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This is Proposal 008-15: Amendment to the Bylaws: Chapter AccreditationPlease read the proposal and keep comments on the topic of the proposal only.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 GPCO 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".There are currently eight ( 8 ) active voting chapters in the Green Party of Colorado. A vote of at lease 60% quorum requires at lease one response from five ( 5 ) chapters.Active ChaptersAdams/JeffersonArapahoe CountyDenverDouglasGreater BoulderPikes PeakSan MiguelSouthwestThe floor is now open for one week of Agreement Seeking (August 31st, 2015).Thank You,Brittany Hoover, Council Facillitator1. Basic Info:Date proposed: August 23, 2015Name of the sponsor(s): Andrea Merida, Bill Bartlett2. Title: Amendment to the Bylaws: Chapter Accreditation3. Text of the actual Proposal:Article III, section 1 of the bylaws shall be amended to read:A Green Local must agree to: * Accept the Ten Key Values and to manage the chapter in accordance with those values. * Abide by the bylaws of the Green Party of Colorado. * Openly support only the national candidates selected by Green convention, state level candidates nominated at a Green Party of Colorado nominating convention, and local candidates selected with the criteria specified in sections 4.5.4 and 4.5.5 of these bylaws. * Make a good faith effort, where reasonable, to increase the number of Green voter registrations within the boundaries of their chapter. * Make a good faith effort to run state and local candidates. * Make a good faith effort to increase the number of qualified voting members within their chapter. * Make a good faith effort to fundraise for the operation of their chapter and to assist in the operation of the Green Party of Colorado. * Demonstrate evidence of commitment to, and good faith efforts to achieve, gender balance in party leadership and representation. * Demonstrate evidence of good faith efforts to empower individuals and groups from oppressed communities, through, for example, leadership responsibilities, identity caucuses and alliances with community-based organizations, and endorsements of issues and policies.Chapter officers and council representatives must not have been registered as a member of a political party other than the Green Party of Colorado for at least thirty days before nomination and must maintain registration as a Green Party of Colorado voter throughout the duration of the officer's/representative's term.A Green local must present its proposed bylaws for approval, and be approved by 60% of the voting Greens at a state party meeting, or by the state council.4. Background: At present, our bylaws language places more party affiliation requirements on candidates seeking nomination than on the chapter itself. This language is intended to align the two issues.5. Justification/Goals: To provide some guidelines and standards for Green Locals and Officers.6. Pros and Cons: These changes give some guidance to present and future Green Locals about how they are expected to operate, benchmarks for success, and standards for maintaining their affiliation with the Green Party of Colorado. There are drawbacks to some of this language; some people may be less interested in being an Officer knowing they cannot change their affiliation to participate in other party's electoral processes.7. Alternatives to the proposal: Take no action, remove the Officer party registration constraints.8. References: See the GPCO Bylaws.
Do not agree as worded. Too much micro-managing. All the good faith efforts require time that some chapter volunteers/officers do not have. Also, the statement to support “only…” could be interpreted to apply to issues as well. It also does not address supporting other party candidates when there is no Green Party candidate for a particular office.I think it needs work before voting. As worded I would vote no.Michael HaugheyAJ Greens
Michael, Can you clarify your vote? As stated in the proposal: agree, stand aside, and block are acceptable forms of voting. A blocking vote from you will halt agreement seeking and move the proposal to a vote instead. A stand aside vote will keep the proposal here until enough "agree" votes have been reached.
Agree. I was a little hesitant about making these changes, but we need some ways for the state to at least give guidance to new (and existing) local chapters about how they operate and how they might be expected to perform. The reason we used the phrase "good faith effort" is to keep it open to interpretation. We could play with the language but the intent is that we would like local chapters to be doing their best at things like increasing voter registration, doing fundraisers, supporting candidates, maintaining balance in leadership roles, etc..
I am classifying Michaels vote as a stand aside until I hear otherwise from him. With that, the proposal has passed withOut consensus but within parameters.Final Tally:9 Agree1 Stand Aside0 Block6/8 Chapters Voting.
I am persuaded by Michael Haughey's position:
Posted by: Michael Haughey « on: August 25, 2015, 05:47:03 PM » Do not agree as worded. Too much micro-managing. . . . It also does not address supporting other party candidates when there is no Green Party candidate for a particular office.I think it needs work before voting. As worded I would vote no.
My position is BLOCK. At this point only three chapters are in agreement with the proposal (Denver, Douglas, and Pikes Peak). I think the general membership should be allowed to vote on this proposal at the annual meeting. Failing that, I call on the sponsors of this proposal to withdraw it. Harry Hempy, Greater Boulder Greens
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