Summation of the Experience of the Greater Seattle Neighborhood Action Coalition (GSNAC)

(Written in October 2017)

Introduction

Purpose of this document

• Over the last year, the Greater Seattle Neighborhood Action Coalition (GSNAC) has emerged and quickly become a major presence in Seattle’s activist subculture. So, the events of its formation and development are worth studying. It began as a left/liberal coalition and eventually resolved that tension by adopting liberal ideology and practice. So, the experience of revolutionaries’ involvement in GSNAC and of everything that led to the current liberal domination can help us understand the dynamics of left/liberal coalition work and, through negative example, engage with liberals more effectively in the future.
• This document will not refer to individuals by name or focus on personality conflict. Rather, it will provide a critical history of the political dynamics during the first 8 months of GSNAC’s existence, including both good and bad decisions made by revolutionaries during each phase of that time period.

What is GSNAC?

• GSNAC is an organization founded in the Seattle metro area in the week following Trump’s election. It’s made up of Neighborhood Action Councils (NACs) in each city council district, plus a central body, the Delegates Council (initially called the Spokes-Council). It emerged in tandem with two community forums intended to provide a venue for people to…