Bylaws of the New London Greens

I. NAME: Green Party of New London

II. MISSION: As a chapter of the CT Green Party, we will make it our mission to build the Green Party by running candidates for office, involving citizens in the political process, and promoting the 10 Key Values of the Green Party in the City of New London.

III. MEETINGS

  1. The chapter will meet on at least a monthly basis, or as needed.

  2. Chapter (and working group) meetings are open to all who are interested in, and supportive of, the Green Party.

  3. The chapter will have the authority to set policy, elect officers and set a budget.

  4. Whenever possible, a consensus model of decision making will be used.

  5. In the event that consensus is not possible, decisions will be made by a vote in which only currently eligible voting members may participate.

  6. A voting member is someone who is both registered to vote as a member of the Green Party and who has actively participated in chapter work or election campaigns at least three times in the past twelve months.

IV. OFFICERS & WORKING GROUP CHAIRS

  1. Election of Officers & Working Group Chairs

    1. Officers shall be elected to a two-year term by a majority of the voting members of the chapter who participate in the election.

    2. Only voting members of the chapter are eligible to serve as officers and working group chairs.

    3. The chapter shall set an annual election schedule and make every effort to promote the broadest possible participation of its membership in its elections.

    4. Quorum — Fifty percent of the voting members of the chapter must participate in the election of its officers and working group chairs in order for the election to be valid.

    5. The chapter, by majority vote, will be able to replace its officers or working group chairs.

  2. Definition of Officers

    1. Meeting Chair

      1. Facilitates chapter meeting

      2. Works with chapter to identify priorities and create chapter goals

      3. Serves as chapter representative for State Green Party

      4. Updates chapter on state and national Green Party activity

    2. Records Chair

      1. Fulfills responsibilities of the Chair in the Chairs’s absence

      2. Takes minutes of chapter meetings & distributes them by email in a timely fashion

      3. Tracks membership, especially the record of participation needed for voting member

      4. Coordinates communication of members via phone, mail, and email

      5. Member of Membership work group

    3. Treasurer

      1. Tracks income and expenditures in accordance with chapter and state Green Party by-laws.

      2. Member of Fundraising work group

      3. Authorizes reimbursements for chapter expenditures provided those expenditures fall within the chapter’s approved budget

      4. In the event that an expenditure exceeds the approved budget, the treasurer brings the reimbursement request to the attention of the three chapter officers for approval

      5. Records income transfers to & from state

      6. Reports to chapter each month on income & expenditures.

  3. The purpose of the working groups is to enable the chapter to fulfill its mission. Additional working groups can be created as needed at the discretion of the chapter.

V. Town Committee

A. Purpose

1. The purpose of the town committee is to recruit and nominate candidates for municipal office.

B. Membership

1. The town committee shall consist of eleven (11) regular members and one alternate member.

2. These members shall be:

  1. the three (3) party officers (Meetings Chair, Records Chair, and Treasurer) defined in section IV B above;

  2. Seven (7) neighborhood representatives. One of these representatives should, whenever possible, be drawn from each of the following traditional neighborhoods:

    1. East New London, which is the area of the City east of Water Street and I-95;
    2. North of Bank, which is the area north and west of Connecticut Avenue, north of Bank Street and south of I-95;
    3.  The Hempstead or Freedom Trail Neighborhood, which is bounded to the south and east by Truman Street and Huntington Street and to the north and west by Connecticut Avenue;
    4. The Downtown, which is the area north of Bank Street, east of Truman Street, south of Huntington;
    5.  The South of Bank Neighborhood, which stretches from Willetts Avenue to Bank Street;
    6.  The Thames Hilltop Neighborhood, which stretches from Mitchell College to Willetts Avenue;
    7. The South End, which stretches from Ocean Beach to roughly Mitchell College.

      The attached map is meant to help clarify these description.

      [The purpose of this section of the by-laws is to encourage a broad representation on the Town Committee of the City's various neighborhoods, not the slavish study of maps. The chapter may vote to seat more than one representative from the same neighborhood so long as they are not displacing a candidate from an otherwise unrepresented neighborhood.];

    c. one (1) at-large member; and

    d. one (1) alternate member.

3. Election of town committee members

  1. The party officers, the at-large member, and the alternate shall be chosen by all party members following the internal election rules outlined in section IV A above.

  2. The district representatives shall be chosen by voting members residing in the district which that representative seeks to represent. Each district representative must reside within the district he or she seeks to represent. Quorum for the election of district representatives shall constitute fifty percent of the voting members of that district.

  3. All committee members shall be elected to two-year terms.

  4. To encourage the productive interplay between grizzled veterans and enthusiastic newcomers, the election of members of the committee (subsequent to the first election of the committee in which all members shall be chosen) shall be staggered in the following manner:

    • In even numbered years, the three officers and all district representatives from even numbered districts shall be elected;

    • In odd numbered years, all district representatives from odd numbered districts, the at-large member and the alternate member shall be elected.

  5. The chapter shall set the time and place of the election each year and make every effort to make the election schedule as regular as possible and to encourage the broadest possible participation of eligible members.

C. Nomination of Candidates

  1. Prior to the party caucus, the town committee shall meet to elect its slate of endorsed candidates. While the committee shall strive to reach consensus, in the event that consensus is not possible, the majority shall prevail. In the event that the committee, due to vacancy or absence, is deadlocked, the alternate member shall vote to break the deadlock. Otherwise, the alternate member shall not vote.

  2. At the party caucus, which will occur prior to each municipal election and be publicized according to state law, the town committee shall present its slate of endorsed candidates to the party membership.

  3. The meetings chair shall ask the floor if there are any additional nominations for the offices sought.

  4. The party membership has the authority to approve or reject each candidate, whether nominated by the committee or nominated from the floor.

VI. Repeal & revision of the bylaws

  1. In order for the bylaws to be repealed or revised, the following conditions must be met:

  2. Super majority — two-thirds of the voting members present must vote in favor of the revision or repeal.

  3. Quorum — The number of voting members present at this vote must be greater than or equal to fifty percent of the total number of voting members in the chapter.

  4. Review & Adoption — At the chapter meeting immediately following the one in which changes to the bylaws were first approved, these changes must be reviewed and adopted by a two- thirds super majority of the voting members. This second vote is invalid if there is no quorum.

VII Access to the bylaws
A. Copies of the bylaw shall be available at every meeting and upon request.

VIII Ten Key Values

  1. Decentralization

  2. Social Justice

  3. Non Violence

  4. Ecological Wisdom

  5. Grassroots Democracy

  6. Economic Justice

  7. Gender Equity

  8. Future Focus

  9. Respect for Diversity

  10. Personal and Global Responsibility

Amended and restated on on January 31, 2016.

 

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