Dieter L-M is a member of Metro DC DSA and an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Washington, DC.
WHEN ZOHRAN MAMDANI became the assemblymember for Astoria in 2021, he transformed a community’s despair into action. Residents like Leah McVeigh, who had long struggled with a dangerous intersection, found in Mamdani a leader who not only listened but delivered change. This is the essence of “sewer socialism” — local, tangible governance that addresses immediate needs and builds trust. The term harkens back to the early 20th-century socialist mayors of Milwaukee, like Emil Seidel and Daniel Hoan, who earned working-class loyalty by improving sewers, sanitation, and public services — proving that socialists could govern competently and deliver real results.
Metro DC DSA members have long debated what kinds of power DSA should pursue locally in the pages of the Washington Socialist. In How Socialists Can Flood the Zone in DC’s Local Politics, I argued that our chapter should run socialists for as many Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) seats as possible — that mass participation could be a proving ground for socialist governance. An article published earlier this year by comrade Patrick D — Against ANCs Altogether —took the opposite view, contending that these positions lack real authority and drain organizing capacity. Both arguments identify something real: ANCs are limited in formal power, yet uniquely positioned at the intersection of state and community life.
As a sitting commissioner and DSA member, I’ve seen firsthand how these hyperlocal offices can serve the socialist movement — not as vehicles for seizing power, but as tools for building it. When used strategically, ANCs can deliver for working-class neighborhoods, develop future cadre leaders, and build community trust in the socialist project.
ANCs receive official government email addresses, parking permits, and direct access to DC agencies — tools that let commissioners serve residents effectively. Agencies respond far more readily to elected officials than to private citizens, making ANCs a living directory of District resources. This access allows commissioners to navigate bureaucracy and address neighborhood problems, from helping small businesses avoid displacement to protecting affordable housing and mediating disputes that affect working-class families.
For example, recently I coordinated a walk-through of a working-class, predominantly migrant housing complex in my Single Member District. (Single Member Districts, or SMDs, are the smallest political units in DC and are each made up of about 2,000 residents. Every ANC is divided into multiple SMDs, and each elects one commissioner.) Officials from the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services (MOCRS), the Departments of Buildings and Health, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Tenant Advocate, and even Councilmember Brianne Nadeau came to witness firsthand the deplorable conditions tenants endure — and to hear how developers were exploiting them as they pursue their TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) rights. It was the kind of action that could only happen through the access and credibility an ANC office provides.
ANCs can also take bold stances to defend residents. This year, I collaborated with Metro DC DSA’s Abolition Working Group to introduce and pass a resolution condemning the reinstatement of two Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers who shot and killed Kyron Hilton-Brown. Hilton-Brown, a 20-year-old Black man, was unarmed when police fatally shot him after an alleged traffic stop in 2020 — a tragedy that underscored the deep racial inequities and lack of accountability in DC policing. The resolution sent a clear message: neighborhood leadership must stand with working-class communities and hold institutions accountable. Even more powerful, it inspired other organizers to bring similar resolutions to their own ANCs. For example, two comrades in ANC 2C got their commission to pass a resolution disapproving the use of MPD to help Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) break into the US Institute of Peace (USIP).
These kinds of ripples show how ANCs, even without formal authority, can connect across neighborhood lines to amplify working-class demands citywide. Actions both practical and symbolic demonstrate that ANCs can defend working-class interests while challenging entrenched power. None of this would have been possible solely as an organizer; ANCs and organizers must work in tandem, leveraging both official channels and grassroots networks.
ANCs are a proving ground for the next generation of working-class leadership. Commissioners gain hands-on experience navigating local bureaucracy, mediating conflicts, and representing constituents’ material interests. That work doesn’t just build skills. It delivers tangible improvements, like negotiating community benefits from developers, shaping liquor and cannabis licensing to protect neighbors, or holding local institutions accountable through testimony and oversight. These are not abstract victories; they’re the kind of concrete, working-class governance that makes socialism visible in everyday life.
I first ran for ANC during the COVID-19 pandemic, after learning about the role through now Councilmember Janeese Lewis George’s first campaign. My own commissioner was retiring, and the barrier to entry was low — only 10 signatures were needed at the time. Since then, I’ve chaired my commission, now serve as treasurer, and lead a committee on housing and zoning. Along the way, I’ve learned how to navigate complex issues, testify effectively, and work with businesses, schools, churches, and neighbors who don’t always share my politics. It’s been an invaluable education in governance and organizing alike.
Equally important, ANCs prevent elite-aligned actors from dominating local decision-making. In my own work, I’ve partnered with union organizers in our chapter to push for labor-friendly language in settlement agreements during ongoing disputes with local restaurants — language “encourag[ing] and expect[ing] license holders to act to resolve labor disputes quickly and fairly in order to minimize disruption” to neighbors. Embedding such principles into local processes ensures that neighborhood policy reflects working-class interests, not corporate or speculative priorities.
By placing committed organizers in these roles, we keep decision-making rooted in the people who actually live and work in our neighborhoods. ANCs are both a leadership incubator and a safeguard against bad-faith capture of community power — training leaders who can defend and expand working-class influence across the District.
Serving on an ANC offers a crash course in how power operates — and how it can be wielded in the public’s interest. It’s not abstract policy work; it’s the daily practice of coordinating agencies, solving problems, and winning real improvements for neighbors. Over the past two years, our commission has partnered with other Ward 4 commissioners to organize a citywide Tenant Resource Fair, bringing together government agencies, nonprofits, and community organizations to connect tenants with rental assistance, legal aid, and other critical services. The effort showed what democratic governance can look like when working people set the agenda: government made accessible, responsive, and accountable to those it’s meant to serve.
ANCs also provide essential experience mediating conflict and finding pragmatic solutions. A couple months ago, I met with residents in my district to mediate a dispute with developers planning a neighborhood redevelopment. Through discussion and negotiation, we secured commitments from the developer to include more housing units while reducing parking spaces — a small but meaningful win for affordability and sustainability. These experiences build the listening, diplomacy, and problem-solving skills that every movement needs in its future leaders.
By selectively recruiting organizers who can dedicate themselves to constituent work, Metro DC DSA can maximize the ANC’s potential without overextending resources. Serving as a commissioner allows organizers to put socialism into practice: neighbors witness tangible results, working-class communities gain confidence in their leaders, and organizers develop the credibility to expand their impact citywide. ANCs are a proving ground not only for leadership but for building trust in the socialist project — showing that local power, cultivated through everyday action, can transform communities.
Zohran Mamdani’s victory in June’s New York City Democratic primary offers a powerful lesson: sewer socialism works. It shows that winning over working-class communities happens through tangible, everyday action. Here in DC, ANCs provide the same opportunity on a neighborhood scale. When pursued strategically, ANC positions help us as socialists to deliver material improvements for working-class neighborhoods, develop future leftist leaders, and build community trust in the socialist project.
These small but powerful roles demonstrate that socialism is not just theory; it’s action that improves lives and earns the confidence of working-class residents — block by block. If you want to strengthen this foundation, the first step is simple: get involved with your ANC. Find out which SMD you live in, show up to a monthly meeting, or send an email about an issue that matters to you. Many ANCs also have committees where neighbors can help shape decisions on housing, public safety, transportation, and more.
By taking even these small steps, we make our neighborhoods stronger — and we build the habits of collective action that can carry forward into broader struggles for socialism across the District.
