I. Name
The name of this organization shall
be the Charlotte Area Green Party.
II.
Mission Statement and Affiliations
The goal of the Charlotte Area Green
Party is to meet the expectations of
the community left disenfranchised by corporate influence of the current
two-party grip on power, to develop throughout the year statements
covering all local and national
issues in order to reflect a Green
perspective, to influence locally those issues which concern us as a group
to benefit the community, and to build an organization which has political
credibility and an appeal to all voters, but especially those segments of
society previously disillusioned by politics as practiced by the Republicans
and Democrats.
III. The ten key values of Charlotte Area Green Party, in common with other Greens.
1. Ecological Wisdom
2. Grassroots Democracy
3. Social Justice
4. NonviolenceIV. Ratification of and
Amendments to By-laws
A. Ratification
These
by-laws shall be considered ratified if approved by a consensus of
the founding
participants of the Charlotte Area Green Party.
B. Amendments
These
by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote if notice of
the impending
vote is given two weeks prior to the meeting wherein such
amendment
would be brought to a vote. All proposed amendments must
be reviewed
by the coordinating council, unless unanimous consent by a
quorum of
active members is obtained at the meeting during which the
amendment is
proposed.
V. Quorum
For the purposes of this
organization a quorum is defined as 50% of current
members.
VI. Meetings
A. Quarterly Meetings
Meetings for all members will be held every three months, the first
meeting
of each year being in January. Notice of each meeting, including
its location and exact time, shall be given by the co-coordinators at least
two weeks prior to each meeting.
B. Annual meeting
There shall be one quarterly meeting designated for electing the Coordinating
Council
and setting dues.
VII. Coordinating council
A. Composition
There shall
be two coordinators, two clerks, and one treasurer.
B. Election
Coordinating
council members shall be elected annually by a simple
majority
vote of a quorum at a regularly scheduled meeting. Proxy votes
from active
members unable to attend the meeting shall be accepted.
There shall
be no limit on terms served.
C. Duties
1.
Coordinators
Coordinators shall jointly set flexible agendas for, arrange meeting
places and times of, and preside over monthly meetings for the
general membership of the Charlotte Area Green Party.. They shall
also act as contact persons for the public.
2. Clerks
Clerks shall take minutes of the monthly meetings, publish and
report these minutes, keep lists of active members, and record
attendance at meetings.
3. Treasurer
The treasurer shall collect dues and pay out expenditures as
approved by the members, and when necessary, file reports with
government agencies. The treasurer must give an oral report of
Charlotte Area Green Party finances at monthly meetings of the
general membership and must distribute printed reports for the
previous year at the annual meeting.
D. Removal of coordinating council members
Coordinating council members may be removed by a majority
vote of the coordinating council for violation of the values
and
political practices of the Charlotte Area Green Party or for
repeated failure to participate at meetings of which they
have
been notified. Intent to remove a council member must be
advertised in the notice of that council meeting during
which a
vote for removal will be held. Upon removal of a council
member,
a new election for that vacated post shall be held at the
next
regular meeting for which a two-week notice of the impending
election can be given.
E. Meetings of coordinating council
The coordinating council shall meet as a group at least once
a
year, with one meeting being convened within a month of
election
of its members. Other meetings shall be held as deemed
necessary by a majority of the coordinating council.
VIII. Decision-making
A. General decision-making
Decisions should ideally be made by
a consensus of active members. A
minimum of ten minutes of discussion
shall be allowed to attempt to reach
consensus. After that time a motion
and two seconds of that motion shall be
required to end the discussion and
call for a vote. Where consensus is not
possible, approval by two-thirds of
active members attending the meeting
shall suffice for most decisions
except as otherwise specified in these
by-laws.
B.
Special decisions requiring a quorum
A quorum of 50% of current active
members shall be required to vote on
motions concerning expenditures of
funds above the discretionary budget
allowed for the treasurer by a decision
of the general membership, election
of officers, and amendment of by-laws.
C. Decision-making by a simple majority
If, during a membership meeting, a
two-thirds majority cannot be obtained
for a decision, and two-thirds of
members present agree that a decision is
mandatory, there shall be another
vote taken and a simple majority shall
decide.
D. Decision-making between meetings
The CAGP Coordinating Committee can
make decisions on behalf of the CAGP
in between quarterly meetings, except when
the decision requires a quorum as
set
forth in Section VIII B. One of the clerks will announce to the general
membership
any such decision while it is under consideration and will inform
members of
what final decision is
made. Decisions made by the CAGP CC between regular
meetings can be overturned
at a subsequent quarterly meeting.
IX. Membership
A.
Commitment to the Ten Key Values
Members should be in basic agreement with the Ten Key Values as listed in
section III of the Charlotte Area
Greens by-laws and shall also be in basic agreement with
the political
practices of the Green Party USA.
B. Dues
Members shall pay dues annually. The amount
of and due date for dues shall be set at the
annual meeting. A special lifetime
membership dues-paying option will be allowed for the
year April 2002-April
2003, wherein a member, by paying an amount of 250 dollars or more
during the
year April 2002-April 2003 will be considered to have met the dues-paying
requirements for his/her lifetime.
C. Contact information
Members shall provide, at the least, a
current mailing address to the CAGP clerks, and shall
notify the clerks of
any changes to that information.
D. Expulsion by vote of members
Members may be expelled from the Charlotte
Area Greens for failure to
act in accordance with the Ten Key Values and political practices of the
GPUS . Any CAGP member may recommend this
expulsion at a quarterly meeting.
A majority vote at that meeting supporting
the recommendation for expulsion shall trigger
a final vote for expulsion to be
arranged by the clerks. The clerks shall solicit votes by mail
or email from
all members for this final vote. A
to expel a member. The member under consideration for expulsion must be
notified two
months in advance of the vote and shall be given an opportunity at least one regularly scheduled
meeting to address the charge of failing to meet standards of behavior.
X.
Dissolution of
Charlotte Area Green Party
If the membership of The Charlotte Area
Green Party falls below five members, The Charlotte
Area Green Party shall be
dissolved, and any treasury funds remaining after paying outstanding
debts
shall be paid to the Green Party of the US.