Here are the details.
A far-left activist organization in Los Angeles has released a detailed policy blueprint that critics say would dramatically reshape the nation’s second-largest city through aggressive government expansion and socialist-style reforms.
The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) recently published a lengthy, roughly 40-page document outlining its vision for transforming city government, housing policy, public safety, energy use, and local elections over the next decade.
According to the document, the group supports using expanded eminent domain powers to transfer privately owned property into government-controlled housing. It also calls for city ownership of key industries, including grocery distribution and other essential services, along with sweeping changes to law enforcement and incarceration.
Public safety reforms outlined in the plan include closing Men’s Central Jail without constructing replacement detention facilities and shifting many policing responsibilities to unarmed civilian responders. Critics argue such proposals could significantly impact crime prevention and public order in Los Angeles.
The agenda also reaches into housing, education, energy, and voting policy. Among the proposals are banning short-term rentals such as Airbnb, repurposing golf courses for housing development, allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, and mandating school curricula centered on social justice principles.
Energy policy plays a central role in the document. The group calls for eliminating all fossil fuel use by 2035 and transferring full control of utilities and energy systems to public ownership. Transportation reforms include making all buses, trains, and bike-share programs free to users.
While the organization remains outside the political mainstream, it is not without influence. The DSA’s Los Angeles chapter reports approximately 3,500 members and has supported several candidates who have won local office. The group has also backed City Council member Nithya Raman, who is currently seeking the mayor’s office.
The document, released in 2025, sharply criticizes what it describes as a “status quo coalition” made up of elected officials, real estate developers, wealthy donors, nonprofit organizations, and union leadership. The group argues these institutions protect entrenched interests rather than working-class residents.
The document claims these sweeping changes could be implemented within six to eight years through coordinated local elections and grassroots organizing efforts.
“We are on the edge of overlapping economic, climate, and moral crises,” the manifesto states, concluding that society must choose between what it calls “socialism or barbarism.”
Major policy proposals outlined in the document include:
- Expanding eminent domain to convert private housing into publicly managed units
- Creating city-owned enterprises and placing essential services under government control
- Closing Men’s Central Jail without replacing it with new detention facilities
- Transitioning to 100% renewable energy and ending fossil fuel use by 2035
- Making all public transportation free across the city
- Public acquisition and operation of all energy utilities
- Repurposing private and public golf courses for housing and park space
- Divesting public pension funds from defense contractors and fossil fuel companies
- Replacing armed police with civilian responders for certain enforcement roles
- Ending public contracts with companies involved in defense or energy production
- Banning unhosted short-term rentals such as Airbnb
- Allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections
- Imposing taxes on vacant housing units
- Expanding rent control statewide and freezing rents during declared emergencies
- Decriminalizing drug possession and funding supervised injection facilities
- Restoring voting rights for all former felons
- Eliminating income-based eligibility requirements for child development programs
For many homeowners, retirees, and long-term taxpayers, the document raises serious questions about property rights, public safety, government spending, and local control. Critics argue the manifesto offers insight into policy ideas that could move from activist circles into city leadership if aligned candidates gain power.
Whether Los Angeles voters support such changes remains uncertain, but the release of the blueprint has intensified debate over the future direction of the city—and the broader political movement behind it.