[fgp-chat] GPVA State Party meeting 5/11 in Richmond

[Dr. Christopher Fink]

/Also posted on the FGP site at //http://fgp.vagreenparty.org/node/57//./

//

/You may log in and post comments there, or email your comments to 
//chair at fgp.vagreenparty.org <mailto:chair at fgp.vagreenparty.org>//. 
These comments will help our local representative ascertain the 
consensus of the local toward the bylaws amendments and other decisions 
to be made at this meeting, so he/she can vote accordingly./


GREEN PARTY OF VIRGINIA
STATE PARTY MEETING AGENDA
West End Library, Richmond
May 11, 2019 - 10:30 AM-4:00 PM


NOTE TO LC MEMBERS: PLEASE PREPARE WRITTEN REPORTS AND SEND THEM TO THE 
BUSINESS LIST AT LEAST A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING.

The focus of this business meeting is the November elections. We are 
continuing to seek candidates for local and statehouse races. We will 
consider a bylaws proposal for the Platform and the procedures of the 
Platform Committee. We will also consider a minor bylaws amendment, and 
some proposals for the GPUS. Finally, we will have a presentation on 
Civil Resistance and the 3.5% Rule.

(For purposes of calculating quorum, currently active locals represented 
at at least one of the previous two scheduled business meetings were 
Arlington, Blue Ridge, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton Roads, 
Lynchburg, New River Valley, Richmond, and Shenandoah Valley.)

Agenda

LOCATION: West End Library in Richmond, VA, at 5420 Patterson Avenue, 
doors open at 10am, meeting starts 10:30am. For those joining remotely, 
the call/login details to be provided a few days before the meeting. 
Participants will need access to a computer and the internet in order to 
cast votes. Non-voting members may fully participate by phone. Please 
email bsidneysmith at gmail.com <mailto:bsidneysmith at gmail.com> no later 
than 9pm Friday, May 10, 2019. Call-in information will be sent to those 
who RSVP.

INTRODUCTION (10 min)
Choose facilitator, timekeeper, and vibes watcher. (Note for our new 
members: Anyone can be take on any one of these roles for a business 
meeting. If you would like to volunteer to take one of these roles you 
are free to do so, or someone may nominate you to do so. In the event 
two or more people are interested in serving in the same role, a 
co-chair will poll the members present regarding their preference. 
Facilitators should be familiar with both consensus practice and 
parliamentary norms, and possessed of both patience and self-confidence.)

Ratify agenda

Approve minutes of last meeting

OFFICIAL REPORTS (3 min each - total 30 min): (Detailed reports should 
be submitted in writing to the business list-serve, and highlights only 
briefly summarized at the meeting.)

Co-Chairs’ report
Treasurer’s report
Webmaster’s report
Secretary’s Report
GPUS Representative & Committee Chair reports

OLD BUSINESS

Confirmation of Interim decisions by the Leadership Council: (10 min)
     1. Wisconsin proposal (cosponsorship).
     2. Appointment of Declan Mathis to Green Pages.

Review of candidates and campaigns for the November election, and races 
suitable for recruiting candidates. (30 min)

Proposal to Amend the GPVA Bylaws, Article 13: Platform Committee 
procedures. (30 min)

Review of proposal to establish the Political Response Team. (Not to be 
voted on--review only) (20 min)

BREAK FOR LUNCH 90 MINUTES

NEW BUSINESS

Proposal to Amend the GPVA Bylaws, Section 14, Officers. (10 min)

Proposal to sponsor, and to seek cosponsors for, a Code of Conduct 
proposal to the GPUS National Committee.  (15 min)

Proposal to sponsor, and to seek cosponsors for, an Ethics Committee 
proposal to the GPUS National Committee.  (15 min)

Presentation and discussion moderated by Co-Chair Tina Rockett on Civil 
Resistance and the 3.5% Rule. (45 min)

ADJOURN

(Padding in the schedule: 60 minutes.)

APPENDIX: TEXTS OF PROPOSALS:

Proposal to Amend the GPVA Bylaws, Article 13: GPVA Platform and 
Platform Committee procedures

BACKGROUND: The GPVA Platform has not been properly updated in several 
years. This is evidence, at least, that the currently prescribed 
procedures are not effective at facilitating the updating of our 
platform. The Committee-Committee reviewed procedures from the GPUS 
platform committee as well as our old procedures, and sought input from 
several other members. The result is a completely new set of procedures 
which is intended to make our platform at once more accessible to the 
membership, more relevant to the public, more useful to our candidates, 
and more amenable to appropriate and timely updates.

PROPOSAL: Rename the current Article 13 of the GPVA Bylaws to "Platform 
and Platform Committee", and replace the current text with the following:

13.1 Structure and Organization of the Platform

13.1.1 The GPVA Platform shall be organized by the Four Pillars, with 
general headings under the most appropriate Pillar, and specific planks 
organized by subheadings under each heading.
13.1.2 Each plank shall be titled by its subheading. Below the 
title/subheading, each plank shall have a Short Statement, typically one 
or two sentences, concisely summarizing the plank.
13.1.3 Each plank shall have an Executive Summary, which may be a 
bulleted or numbered list, providing concise statements of each point 
within the plank.
13.1.4 Each plank shall have a Detailed Discussion, providing all 
appropriate rationales for the plank.
13.1.5 Each plank shall have a list of Resources following the detailed 
discussion. The resources, either documentary or electronic, should be 
such as support the rationales for the plank.
13.1.6 The platform shall be published on the GPVA website, formatted to 
facilitate both browsing of the plank statements and, by means of 
expanding sections, the summary, discussion, and references. The General 
Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the web page current.

13.2 Structure of the Platform Committee

13.2.1 The GPVA General Secretary shall be the convener of the Platform 
Committee.
13.2.2 Any GPVA member in good standing who is endorsed by their local 
may become a member of the Platform Committee.
13.2.3 The Platform Committee shall have two co-chairs, who shall be 
elected by and from among the committee membership for a term of 
one-year. No member shall serve more than two consecutive full-term 
appointments as co-chair.

13.3 Platform Committee procedures

13.3.1 At the beginning of autumn, the Platform Committee will establish 
a procedure for review by the committee of the current platform, for the 
purpose of identifying those planks that may need revision, and to 
determine if new planks are needed.
13.3.2 One week following the first Tuesday in November, the Platform 
Committee will issue a call to the general membership for platform 
proposals. This call will be accompanied by a form, or a link to a form, 
for the use of members to facilitate preparation of proposals in the 
correct format, in accordance with 13.4.
13.3.3 The Platform Commitee will work with those making proposals to 
help them with preparation of a properly formatted proposal, and with 
editing for clarity, unity, etc.
13.3.4 The Platform Committee may request that submitters work together 
to combine proposals that are similar or competing.
13.3.5 Platform proposals may be submitted to the Platform Committee at 
any time. The Platform Committee shall endeavor to process each proposal 
in a timely manner.
13.3.6 Once the Platform Committee has determined, either by consensus 
or by majority vote, that a proposal meets the criteria of Para. 13.4, 
the proposal shall be forwarded to the GPVA co-chairs to be placed on 
the business agenda of a regular or interim business meeting. Adoption 
of a platform proposal is a major decision under the bylaws.
13.3.7 The Platform Committee may, on its own authority, make minor 
housekeeping changes to the Platform. These include correction of typos, 
grammatical errors, correction of dates or other neutral factual 
information, and so on. Such changes shall be detailed in the Platform 
Committee's report to the next business meeting, and are subject to 
approval by the membership.
13.3.8 It is the responsibility of the Platform Committee co-chairs to 
ensure that these procedures and all business of the committee are 
accomplished in a timely manner.

13.4 Platform Proposal Requirements.

13.4.1 Platform proposals must be submitted using the paper or online 
form specified by the Platform Committee in its most recent call for 
proposals.
13.4.2 Platform proposals must be limited to a single plank, or, if a 
revision of existing planks, must be limited to a changes corresponding 
to a single issue. Proposals affecting more than one narrowly construed 
issue should be split into separate proposals. The Platform Committee 
shall determine in each instance whether a proposal is too broad, and 
notify the proposing members of the requirement to split the proposal.
13.4.3 Proposals must have the formal endorsement of two locals, or be 
endorsed in writing by at least five GPVA members in good standing.
13.4.4 Proposals must be grammatical and well organized, use neutral, 
factual language, and must be specific. The Platform Committee will 
assist members making a proposal in meeting this requirement.
13.4.5 Proposals for minor, housekeeping edits to existing planks should 
be made informally to the Platform Committee, who will handle the edits 
in accordance with Para. 13.3.7.
13.4.6 Proposals may not duplicate existing planks in whole or in part, 
and may not contradict existing planks unless the proposal is 
specifically to amend the existing plank in such a way that the amended 
plank will not itself stand in contradiction to any other part of the 
platform.
13.4.7 A proposal to delete a plank without replacement should be made 
directly to the membership through the GPVA co-chairs, and not to the 
Platform Committee.
13.4.8 Any proposal meeting these requirements shall be accepted by the 
Platform Committee, and processed in accordance with Para 13.3.

*******************

Proposal to Amend the GPVA Bylaws, Section 14, Officers:

BACKGROUND: Two years ago the GPVA bylaws were amended to increase 
democratic representation at GPVA business meetings by requiring that 
major decisions be voted on by local representatives and elected state 
officers, rather than solely by "members present" at the meeting. This 
ensured that members could have input to decisions through their local 
representative without the onus of having to attend the meeting in 
person in order to have an equitable voice in major party decisions. 
However, the language of Section 14 was not properly updated to reflect 
this change. This proposal is a house-keeping proposal to bring the old 
language into consonance with the rest of the bylaws.

PROPOSAL:

Update Para. 14.1.4 to read in its entirety: Election of officers will 
take place by Ranked Choice Voting, and is considered a major decision 
under Section 10, "Meetings and Decision Making."

Update Para. 14.1.5 to read in its entirety: Unscheduled officer 
vacancies may be filled by a Ranked Choice Vote of the Leadership 
Council at a regular GPVA business meeting or in an interim meeting. 
Announcement of the vacancy and a request for nominations must be made 
at least 28 days prior to the regular or interim meeting at which an 
election will take place. Elections conducted by an interim meeting of 
the Leadership Council will be subject to ratification at the next 
regularly scheduled meeting of the GPVA for which quorum has been 
established, by a simple majority vote of the Leadership Council members 
present.

Update Para. 14.1.6 to read in its entirety: An officer may be recalled 
for dereliciton, malfeasance, conduct in violation of the Four Pillars 
and 10 Key Values, or any conduct likely to cause harm to the Green 
Party of Virginia. A recall vote will be held whenever more than 50% of 
the locals announce, through their local representative, that a recall 
vote is needed. An officer will be considered recalled, effective 
immediately, when more than 2/3rds of the local representatives of all 
currently active locals vote in favor of recall at any regular meeting 
of the GPVA, or at an interim meeting called for the purpose of recall.

**************

PROPOSAL (GPUS): Code of Conduct

Amend the GPUS Bylaws, Article VII, "Ethical Behavior", adding the 
following sub-paragraph:

1. Code of Conduct

A. Inclusiveness. The Green Party welcomes and supports people of all 
backgrounds and identities.  No person shall be discriminated against, 
deliberately made to feel unwelcome, or disparaged on the basis of 
sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, 
culture, national origin, social and economic class, educational level, 
color, immigration status, sex, age, size, family status, religion, or 
mental or physical ability.

B. Interpersonal behavior. The success of the Green Party depends on the 
enthusiasm, talents, cooperation, and hard work of each of its members. 
Because the things we say and do, and the decisions we make, affect us 
all, we are each obliged to treat every other member with respect, due 
deference, generosity, and consideration. Disparagement, exaggerated 
accusations, deliberate mischaracterizations, and deceptive framing are 
inconsistent with Green ethics. Expressing unproven assumptions (or 
suspicions) that a colleague's intentions are malevolent, or failing to 
give the benefit of the doubt, is counterproductive. When frustrations 
occur and tempers flare, we are obliged to step back and wait for 
passions to cool before re-engaging. The following are unacceptable: 
Threats of violence; discriminatory jokes or language; sharing sexually 
explicit or violent material via electronic devices or other means; 
personal insults, especially those using bigoted terms (racist, sexist, 
etc.); unwelcome sexual attention; vilification or backbiting; bullying, 
either individually or in cooperation with others, including excessive 
or unfair criticism, public insults, deliberate exclusion or ignoring, 
doxing or other public or private exposure to damage a reputation, and 
cyber-bullying; or advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above.

C. Collegiality. Every member is an ambassador for the Green Party to 
the broader polity, and to the world. Members should refrain from 
publicly airing internal disagreements, and from publicly disparaging or 
denigrating the party or any of its members. Criticism of the party, 
where justified, should be constructive, and offered with the aim of 
improving the party and supporting its membership. Deliberately 
publishing polarizing or divisive commentary, or publicly condemning 
party members, damages the public standing of the party and imperils its 
mission, and is unacceptable.

D. Professionalism. As Greens we place our trust in one another. To 
succeed, we must have both transparency and confidentiality. Leaders, 
committee members, delegates, and others in positions of responsibility 
should exemplify the highest standards of honesty and integrity. The 
following are unacceptable: betrayal of confidences entrusted in 
accordance with bylaws, policies, rules, or agreed procedures; offering 
or accepting bribes, whether monetary or for other consideration; theft, 
larceny, extortion, blackmail, or any felony the commission of which 
involves the Green Party, its property, data, or members, except in the 
conduct of principled strategic acts of non-violent civil disobedience; 
acting or conspiring to subvert the procedures of any committee or the 
conduct of any internal election; misrepresentation of one's own or 
another's political commitments; infiltration on behalf of any outside 
interest; or maintenance of a conflict of interest without full disclosure.

BACKGROUND: The GPUS Bylaws, in Article VII, Ethical Standards, 
obliquely address ethical behavior on the part of Greens, but is largely 
written for state parties and is mostly about representation and 
structure. As a national political organization, especially one based on 
a deep commitment to ethical governance, we need a code of conduct for 
members to serve as a template for constructive behavior, and against 
which to measure complaints regarding conduct.

*****************

PROPOSAL (GPUS): Establish a GPUS Ethics Committee

PURPOSE:

To institute a committee and process for the just disposition of ethics 
violations by members of the Green Party of the United States, its 
delegates, officers, staff, committees, or official groups.

I. BACKGROUND:

In any organization of sufficient size, it will sometimes happen that a 
member of the organization, or a group of members possibly acting in an 
official capacity, will act in a way that violates the ethical standards 
of the organization. Such violations may be such as to incur either a 
civil or criminal legal response, but individual and/or official actions 
may also violate ethical standards without being legally actionable. In 
either case, the organization must have a process for identifying such 
behaviors and incidents, or reviewing allegations of them, and arriving 
at a disposition of the matter that is just to the parties concerned and 
shields the organization from liability or other further harm.

The GPUS presently has two committees with limited authority to 
procedurally address charges of wrongdoing made against its members. The 
Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) "is charged with providing mediation 
and arbitration services for intra-party disputes." The DRC can seek to 
ascertain facts, contact parties, and seek resolution. However, the 
process is voluntary; if one or more parties to the dispute chooses not 
to participate, there is no process and no resolution. The Accreditation 
Committee (AC) "reviews and makes recommendations on requests to remove 
state parties or caucuses from accredited status." The AC has no 
authority to review allegations of violations by an individual or by any 
committee or other organizational group in the national party.

The lack of a formal procedure for addressing individual and internal 
institutional violations of GPUS ethical standards is a serious 
deficiency that must be addressed.

II. DEFINITIONS:

II.1. "Member" in this document refers to any person identified as a 
member or formal associate of the Green Party of the United States, 
either by membership in a constituent state party or caucus, or by 
assignment to a recognized committee, or by written or verbal contract.

II.2. "Violation" refers to any action, including by speech, writing, 
voluntary association, or physical behavior, that violates the ethical 
standards or Code of Conduct set forth in the bylaws of the GPUS.

II.3. "Legal action" refers to any process undertaken by individuals or 
by officials of any governmental jurisdiction in accordance with 
applicable civil and criminal codes.

II.4. "Evidence" refers to any of the following: documents that can be 
independently verified, physical evidence that can be objectively 
examined, first-hand testimony that is credible and offered in good 
faith, or the recorded findings of a court of law.

III. COMMITTEE STRUCTURE:

III.1 The GPUS Ethics Committee (EC) shall consist of 9 members, with no 
more than 2 members of any state party at any given time. Members of the 
Steering Committee may not simultaneously serve on the Ethics Committee.

III.2 Members shall be elected by the National Committee for three-year 
terms, using Approval Voting, with three members elected each year. No 
member may serve more than two full terms consecutively.

III.3 There will be three co-chairs chosen internally from among the 
elected EC members, by approval voting, to serve one-year terms. 
Co-Chair appointments should promote gender and racial diversity. 
Consecutive co-chair terms are permitted.

III.4 Committee terms and co-chair terms shall be dated from January 
1st. Special elections and/or appointments will be used in the event of 
an unscheduled vacancy. Interim appointments shall made only until the 
next scheduled election.

III.5 The current Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) will be 
reestablished as a subcommittee of the Ethics Committee, with the 
current DRC Administration (sub)Committee replaced by the Ethics 
Committee, and the Mediator and Arbiter Pool staffed by volunteers 
vetted and supervised by the EC.

COMMITTEE PROCEDURES:

IV.1. The EC shall consider two types of complaints: those made against 
one or more individual members for their individual actions, and those 
made against committees or other official GPUS groups for procedural, 
systemic, or systematic violations.

IV.2. Investigatory Phase.

IV.2.a. Complaints may be made by any GPUS member to any EC member. EC 
Members must recuse themselves from consideration of, or any procedural 
activity with respect to, any complaint regarding themselves or their 
state party, or with respect to which they have any other evident 
conflict of interest.

IV.2.b. When a complaint is received, it will be immediately forwarded 
to the EC co-chairs. If at least two co-chairs find the complaint 
actionable, they shall forward the complaint to the remaining members of 
the EC. If at least two additional members concur that the complaint is 
actionable, the complaint shall be processed according to the procedures 
set out in sub-paragraphs IV.2.d-j below.

IV.2.c. If the complaint is not deemed actionable, the complainant will 
be notified, and the complaint filed and kept for a period of at least 
three years. Complaints that are not actionable may nonetheless be 
referred to the Dispute Resolution Subcommittee (DRS) for mediation 
provided that (1) the complainant is interested in Dispute Resolution, 
and (2) in the opinion of at least 2 co-chairs or 4 EC members, 
mediation could be of value.

IV.2.d. Actionable complaints shall be assigned to a three-member 
Investigative Subcommittee (IS) of the EC, by consensus or by an 
approval vote of the EC members.

IV.2.e. The IS will create a confidential folder (i.e. "case file") of 
files to include the original complaint and any and all evidence and 
other materials subsequently obtained or created regarding the complaint.

IV.2.f. The IS will establish a list of persons to be contacted, 
queried, and or interviewed with respect to the complaint, and will make 
a detailed record of all such communications. The identity of the 
complainant will be kept confidential if the complainant requests. The 
individual(s) named in the complaint will be asked to provide a 
statement, and/or an interview with them may be requested, but all such 
responses are voluntary and may not be compelled. The IS will seek to 
obtain any and all evidence and other relevant information regarding the 
complaint, for the purpose of drawing up a Findings Document. The 
Findings Document will summarize the complaint, the facts obtained, and 
any conclusions that may be reasonably inferred from the facts.

IV.2.g. When the Findings Document is complete, it will be forwarded to 
the EC co-chairs, who will first determine whether to seek legal 
counsel. Legal counsel must be sought in any case where the findings 
indicate a violation of the law, or are such as to open the GPUS to 
liability for civil action. This includes but is not limited to cases of 
discrimination in employment, sexual or physical assault, 
misappropriation of funds or property, acts of larceny, vandalism, or 
any other violations of the law. If the co-chairs determine that legal 
advise should be sought, they will immediately notify the Steering 
Committee in a confidential communication.

IV.2.h. Whether legal counsel is sought or not, the co-chairs will then 
distribute the Findings Document to the full EC membership, who will 
also at this point be given access to the full case file. After a period 
not to exceed one week, the EC members shall vote for one of the 
following Findings: (1) a Finding that there has been an Ethics 
Violation, or (2) a Finding of no Ethics Violation. The vote shall be by 
open ballot, and recorded.

IV.2.i. If a simple majority of voting members fails to vote for a 
Finding of at least one Ethics Violation, the case file will be closed, 
and the complainant notified of the EC members decision. Closed case 
files are to be kept for a minimum of three years. At this point too the 
matter can be referred to the DRS, according to the procedure of Para. 
IV.2.c.

IV.2.j. If a simple majority of voting members votes for a Finding of an 
Ethics Violation, then the matter proceeds to the Recommendations Phase.

IV.3. Recommendation Phase.

IV.3.a. Once a Finding of one or more Ethics Violations has been made by 
the full EC, the case file is assigned to a new three-member 
Recommendation Subcommittee (RS) of the EC appointed by consensus or by 
approval voting from among the 6 members who were not on the 
Investigative Subcommittee for the case.

IV.3.b. The RS will evaluate the Findings Document and determine which 
specific types of violations identified in the GPUS Code of Conduct were 
committed, by whom they were committed, how many times each type of 
violation was committed, and for each violation whether the violation 
could be characterized as (1) a minor violation or (2) a significant 
violation, and whether either mitigating factors or aggravating factors 
were present. This analysis will be recorded in tabular form.

IV.3.c. For violations by one or more individuals, the RS will formulate 
a Recommendation for Sanctions for each such individual, to include one 
or more from among the following:

     1. Recommendation of formal censure.
     2. Recommendation of placement on moderated status on specified 
GPUS list-serves for a designated period, or permanently.
     3. Recommendation of removal from (all or specified) GPUS 
list-serves for a designated period, or permanently.
     2. Recommendation of removal from (all or specified) GPUS committee 
assignments for a designated period, or permanently.
     5. Recommendation of revocation of delegate status (including 
alternate) to the GPUS NC for a designated period, or permanently.
     3. Recommendation of disallowing attendance at (all or specified) 
GPUS events for a designated period, or permanently.

IV.3.d. For violations by a committee or other organizational element of 
the GPUS, the RS will formulate a Recommendation for Reconciliation to 
include one or more of the following:

     1. Recommendation of a specific change in membership, such as 
replacement or removal of named individuals.
     2. Recommendation of a specific change in leadership, such as by 
new internal elections or other appropriate means.
     3. Recommendation of a change in rules, procedures, or bylaws to 
address and prevent future violations.
     4. Recommendation of removal of a committee or other organizational 
element from the GPUS structure.

The Recommendation for Sanctions and/or Reconciliation will include a 
rationale based on the Findings Document, attendant circumstances, and 
the potential for continuing or repeated violations.

IV.3.e. The completed Recommendation will be sent to the entire EC, 
which will discuss the Recommendation and attempt to reach consensus 
about it, possibly including friendly amendments. If consensus cannot be 
reached, then the Recommendation as presented by the RS will be voted 
on. The vote will be by open ballot, and recorded.

IV.3.f. If no Recommendation is agreed to either by consensus or by a 
simple majority vote, then the case file will be closed, the complainant 
notified, and the Recommendation, Findings Document, and case file kept 
for a period of at least three years.

IV.3.g. If a Recommendation is agreed to either by consensus or by vote, 
then the Recommendation, Findings Document, and case file will be 
forwarded to the Steering Committee, who will schedule the 
Recommendation as a formal proposal for the National Committee, with a 
normal discussion and voting period.

V.4. Reopening Complaints

V.4.a. A complaint that was closed within the preceding three years may 
be reopened if:

     1. New evidence is presented to the EC which, in the opinion of at 
least two of the co-chairs or four of the EC members, warrants 
reevaluation of the complaint.
     2. A complaint is made against the same individual(s) or GPUS 
organizational element (e.g., committee) for a similar but otherwise 
entirely new violation which is itself deemed actionable in accordance 
with Para. IV.

V.4.b. A complaint will not be reopened on the basis of a new complaint 
of violation if the alleged new violation is not similar to or related 
to the closed complaint.

V.5.c. A complaint that has been reopened for one of the reasons above 
will be processed anew in accordance with Section IV of this document.

V.5.d. A reopened complaint may be considered on its own, or combined 
with a new complaint if appropriate.

****************

B. Sidney Smith
GPVA General Secretary
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