Misael Ramos is campaigning for Austin City Council’s open District 1 seat while defending a misdemeanor charge tied to a protest over a federal immigration shooting. Austin’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter endorsed him and canvassed close to 7,000 doors for his campaign. The chapter has also added roughly 700 members over the past year, a jump of more than half its prior size.
The arrest traces back to September 20, when 28-year-old Venezuelan food delivery driver Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez was shot by an ICE officer during a traffic stop in North Austin, according to PBS, which reported that federal prosecutors have since charged Garcés Pérez with striking an agent with his vehicle's side mirror. The shooting set off public protests in the city, and six days later, on September 26, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested Ramos, according to KUT Austin. Video showed Ramos handling construction barricades during the demonstration.
Ramos, a DSA member, is one of six candidates running in the November 3 general election for the District 1 seat representing East Austin, a race left open as two-term Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison steps down, per Community Impact. He faces a misdemeanor charge connected to the protest. On the campaign trail, Ramos has advocated for housing for everyone and defunding the police, proposing that the city use public land for affordable housing and redirect police funding toward mental health responders, as reported by the Associated Press.
Housing Affordability in District 1
Housing affordability is a central issue in the race. CBS Austin reported that HousingWorks Austin’s District 1 scorecard, using 2024 data, found more than 11,000 subsidized housing units in the district, while 26% of homeowners and 44% of renters were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing.
Organizing on Housing and Surveillance
Local DSA organizing has combined electoral work with direct services and advocacy. The Associated Press reported that members have tracked ICE raids, trained volunteers to observe and record immigration enforcement, organized alongside labor unions, supported a Starbucks boycott tied to baristas’ contract negotiations, and helped make hundreds of sandwiches for people in need.
Austin DSA also mounted a campaign against automated license plate readers. Austin later withdrew a proposed ALPR program extension after public pushback. In neighboring jurisdictions, Hoodline has reported that Kyle rejected a Flock contract termination and considered a ballot question. At the federal level, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley introduced the Ban Flock Act in October to restrict federal agencies from buying or querying commercial license plate databases, a measure Hoodline covered in its report on Sanders and AOC targeting Flock cameras.
Members and Political Power
The AP also described differing routes members see toward political change: Nathan Fernandes pointed to street protests, aid for unhoused people and city council campaigns as ways to pursue goals including abolishing prisons and achieving universal health care. Mark Ramirez, a 28-year-old software engineer, argued that corporate interests have captured the Democratic Party and that society has the productive capacity to meet needs such as healthcare, food and housing. Clarisse Manuel, 25, said she joined DSA because member power can win concrete results and a mass movement can demonstrate what is achievable.
DSA chapters operate through direct democracy in which every member has a vote, a structural difference from many progressive nonprofits that rely on foundation grants and professional staff, according to The Guardian. Vedros has said abolishing institutions does not mean simply starting from scratch, and the national DSA platform includes steps toward drafting a new constitution, abolishing police and prisons, and doing away with the Senate, pursuing what members describe as building a new society from the ground up to create a real democracy.
National Growth Collides With Midterm Messaging
National DSA membership more than doubled to 126,000 in the past two years, with the Associated Press linking some of the movement’s growth to Zohran Mamdani’s election. Socialist candidates also won Democratic congressional primaries in New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado, part of a trend Republicans have cast as a choice between common sense and communism heading into the midterms.
A later August poll addressed views of capitalism and socialism against a backdrop of shifting public opinion.
In Austin, the chapter’s canvassing for Ramos is unfolding alongside his legal fight. The District 1 seat will be decided November 3; the misdemeanor charge tied to the September protest remains unresolved.
