Jeffries claimed an 'outsized focus on issues connected to the Middle East' in 'higher-income' districts (). The host refutes this with polling data showing 80% of the Democratic base nationally, and a majority in NYC, rejects Zionism and supports cutting arms to Israel (). Data for Darrelissa Avila Chevalier's district (NY-13) shows it's 25% in poverty, 50% Hispanic, and 25% Black, with Chevalier winning black voters and 48% of Hispanic precincts (). Claire Valdez's district (NY-7) is 19% in poverty, 33% Hispanic, 12% Asian, and 9% Black, with Valdez winning 62.5% in Hispanic precincts ().
3DSA's Internal Democracy Fosters Member Ownership and Unity
NYC DSA's strength lies in its deeply democratic internal processes, where members collectively make strategic decisions and feel ownership over endorsed campaigns. This contrasts with the top-down, gatekeeping approach of the mainstream Democratic Party, which often disregards primary results and member input.
Grace Mausser states DSA's endorsements result from a 'long and arduous process' that thousands feel ownership over (). Gustavo Gordillo explains a three-step voting process for every political endorsement, where co-chairs cannot overturn member votes (). This internal culture of debate and unity, even amidst disagreements, ensures collective commitment to priorities.
4Landlords Exploit Regulatory Gaps with Predatory 'Junk Fees'
Large property management companies, exemplified by Greystar, are systematically increasing revenue by charging renters a multitude of 'junk fees' on top of advertised rent. These fees exploit a regulatory gray area at local and federal levels, making housing less affordable and creating an incentive structure that prioritizes profit maximization over tenant well-being or property maintenance.
Tracy McMillan's investigation found Greystar, the largest apartment manager in the US (over 1 million units), uses 125 different named fees across leases, with about half being mandatory (). Examples include boiler management, variable refrigerant flow, and even property tax payments (). Pet fees are layered with one-time charges, monthly rent, and deposits, sometimes involving third-party 'pet management' services like Pooprintz for DNA testing animal excrement (). Leases are often structured so unpaid fees are prioritized over rent, leading to eviction risk.
Bottom Line
The Democratic Party's 'consultant class' model, which prioritizes large-scale digital and TV ad buys for commission, actively disincentivizes effective, low-cost grassroots organizing, thereby weakening the party's ability to build broad working-class coalitions.
This structural incentive within the Democratic Party explains its perceived disconnect from working-class voters and its struggle against populist movements, as its internal financial mechanisms are misaligned with effective voter engagement.
Progressive movements can exploit this weakness by doubling down on volunteer-driven, people-powered campaigns, demonstrating a more authentic and effective path to political power that doesn't enrich the consultant class.
The rise of massive property management firms like Greystar, unprecedented in scale, enables the systematic implementation of 'junk fees' across millions of units, leveraging financial technology to extract small amounts from many tenants, which collectively generates billions.
This corporate consolidation in housing management fundamentally alters landlord-tenant dynamics, shifting from a vested interest in long-term property value and tenant satisfaction to short-term profit maximization through fee exploitation and minimal maintenance.
Legislators and tenant advocates can target this specific business model by enacting comprehensive anti-junk fee laws, mandating transparent 'all-in' pricing, and strengthening tenant protections at local and state levels to counter the market power of these conglomerates.
Lessons
- Engage with local progressive organizations like DSA chapters to understand and support grassroots political organizing that prioritizes people power over corporate funding.
- When seeking rental housing, meticulously review lease agreements for all mandatory and variable 'junk fees' beyond base rent, and explicitly ask about utility costs and eviction clauses related to fees.
- Advocate for stronger tenant protections and anti-junk fee legislation at local and state levels to combat predatory practices by large property management companies.
NYC DSA's Winning Strategy for Progressive Electoral Campaigns
Establish a truly democratic internal organization where members collectively make strategic decisions and feel ownership over endorsements.
Prioritize grassroots, volunteer-driven organizing (e.g., door knocking, phone banking) over expensive, consultant-led advertising campaigns.
Develop a clear, consistent working-class economic agenda (e.g., taxing the rich, affordable housing, rent control) that unifies candidates and resonates universally with voters.
Cultivate an internal culture of debate and disagreement without animosity, ensuring unity and collective effort once a majority decision is made.
Use electoral campaigns not just to win, but to build the organization, train new organizers, and expand the movement's capacity for future cycles and non-electoral actions.
Quotes
"The consultant class... they want to run a certain kind of campaign, but an ineffective kind of campaign. And that's the infrastructure that I think is submerged for people. It's not just that the donor class is threatened by socialists and leftists that want to tax them. It's that there is an almost corporate-like structure within the Democratic Party that runs campaigns a certain way because it makes them money."
"It's really never been about one charismatic politician... it's not just about him. He wasn't a fluke. He is a generational political talent, but our movement is not built on singular generational political talents. It's built on the work of people all across the city."
"The way to broaden the coalition and create trust with voters, um, who are cynical about, um, the political system, is by being true to our campaign promises."
"What's interesting to me, too, is that typically you have a candidate, and they make, you know, sometimes outlandish statements on either side of the aisle during a primary... and then they moderate. But, not in the case of the socialists... 'Solidarity forever, abolish ICE, free Palestine, organize your union, and join the DSA.' Those are not the words of a typical candidate moderating, coming to the center, wanting to win independence. Those are the words of someone who is so tethered to an ideology, they are going to take it all the way to the United States Congress."
"Nothing we're doing is illegal. We're not putting anything into leases that's illegal. We think this is fine. You know, 'Show us the law that prevents us from charging these things.'"
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