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To help us chew through some of these political questions regarding what we do in 2018, I've asked one of our Greens to step forward and help us. We are super lucky to count Shelia Canfield-Jones as one of our own now, and she is committed to building the party and putting her shoulder to the plow. I'm super excited about this, and I've asked her to serve as a volunteer political director, as an ad-hoc position.I've been kicking this idea around for a couple years now and almost floated a proposal in 2015. I contemplated the "position" in this way:The goals of the State Political Director will be (a) to recruit and support candidates for elected office in partisan positions and (b) to develop candidates and widen the GPCO voter base by working with specific constituency groups to organize their involvement with the GPCO; for example, labor, seniors, educators, veterans, communities of color, new Americans, environmentalists, and college students, etc. The director will help develop a voter contact plan for particular communities by building relationships with the existing grassroots organizations that organize within these communities. This person should have experience working with diverse constituencies, commitment to expanding the base and good communication skills.4. Background: The GPCO is primarily a political party, whose mission includes electoral campaigns. Of the few elected Green officeholders, state party support has been scant and offices won without material support of the state party. Additionally, the pool of potential candidates is very small, and opportunities to recruit candidates who will raise the profile of the party from among grassroots organizations are not being taken.5. Justification/Goals: The sponsors of this proposal believe that, in order to faithfully execute the intent of the first key value, Grassroots Democracy, it is time for the GPCO to think strategically about how to grow the party via elections and grassroots organizing with local groups. With an expanded base, we can more easily achieve major party recognition by the Colorado Secretary of State, which in turn will create more opportunities to win races. Additionally, the GPCO can benefit from a wider pool of potential candidates for state and chapter offices and volunteers, who will bring in fresh ideas and new energy. Finally, with a concrete political strategy, our existing Green Party-registered voters will begin to have greater confidence in the GPCO, which in turn will inspire more long-term Greens to participate at the chapter and state level.6. Pros and Cons: The growth of the GPCO, both in terms of party activists and voter share, is a definite “pro.” Cons include the lack of real financial resources to execute a plan, as well as needed creativity in the plan to execute it. Shelia brings a ton of experience to the table, and recently, she was the state director for Bernie Sanders delegates here in Colorado. Even more recently she served as the Colorado statewide volunteer coordinator for the Stein/Baraka campaign, and she is part of the team that brought Jill 38,000 votes from Colorado...a stunning uptick from 2012. She nearly literally knows God and everybody. Here's a glimpse at her resume:
I am a seasoned Campaign and Issue base organizer, that enjoys working with volunteers and staff to achieve maximumresults within in a set goal and time line environment.ExperienceState Field Director Andrew Romanoff for U.S. Senate Primary Campaign 2009-2010Managing Regional Field staff providing training and tools to accomplish specific goals. Managing 7 offices acrossColorado. Maintaining a volunteer base of 26,000 people.Field Director Hank Eng for U.S. Congress CD 6 2008Organizing and training volunteers for canvassing and telephoning voters. Targeting and detailing data searches forspecific goals.Regional Field Director, CD 6 Colorado Obama For America 2007-2008Organize and train volunteers in 463 Precincts (90% coverage) to nominate President Barack Obama as the candidatefor the Democratic Party. Colorado State Democratic Delegate Director-: over seeing all the Obama delegates to theColorado State Democratic Convention/Assembly 2008 (won by 64%)Volunteer Director for Bill Winter for U.S. Congress 2006 (not a paid position)Over seeing and recruiting volunteers to canvass and make calls.Outside of the political field I have worked in the Accounting Department and Payroll processing for a National ChildCare organization, first woman hired as a Console Specialist for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (computer operator),Customer Relations representative for a National Car Rental Company.EducationRed Rocks Community College -studied Bookkeeping Central Oklahoma University-Theatre and Music MajorParty Positions HeldFormerly: Vice Chair Park County Democrats, Chair of JD 11, Chair SD 2, Former Chair Park County DemocraticParty, Former Treasurer Park County Democratic Party, Current Colorado State Democratic Party CentralCommittee, Former Congressional District 2 Outreach Committee, Current CD2 platform committee, FormerDemocratic Chair Congressional District 6, Former Executive Committee memberSkillsVAN, Voter Data interpretation, some NGP, Microsoft office, general social media skills (twitter, Face Book) Learning“Vote Builder”
She will be working directly with Dave and I, and she will be reaching out to you all to have a more focused discussion about races and opportunities for party building, so that we can come up with a comprehensive statewide political strategy for the state council's approval.AND, because I know folks are wondering, from the Procedures and Guidelines document:
3.7. The GPCO co-chairs, after conferring together, can make a “good until challengedappointment” of a volunteer for a vacancy to any of the following positions: coalitionrepresentative; meeting facilitator or council facilitator; meeting agenda collector; press relationsdirector; representative to a GPUS committee, other than the GPUS-CC; web master; archivist;state phone line minder, or any other nondecision-making position, with the followingstipulations:1. Notice will be given to the online GPCO Council within five days of the appointment, with aresume of the volunteer’s qualifications to fill that position;2. The appointed representative will provide to the GPCO Council reports of work in theirposition at least every two months or at intervals specified in a description of their position;3. The appointed representative will seek input from the GPCO Council related to their positionat least every two months or at intervals specified in a description of their position;4. The appointed representative will provide to the GPCO co-chair at least two weeks notice oftheir intent to resign their position.5. If any GPCO Council representative challenges an appointment, the appointment will bewithdrawn and submitted to the council for a yes or no vote.
Thanks!
Shelia is a great choice. Welcome aboard!How about making a general announcement of our new Political Director on the General Discussion board? There is no need to keep it a secret.ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE: Shelia doesn't have Forum access yet so she can't read this topic. I would think her access permissions should be at least as high as a Council member.
The text reads “The sponsors of this proposal believe that …” Is this a proposal? I was unaware that there was such a position that had fallen vacant and needed to be filled.Regarding a “good until challenged appointment”, what is the process for challenging an appointment? I'm not planning to challenge Sheila. I think she is good. But Andrea's self-appointment as facilitator has been objected to twice and has not been put to a vote.
Judy, please refer to the entire text of my opening post, in particular:
I've been kicking this idea around for a couple years now and almost floated a proposal in 2015. I contemplated the "position" in this way
That is text from the proposal back then.If you want to override my appointment, then run a proposal. I do suggest you make a pit stop at your local first, though.Do you have any other reason to object, aside from the fact that it's just me?
Aha, that's the answer to my question. The process for challenging a “good until challenged appointment” is to run a proposal. This must be another one of those undocumented procedures.
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