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This is Proposal 007-16: Call for election of both state Co Chair positions.Please read the proposal and keep comments on the topic of the proposal only. Please suggest any amendments or additions for discussion.Designate your vote by using the following terms: AGREE, BLOCK, or STAND ASIDE. Any blocks will require a vote of the council.Per section 4.3 of the bylaws: All decisions concerning policy, finance, and objectives shall require consensus or a vote of at least 60% of the membership present at a state meeting and/or the Council. The Green Party of Colorado may adopt a party Platform by consensus or a vote of at least 60% of the membership present at a state meeting. Party officers and national representatives shall be chosen by consensus or a vote of at least 60% of members present at the annual meeting.”There are currently eleven ( 11 ) active voting chapters in the Green Party of Colorado. A vote of at least 60% quorum requires at least one response from seven ( 7 ) chapters.Active ChaptersJeffersonAdamsArapahoe CountyDenverDouglasGreater BoulderPikes PeakPlatte Valley Poudre ValleyMesaSan MiguelThe floor is now open for one week of Agreement Seeking (October 16, 2016 - October 23, 2016 ).1. Basic Info:Date proposed: October 15, 2016Name of the sponsor(s): Jeffco Green Party, Greater Boulder Green Party2. Title: Call for election of both state Co Chair positions. 3. Text of the proposal: The sponsors of this proposal believe it would be in the best interest of the Green Party of Colorado to suspend the bylaws and hold immediate elections for both Co-Chair positions for interim terms and a “cooling off” period and then hold elections at the next State Party meeting for full terms. 4. Background: The recent proposal to remove Bill Bartlett from his position as co-chair and his subsequent resignation have created a deep divide in the state party between council members who feel that the accusations against him were based on circumstantial evidence and hearsay and those who feel the accusations were justified and some who feel the accusations were not worthy of a recall. There has been a considerable amount of contention in the leadership of the GPCO between the co-chairs which appears to have led to the recall vote. The divide also seems to have created opposing factions between local chapters that could eventually become a deterrent to cooperation and consensus building within the party and has already become a major obstacle for volunteers attempting to help our candidates. There are allegations regarding co-chair Andrea Merida Cuellar that remain unaddressed. However, the national election is 4 weeks away and this divide is causing an unacceptable level of distraction when our full attention is needed on the elections. Our senate candidate Arn Menconi is now without any co-chair support at the time he needs it the most. Andrea is now the paid regional coordinator for the Jill Stein presidential campaign and her full attention is needed there. To illustrate the seriousness of the unaddressed allegations on one side of the divide, here is a brief summary. There has been a considerable amount of contention between co-chair Andrea Merida Cuellar and several party members, former Bernie Sanders supporters, former Democrats seeking to align themselves with the Green Party, Libertarians who support Jill Stein, and our U.S. Senate candidate, Arn Menconi. Some of these are documented in Facebook posts. There are allegations of expenses having been made without council approval including additional features of NationBuilder and hot spots. There are allegations that the website has been rebuilt by Andrea without collaboration with the website committee or the other co-chair. There is alleged at least the appearance of unprecedented control of the party by one person. There are facebook posts that appear to trivialize the intentions and beliefs of those who are not “working class” as an “academic exercise”. The sponsors of this proposal believe that continuing the blame game and creating further contention at this critical election time will do serious harm to the GPCO. We feel that it would be appropriate to start with a clean slate in regards to the office of co-chairs during a cooling off period and provide an opportunity to elect new and neutral leadership that could bridge the divide that has been created. 5. Justification/Goals: The sponsors of this proposal believe that the current situation is urgent. Volunteers have requested that this situation be resolved no later than 2 weeks prior to the 2016 U. S. general and presidential election, which would be October 25 (the election is November 8th). Therefore a discussion period of three days, and then a voting period of 4 days on this proposal is proposed; Then a nominating period of four days to begin if and when the proposal is passed. This would be followed by three days of voting using Instant Runoff Voting with the results tallied and posted on the Forum by the secretary. Any registered Green would be eligible to be nominated and all registered Greens could vote on the Forum. Andrea Merida-Cuellar and Bill Bartlett would be ineligible for the interim election but would be eligible for nomination at the next state meeting. 6. Pros: By holding new interim elections for both co chair positions the GPCO would have an opportunity to begin to heal the divide that has been created by electing, new, objective leadership who can give support to all Colorado candidates at this crucial time. Cons: Not holding new co chair elections would perpetuate the current divide and opposing factions in the party and be an ongoing deterrent to the future progress of the GPCO. 7. Alternatives to the proposal: Eliminating the position of co-chairs and conduct the business of the GPCO entirely through the consensus of the state council. SIDE NOTE: I will be moving back to Colorado Springs from Pueblo this upcoming week, so I may be delayed in tallying votes. Additionally, I'd like to put together a list of all active council members and their contact information for my notes as Council Facilitator. If every active council member could please email me at Brittany.HooverATC@gmail.com and let me know what Chapter you represent and primary email address, that would help me out a great deal. Thanks in advanced.
AGREEWe received feedback from campaign volunteers that they are hamstrung by having to spend time discussing the co-chair situation (Bill's recall) and try to explain that rather than being able to discuss issues and the candidates. I have also talked to Arn who is frustrated at now having no co-chair support. The allegations about the current co-chair are at least as serious as those claimed against Bill. Therefore I agree that we need a clean slate at least during the elections and then time to have discussions (after the November 8 election) about how to move forward. A new election at the next state meeting could re-affirm support for Andrea or go in a different direction dependent upon the discussions between now and then.If Andrea would like to voluntarily step down to facilitate this process, that would be a great gesture and appreciated. She could focus on Jill's campaign and the GPCO could more quickly elect interim co-chairs to do the best we can in the time remaining until the November 8 election.Michael HaugheyJefferson County Green Party
Agree. I would prefer to see no co-chairs for the time being until the Colorado Green Party can get its affairs in order and then elect co-chairs at the next annual meeting. I feel that the state party has lost its way this election season with unsubstantiated accusations, purposeful name calling, and a general sense of “my way or the highway” thinking. We should be fostering a sense of community, unity, and solidarity with each other and others that want to join us in saving this world. Instead I feel leadership has failed at this endeavor at a really historic time in politics.
The proposal sponsors (Boulder and Jefferson) accept the one week of agreement seeking as stated in the introduction to the proposal.Michael HaugheyJefferson County Green Party
Four chapters have voted. An additional 3 are needed to reach Quorum. I realize that this is a sensitive topic, but the lack of response by so many chapters is concerning. If you disagree, block the proposal. If you wish to remain neutral, vote stand aside. A lack of willingness to address leadership issues within the party sets a dangerous precedent. The council can't just ignore this and hope it goes away. It will tear this state party apart. Regardless of your stance, it needs to be addressed.
BLOCKI fully support Andrea Mérida Cuéllare. She has been an invaluable resource and mentor to me as a leader in our party. As I see it, she has done nothing that could be construed as inconsistent with the 10 Key Values. Her work as co-chair of both the state and national parties as well as within the Latinx caucus has greatly contributed to the recent successes of our party. She is the most politically intersectional person I know. As a Xicano, I feel that race is the primary motivation for this proposal.
The proposal has been blocked and will be moving over to the Council vote as soon as I can move it. Joseph, please be ready to back your claim that this proposal is motivated by race. I do my best to remain as neutral as possible as council facilitator but that accusation seems outlandish. Let's keep this professional and on topic.
Come on folks you really shouldn't “cry wolf” with the race card. The issues were clearly stated in the proposal and playing the race card every time someone disagrees with you will only make future such claims less credible.Kevin Alumbaugh
Typographical errors aside, my words were carefully chosen. I have numerous email threads saved to my inbox with detailed complaints against Andrea, and unfortunately most of them center around conversations about race and transgender issues. What is the best way to include these email threads in the discussion? Is it possible to attach a word document?
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