COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETING
May 7th, 2018
7:30PM to 9:30PM
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(01) Roll call (2 min)
There are currently 23 committee members. This means quorum is a simple majority of 12.
Victoria Ashley, Alternate Co-Coordinator
Doug Barnett
Marla Bernstein
June Brashares
Eric Brooks
Susan Chunco
Deatra Cohen
Maxine Daniel, Co-Coordinator
Angelica Duenas
Sanda Everette
Mike Feinstein
Sadie Fulton
Bert Heuer, Co-Coordinator
Josh Jones
Tarik Kanaana
Eric Luna
Ann Menasche
Mike Murphy
Mimi Newton
Ajay Rai
Erik Rydberg
Laura Wells
Stephen Zollman, Alternate Co-Coordinator
7:38 quorum
Present(18): Ashley, Barnett, Bernstein, Brashares, Brooks, Chunco, Cohen, Daniel, Duenas, Fulton, Heuer, Jones, Kanaana, Menasche, Murphy, Newton, Wells, & Zollman.
Absent (5): Everette (joined call at 7:39 pm), Feinstein, Luna (joined call at 7:51 pm), Rai, & Rydberg (joined call at 7:43 pm).
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Sanda Everette joined the call at 7:39 pm
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(02) Roles (2 min)
Facilitator: Sadie Fulton
Minutes taker: Mimi Newton
Time keeper: Josh Jones
Vibes Watcher: Stephen Zollman
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(03) Approval of agenda (2 min)
*Sponsor*: Mica Daniel
*Proposal*: Approve the agenda (draft III from Mimi on 05/07/18 at ~ 6:10 pm)
Tarik recommends striking item 8
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Erik Rydberg joined the call at 7:43 pm.
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There was no objection to striking item #8.
Agenda approved by consensus.
Adding late item (GA Agenda) as 12B.
No outstanding concerns to adding the late item (GA Agenda approval).
Approved by consensus.
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(04) Decision: Approval of prior month's Minutes (2 min)
*Sponsor*: Mica Daniel
*Proposal*: Approve the minutes for the April 2, 2018 meeting as recorded by Victoria Ashley.
*Reference*: See email from V. Ashley on 4/28/18 at 5:46 pm.
June disagrees with characterization of her withdrawing proposal as recorded in the draft Minutes and requests an amendment, for which she sent revised language.
No outstanding concerns regarding approval of Minutes as amended by June Brashares.
Approved by consensus. *(Can we insert a link here?)*
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(05) Announcement: Consent Calendar (2 min)
*Sponsor*: Co-Coordinator
*Background and Purpose*: The consent calendar is intended to pass non-controversial items or items consensed prior to the actual meeting. Any item may be objected to and that item will be placed at the end of the evening's agenda.
*Proposal*: Accept the following committee reports for inclusion into the meeting minutes
The following Committee/Working Group reports were submitted and will be included into the meeting minutes:
Bylaws (Appendix A)
CCWG (Appendix B)
Clearinghouse (Appendix C)
Finance (Appendix E)
GROW (Appendix G)
The following committees did not send reports:
Campaign Funding Support
ERWG
Fundraising
IT
Media
Platform
State Meeting Planning
Eric Brooks indicates that he will send the Media Minutes out to the CC soon.
No outstanding questions or concerns.
Approved by Consensus.
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(06) Decision Item: Bylaws Interpretation and/or take necessary actions for Greens who are non-binary gender to be eligible to be candidates and run for election to the GPCA CC (10 min)
*Sponsor*: June Brashares, Sonoma County
*Background*: This topic was on the Agenda of the CC March 5th call. Following that, an announcement was sent out to the GPCA Inform list on March 20th to "announce a call for candidates for a regular election to fill twelve seats on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC) for the two-year CC terms running from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020."
The notice included the following text:
"These seats on the CC are specified in our bylaws as apportioned for six “male” and six “female” California Greens. However, the current CC has concluded that the decades-old Green Party of California bylaws were not intended to exclude any Greens who are non-binary, or any Greens who identify not as male nor female, or not solely as male or not solely as female. Rather, these gender-specific bylaws were intended to prevent monopolization of power by those who historically, in western culture, have held power (cis-male) to the exclusion of those whose opinions or rights have historically been suppressed. The CC desires input into how best to ensure that representation on the CC is effected according to these principles. And, in the meantime, the CC also requests that each candidate's application for the CC clearly indicate whether they are applying for one of the six "male" seats, one of the six “female" seats, or for a "neither male nor female seat" (if our bylaws had included such a category)."
I have received some input about how to ensure that representation on the CC is effected according to these principles and I have attempted to incorporate that input into the proposal below.
*Proposal*: For the CC to pass a Bylaws interpretation and/or take necessary actions for candidates of all gender identities to be able to apply and run for election to the GPCA CC (including for the election terms running July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020), making clear that eligibility is non-exclusionary regarding gender (not bound to the old language of only "female" and "male" candidates). The method of implementation will preserve the spirit of the bylaws to protect against cis-male dominance by limiting males to half of the CC open seats, and not reserve seats as a privilege for cis-males over non-cis-males who receive higher ranking votes. (A candidate who receives better vote rankings would not be denied a CC seat to a cis-male who received vote rankings that were not as good).
Bylaws Interpretation:
Whereas the GPCA Bylaws calling for six men and six women to be elected each year to serve staggered two year terms on the Coordinating Committee, were designed to uplift and not marginalize people who have been historically oppressed due to gender and/or gender identities, and the bylaws did not intend to exclude any Greens who are non-binary, or any Greens who identify not as male nor female, or not solely as male or not solely female;
Therefore until the Bylaws can be fully updated, this bylaws interpretation makes it clear that any California Green who identifies as non-binary gender, as not male nor female, or not solely as male or not solely female, is eligible to apply to be a candidate and run for election to a seat on the GPCA CC. The call for candidates and other information about the CC election shall include information to make clear that non-binary gender candidates are not excluded and are eligible to apply and run for election to the CC. All other previous non-conflicting rules for election to the CC would apply (where to submit application, terms, timelines and deadlines, etc...)
Each candidate's application for the CC is to clearly indicate whether they are applying for a "male" seat (cis-male), or a “female" seat, or for a "non-binary" seat.
Whereas the gender-specific bylaws were intended to prevent monopolization of power by those who historically, in western culture, have held power (cis-male) to the exclusion of those whose opinions or rights have historically been suppressed,
Therefore the cis-male candidates receiving the highest rankings shall be limited to no more than 6 seats, but shall not be guaranteed 6 seats if there are "female" and "non-cis-male" and "non-binary" gender candidates that receive higher rankings than the cis-male candidates.
*References*
Email Announcement sent out to the GPCA Inform list on March 20th with the Suject title "ANNOUNCEMENT: Application period for election to fill twelve seats on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC)to "announce a call for candidates for a regular election to fill twelve seats on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC) for the two-year CC terms running from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020
GPCA Bylaws re the Coordinating Committee
http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-03#Article_8._Coordinating_Committee
8-2.1 regarding the GPCA Coordinating Committee election and membership:
(http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-23#Section_8-2_Membership)
Section 8-4. Elections (http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-23#Section_8-4_Elections)
8-4.1 Elections shall be conducted each year by the Standing Green Assembly by secret ballot, using Ranked Choice Voting with a No Other Candidate option, with the six week discussion period beginning on the first Monday of May and the one week voting period commencing immediately thereafter.
8-4.2 Candidates must submit an application to the Coordinating Committee by the last Monday of April to be eligible. Applications must include a biography and what they wish to accomplish on the Coordinating Committee.
. . .
8-4.4 Candidates shall be given time to present themselves and respond to questions on a Standing General Assembly teleconference during the Standing General Assembly discussion period in 7-6.3. Where General Assemblies or Gatherings occur after the close of the submission date in 8-4.2, and before the close of the voting period in 7-6.3, candidates shall be given time to present themselves to any General Assembly or Gathering occurring this period.
June sent updated text at 7:28 pm regarding implementation, ranking between all candidates in a single rank choice … etc. This would hold until the Bylaws are amended. (See Appendix L, below.)
Questions?
Discussion followed.
Concerns & Affirmations?
Concerns were raised by Ann Menasche.
An affirmation was made by Stephen Zollman.
———————- ——————— ————
Eric Luna - called in at 7:51
———————- ——————— ————
Outstanding concern, not willing to stand aside - Ann Menasche
The proposal was put to a vote:
Yes (18) - Barnett, Bernstein, Brashares, Brooks, Chunco, Cohen, Daniel, Duenas, Everette, Fulton, Heuer, Jones, Kanaana, Murphy, Newton, Rydberg, Wells, and Zollman.
No (1) - Menasche.
Abstain (2) - Ashley, and Luna.
21 out of 23 people present
THE PROPOSAL PASSES
(Majority threshold required.)
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(07) Subject: Decision Item: CENSURE GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC) Member Michael Feinstein for Nationbuilder HACK for personal Secretary of State (SOS) campaigning purposes (10 Minutes)
Sponsor: Mimi Newton, Marin County
Background and Purpose: The GPCA IT Protocol states, “3-1.5 The Contact Data Base shall not be utilized for personal political work by those with access to it.”
But, more specifically, the IT Protocol sets forth a number of different provisions designed to ensure the Database assets are used for State Party-approved purposes and not for any one person’s personal purposes. (See References, IT Protocol at Article III, Section 3-1 through 3-5.)
Filters in Nationbuilder are used to filter Data Base information. Once filters are created they can also be used to export data base information. While reviewing the list of saved Filters, IT Committee Co-Coordinator, Colt Gonzales, found the following filters on the data base that are directly related to Michael Feinstein's Secretary of State Campaign:
Feinstein_for_SOS
Feinstein_SoS_Outreach2
Feinstein_SoS_Outreach3
Nationbuilder data logs indicate that these filters were created on 11/4/17 and 11/5/17. Based on the sessions in “the nation” at the time, and given the activities from 11/4 - 11/5, Nationbuilder Customer Support Manager Abe Huie has advised Colt that it was Michael Feinstein who was using “the nation” at this time. Any messages transmitted based on GPLAC endorsement of Michael Feinstein’s campaign should have been sent using existing GPLAC Filters There's no reason to create the filters identified above other than for his own Secretary of State campaign work on his own behalf.
Coordinating Committee Member Feinstein is not only well aware of these rules, but Michael Feinstein had the access, the knowledge, the ability and the interest in creating these filters for his Secretary of State campaign using the GPCA Data Base filter tool. His knowledge and access to the system made his violation of the GPCA IT protocol for his own gain possible and easy. Thus, Mike Feinstein’s immediate censure should also include the immediate denial of any further access to GPCA Online resources.
Proposal: That the Coordinating Committee adopt the censure language proposed below and direct the IT Committee to immediately deny Michael Feinstein access to any GPCA online resources not available to the general public.
Implementation/Timeline/Resources: To be effective immediately on approval; proposed censure language below.
References:
GPCA Bylaws at http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-03.
9-10.1 Duties and Authority
The Information Technology Committee is charged with providing technical support for GPCA web sites, data bases and email lists, including
9-10.1(a) Managing their permissions and access according to approved GPCA policies and procedures and provide assistance in their use to GPCA personnel.
IT PROTOCOL at http://www.cagreens.org/it-protocol.
Article III Contact Data Base Access and Use
Section 3-1 Contact Data Base Use
3-1.1 The Data Base shall be used to facilitate the operations and communications of the GPCA, as defined in the GPCA's Purpose; its Bylaws, Rules and Fiscal Policy; and the Duties and Responsibilities of its Committees and Working Groups.
3-1.2 Email blasts may be authorized and sent on behalf of GPCA committees and working groups, county Green Parties, and the GPCA General Assembly.
3-1.3 The GPCA may share data about Green Party members in a given county, to a representative(s) of that county Green Party, designed by the County Council in that county, as per Section 3-4.
3-1.4 The GPCA may send statewide (or other) email blasts on behalf of GPCA-endorsed candidates, but shall not directly export the contact information data from the Contact Data Base to any candidate nor their campaigns.
3-1.5 The Contact Data Base shall not be utilized for personal political work by those with access to it.
Section 3-2 Contact Data Base Access
3-2.1 Voter registration information in the Contact Data Base shall not be used for any personal, private, or commercial purpose (as per the California Elections Code http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=elec&group=02001-0...), including, but not limited to:
… 3-2.3 Anyone with access to the data base, and anyone to whom data base content is exported, shall be governed by these rules, and shall make such a declaration in writing to the Coordinating Committee.
Section 3-3 Data Base Administrative Access by Coordinating Committee appointment
The Coordinating Committee shall designate who shall have Data Base Administrative Access (dbAdmin) to the Contact Data Base. Only those with Data Base Administrative Access (dbAdmin) shall have the ability to download/export data from the Data Base. A list of all those given access shall be maintained within the GPCA Contact Data Base, and shall be provided to the Coordinating Committee upon request.
Section 3-4 Data Base Non-Administrative Access by Information Technology Committee appointment
The Information Technology Committee shall designate who shall have non-Data Base Administrative Access to the Contact Data Base. Those with non-Data Base Administrative Access may have the ability to access the Data Base, but not alter nor download/export data from the Data Base.
Section 3-5 Access by County Council Appointment
Until the ability is gained to partition and segregate access to different parts of the GPCA's Contact Data Base, county access to data base information of voters, donors and volunteers shall be as follows:
3-5.1 County Councils in active GPCA counties may appoint one or more individuals to whom an export from the county data base of the Green Party members and their data in that county may be shared. The export shall be effectuated by the GPCA Internet Technology Committee, upon receipt of the notice of appointment.
3-5.2 Recipients of the data shall work with the Internet Technology Committee, and specifically those with Data Base Administrative Access (dbAdmin), to make updates of changes in emails, phone numbers and other information in the Contact Data Base itself.
** ** **
Proposed language for censure of Michael Feinstein
Whereas the Green Party of California (GPCA) Information Technology (IT) Committee is charged with providing technical support for GPCA web sites, data bases and email lists, including managing their permissions and access according to approved GPCA policies and procedures; and
Whereas, administering permission and access to assets, such as the Contacts Database in Nationbuilder are listed in the GPCA Bylaws as the responsibility of the IT Committee; and
Whereas, according to the IT Protocol, the Party’s Contacts Data Base shall be used to facilitate the operations and communications of the GPCA, as defined in the GPCA's Purpose; its Bylaws, Rules and Fiscal Policy; and the Duties and Responsibilities of its Committees and Working Groups; and
Whereas, the GPCA IT Protocol specifically prohibits use of the Contact Data Base for personal political work by those with access to it; and
Whereas, the IT Committee discovered that three filters created on or about November 4 and November 5, 2017 on the data base are directly related to Michael Feinstein's Secretary of State Campaign; and
Whereas, Nationbuilder has identified Michael Feinstein as the creator of those filters; and
Whereas, Michael Feinstein has not been authorized by the Coordinating Committee or the IT Committee to use the GPCA Contact Data Base for his own political campaign; and
Whereas, Michael Feinstein has acted with complete disregard for the GPCA Rules and Procedures — and indeed with disregard for his fellow Greens — by hacking into the Party Data Base for his own personal gain; and
Whereas the Coordinating Committee has no confidence that Michael Feinstein can be trusted to act responsibly with respect to State Party resources,
Therefore be it resolved that the Coordinating Committee hereby adopts the following proposal:
That Michael Feinstein is hereby censured for hacking into the GPCA Nationbuilder account and using the Contact Data Base for personal political work in direct contravention of the GPCA IT Protocol. These acts show a complete disregard for Party assets, rules and procedures, as well as for his fellow Greens. Furthermore, these actions are considered by the Coordinating Committee to be unacceptable for persons holding positions of responsibility within our political party. This censure is immediately effective upon its adoption by the Coordinating Committee, which also directs the IT Committee to ensure that Michael Feinstein is stripped of any and all access to GPCA online resources except those accessible to the general public, effective immediately.
Questions -
Angelica Duenas raises questions about proposal.
June Brashares asks if we can test for consensus on ending Mike’s access other than those generally available to the general public and then tests for consensus on the censure.
Mimi Newton wants the proposal to be presented to the CC as a whole.
Outstanding concerns about the proposal?
Everette has outstanding concerns, and is not willing to stand aside.
The proposal is put to a vote:
Yes (15) - Ashley, Brashares, Brooks, Cohen, Daniel, Fulton, Heuer, Jones, Luna, Menasche, Murphy, Newton, Rydberg, Wells, & Zollman.
No (3) - Barnett, Bernstein, & Everette.
Abstain (3) - Chunco, Duenas, & Kanaana
21 out of 23 voting or abstaining.
THE PROPOSAL PASSES.
(Majority threshold required.)
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We struck the following item when we were approving the agenda —
(08) Decision Item: Bylaws Interpretation on applying for GPUS delegate, alternate or both (10 min)
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(09) Discussion Item: Opposition of SB 813 and other bills this legislative session that are attacking clean energy and Community Choice energy (10 min)
*Sponsors*: Eric Brooks, SF County
*Background and Purpose*:
*Proposal* Decision: To oppose the following three bills in the 2018 California state legislative session:
- AB 813 (Holden – CA electricity grid regionalization) – This bill was opposed by the GPCA last year in a longer text which also included some direct attacks on Community Choice which PG&E and other monopoly utilities supported. The bill has now been amended for the sole purpose of taking the current nonprofit California electricity grid operator (the CAISO) and making it part of a larger for-profit regional western US electricity grid in which the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Pacificorp is the most powerful grid owner. This bill will allow Berkshire Hathaway to leverage its coal based electricity back into California at cheap prices to compete with our renewables and our Community Choice programs, and the bill will also place California’s electricity grid under the full direct control of the Trump administration’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
See full text and other details at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=...
- AB 2208 (Aguiar-Curry – Biomass, Biogas, Geothermal Mandates) – This bill will force retail sellers of electricity (including Community Choice programs) to have minimum percentages of up to 25% in their ‘renewable’ energy mix of: ‘biomass’ energy (primarily from the timber industry), ‘biogas’ (primarily from landfills and agriculture) and geothermal power. High requirements of these resources will favor the monopoly utilities which already have easier and cheaper economic access to them than the smaller Community Choice programs. Also, new data shows that ‘biomass’ actually creates higher, not lower, greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel energy. Biogas, because it is methane, also creates potential higher emissions, and when it is derived from landfills and waste treatment facilities, contains serious toxic trace gases. Because of these factors, Europe has dramatically reduced similar biomass and biofuels mandates to become much lower. See details at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201...
- AB 2693 (Natural Gas Power Grid Reliability) This bill will push California back toward to favoring and subsidizing more natural gas power in California for ‘grid reliability’ which is better achieved through a combination of renewables, battery storage, microgrids, and electricity demand response strategies. Besides worsening greenhouse gas emissions, this would favor the more natural gas dependent monopoly utilities in competition with the Community Choice programs. See: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201...
*Background and Purpose* Last year the General Assembly gave permission to Green volunteers like myself who are doing legislative work in Sacramento to proactively oppose on behalf of the GPCA, legislation interfering with Community Choice clean energy programs, provided that a GPCA legislative committee follows such opposition to make sure that it remains consistent with the GPCA platform.
Currently the GPCA does not have a legislative committee, so any near-term vetting of opposition or support for legislation must be done by the Coordinating Committee. I am presenting this item proactively to the Coordinating Committee since there is time to get approval ahead of action on these bills which will likely take place later this month in Sacramento.
*Implementation/Timeline/Resources* Immediately upon passage, the GPCA will be in formal opposition to the bills listed. CC Co-Coordinators should also contact the June 2018 General Assembly Agenda Committee to ensure that this item is added to the Stockton GA agenda to get formal confirmation of our decision by the GA delegates.
References:
EcoWatch: Biomass More Polluting Than Coal, New Study Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/chatham-house-biomass-study-2288764699.html
Note: Header is wrong but proposal says decision item, so this is a decision item.
Discussion.
Questions or concerns-
Affirmations - one from Josh Jones.
No outstanding concerns.
Approved by consensus.
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(10) Decision: All GPCA decisions are made as a group (5 min)
Sponsor: Tarik Kanaana, Sonoma County
Background and Purpose: coming soon
Proposal: The GPCA Coordinating Committee affirms that all decisions relating to its activities are made by the appropriate body in a manner consistent with GPCA Bylaws . Furthermore, the Coordinating Committee affirms that any changes to current procedure is to be decided on by the appropriate body after consultations with concerned parties
Implementation: Immediately.
Discussion.
Affirmations from Newton and Brashares.
Outstanding concerns:
Josh Jones has an outstanding concern & not willing to stand aside.
The proposal is put to a vote:
Yes (11) - Barnett, Bernstein, Brashares, Brooks, Chunco, Daniel, Everette, Kanaana, Newton, Wells & Zollman.
No (3) - Jones, Luna, Rydberg
Abstain (5) - Ashley, Cohen, Fulton, Heuer, & Menasche.
19/23 voting or abstaining. (Duenas and Murphy are not on call at this point, 9:00 pm.)
THE PROPOSAL PASSES.
Majority threshold required.
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(11) Decision: Delegation election announcements (10 min)
Sponsor: Tarik Kanaana, Sonoma County
Background and Purpose: The call for GPCA GPUS Delegate and Alternate Delegate candidate’s in March 2018 deviated from previous delegation election announcements insofar as it explicitly advised applicants that they could apply for a Delegate position, an Alternate Delegate position or both. Other delegate election announcements have specifically advised applicants that they can only apply for one or the other, but not both. This deviation from previous practice has raised questions about the election and how it is tallied that deserve clarification by the CC.
Proposal: All future announcement of vacancy or call for candidates for Delegation elections shall be consistent with procedures established in the document titled “How to apply to serve on the Green National Committee” found at http://www.cagreens.org/delegation/how-apply. This is to stay in effect until a procedure is established by the Delegation in cooperation with the Coordinating Committee with a deadline of December 31st, 2018. If this matter is not resolved by that date, it will be revisited in the January 2019 Coordinating Committee meeting.
Implementation: Immediately
References:
I. Grassroots Democracy (1st of the GPUS Ten Key Values)
All human beings must be allowed a say in decisions that affect their lives; no one should be subject to the will of another. We work to improve public participation in every aspect of government and seek to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We also work to create new types of political organizations that expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in decision-making.
II. “How to apply to serve on the Green National Committee” found at http://www.cagreens.org/delegation/how-apply:
Delegates and alternates from the Green Party of California (GPCA) to the Green Natonal Commitee (of the Green Party of the United States) are elected every year in June elections, by the GPCA's Standing General Assembly.
* Eligibility is open to all Green Party members in California. Experience at the national, state, county or local party level is desired. Please review and reference the bylaws establishing the delegation and the delegate duties and guidelines. Here are previous candidate statements.
* To submit a candidate application, send emai no later than the last Monday of April to applications at cagreens.org. The subject header should be either "Application for GPUS Delegate" or "Application for GPUS Alternate.", depending upon for which you apply. You can not apply for both at the same time.
* Candidates must submit an application to the Coordinating Committee by the last Monday of April to be eligible.
* Applications must include a biography and what they wish to accomplish on the Coordinating Committee, as well as the applicant's city and county. Biographies have traditionally included prior Green Party and other related work, as well as other qualifications as the applicant sees relevant.
Your application will be posted on-line alongside other applicants for the delegation, and will be presented to Standing General Assembly members for their votes.
For more information, contact Tarik Kanaana and Peggy Koteen, delegation co-coordinators.
Questions:
Discussion.
In order to save time, Tarik withdraws the proposal.
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(12). Decision: Current call for candidates and Delegation elections (10 min)
Sponsor: Tarik Kanaana, Sonoma County
Background and Purpose: The call for GPCA GPUS Delegate and Alternate Delegate candidate’s in March 2018 deviated from previous delegation election announcements insofar as it explicitly advised applicants that they could apply for a Delegate position, an Alternate Delegate position or both. Other delegate election announcements have specifically advised applicants that they can only apply for one or the other, but not both. This deviation from previous practice has raised questions about the election and how it is tallied that deserve clarification by the CC.
Proposal: The Coordinating Committee shall affirm the following process for tallying the upcoming GPCA GPUS Delegate and Alternate Delegate Election Votes in order to assure the election of as many delegates and alternate delegates as possible under during this upcoming election. To that end, the regular Delegate Election (as distinguished from the Alternate Delegate Election) will have its votes tallied first and the winners of that election identified. If any of the winners of the (regular) Delegate Election also submitted applications to be considered in the Alternate Delegate Election, those individuals — and any votes cast for those individuals — shall be disregarded in the tallying of the Alternate Delegate Election, which will occur after the (regular) Delegate Election winners have been identified. Thus, the top vote getters of the Alternate Delegate Election will be limited to those applicants who are not elected as regular Delegates.
Implementation/Timeline/Resources: The SGA Vote Administrators shall be advised of this decision and shall ensure that this process is implemented. The SGA Vote Administrators are also requested to provide this information in full or in a summarized form to the SGA as well as the candidates that have submitted applications for either position.
Questions
Discussion.
Affirmations & Concerns.
Josh Jones has a concern for which he is not willing to stand aside.
At this point the meeting concluded because it was 9:30 pm.
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(12B) See LATE ITEM, re: GA Agenda approval below.
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(13) PROPOSAL: That the Green Party of California endorse the closure of all uranium mines and uranium fracking.
SPONSORS: Josh Jones, Sadie Fulton, Yolo County
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
RESOLUTION: The Closure of All Uranium Mines and Uranium Fracking
WHEREAS, the Green Party of California recognizes the sovereignty of indigenous nations and supports the federal laws regarding treaty rights, and is working to establish a relationship with indigenous governments, and the Green Party of California values the environment as part of a
historical, cultural, and economic value to all people and future generations, including National Parks, Wilderness and Conservation areas, Sacred Places, bodies of water, and watersheds; and
WHEREAS, uranium production has occurred throughout the western United States, including the state of California, prior to the existence of laws or regulations requiring clean-up of mines and mine wastes leaving thousands of abandoned uranium mines, which remain unreclaimed today, continue to contaminate land, air, and water with heavy metals, elevated levels of radioactivity, and
past and current uranium mining, transport, and processing disproportionately occur on indigenous lands damaging the environment, water resources, and integrity of Sacred Sites; and
WHEREAS, uranium mines and fracking create undue risk of exposure of elevated levels of
radioactivity and radioactive isotopes to regional populations, which leads to serious health effects, often passed on genetically to future generations, including but not limited to various cancers, kidney disease, auto-immune disease, and birth defects, and unreclaimed abandoned uranium mines and mills transmit
uranium off site or into groundwater via wind, water cycle contaminating sources of fresh water, such as watersheds, such as surface drinking water, such as underground aquifers, and there is current and ongoing uranium mining, underground uranium placer deposit fracking, uranium processing, and proposals for new extraction within California and the Colorado Plateau that will exacerbate existing radioactive waste and tailings, contamination, and negative health impacts, including uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, and there is no federal or state law enforcing clean up of all abandoned uranium mines, and no designated safe place to put mine waste, creating thousands of radioactive waste sites across the United States;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Green Party of California calls upon the California Legislature, California Governor, and U.S. Congress to create enforceable laws, adequate funding to clean up abandoned uranium mines, lands and bodies of waters contaminated by abandoned uranium mines and fracking, protect the environment and public health from new uranium mining and fracking, by enforcing stricter clean-up regulations limiting amount of uranium mines and production for either weapons or electrical power generation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Green Party of California supports this resolution and
will take appropriate measures to circulate it to supporters and media.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(14). PROPOSAL: That the Green Party of California endorse an California Oil Severance Tax.
SPONSORS: Josh Jones, Sadie Fulton, Yolo County
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
RESOLUTION: California Oil Severance Tax
WHEREAS, the State of California faces major attacks on the rights of its citizens for healthcare, education, and public services, while the federal government is moving to eviscerate and eliminate healthcare benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), federal funding for education, social services, and public worker pensions while at present the Trump cabinet has passed legislation to create major tax cuts for billionaires and millionaires nationally that includes the 1% in California, and as a result the State of California must pass legislation to protect its citizens by immediately passing an Oil Severance Tax; and
WHEREAS, the State of California loses close to $3 billion annually because of the oil tax
loophole, and is the only major oil producing state that has no tax on oil extracted onshore or offshore, while the State of Alaska’s oil extraction tax raises 25% for its citizens, and the state of Texas uses an extraction tax that produces $2 billion for education annually with education cheaper in Texas than in California; and
WHEREAS, the State of California could place a 15% tax on crude oil and natural gas raising $3.5 billion annually for education by passing an Oil Severance Tax to fully fund public education, four year public colleges, community colleges, and trade schools, and California has over 130 billionaires and we must make the 1% pay for this medical and educational crisis, as California is falling behind in providing free/affordable education, while California is 43rd in “per pupil” spending K-12, out of 50 states, has cut $20 billion from education in recent years, we must take legislative action to defend the people of California, we cannot wait for ballot initiatives to save citizens’ lives in California; and
WHEREAS, the State of California must move the people of California off of fossil fuels and onto sustainable energy by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe, and the State of California must build physical infrastructure to enable electric cars and trucks charging stations, and the State of California must build integrated distributed energy generation power plants of all kinds to reach the goals of being off of fossil fuels by 2030, and many more power plants such as solar electric megawatt large arrays, wind turbines, geothermal plants, wave and tidal power generators, and an Oil Severance Tax will encourage the State of California regarding conversion of energy infrastructure from 20th century fossil fuels to 21st energy infrastructure;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Green Party of California carries this motion in full force to pass an Oil Severance Tax to fully fund, free for all, including immigrants, public education, four year public colleges, community colleges, and trade schools, and to move California from fossil fuels and onto sustainable energy by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Green Party of California supports this resolution and
will take appropriate measures to circulate it to supporters and media.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(15). PROPOSAL: That the Green Party of California endorse the Driscoll Boycott and the union of Alianza
SPONSORS: Josh Jones, Sadie Fulton, Yolo County
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
RESOLUTION: Driscoll Boycott of San Quintin Farmworkers’ Union - Alliance of National
Organizations, State Organizations and Local Organizations for Social Justice in the Baja California Valley of San Quintin (Alianza)
WHEREAS, 80,000 indigenous farmworkers from Oaxaca, Geuerro, Chiapas, Tabasco, and Vera Cruz, Mexico pick berries for Andrew & Williamson, BerryMex, and numerous growers in the San Quintin valley of Baja California while Driscoll corporation buys, packs, and distributes these berries in the U.S., and since March 2015 San Quintin farmworkers conducted strikes and mass mobilizations
demanding an increase in wages from 100 to 300 pesos per day [raise from $7.50 to $15 per day], an 8-hour workday, overtime, healthcare, vacation, an end to sexual abuse of workers, and legal recognition of their independent union (Alianza) as representative of Alianza farmworkers who pick fruit primarily for export to the U.S. under Driscoll label through Mexican subsidiary BerryMex, while these very growers refuse to negotiate fair labor contract, therefore Alianza resorted to call for a U.S. national consumer boycott; and
WHEREAS, the San Quentin farmworkers live in rat-infested makeshift camps in make-do shelters of cardboard boxes, plastic tarps, and sticks, with no functioning toilets or proper water resources, while farmworker wages are illegally withheld, and they are gouged by overpricing at company stores, and are subjected to inadequate piece-work rates, and retaliation for their efforts to improve living and working conditions; and
WHEREAS, in California, State Board of Food and Agriculture protect the health and welfare of California citizens, while in San Quintin farmworkers have no such protection from exposure to the spraying of dangerous carcinogenic pesticides on the berries that result in diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, skin rashes, and respiratory problems;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that 80,000 San Quintin farmworkers seeking the boycott of
Driscoll berries to force the Driscoll corporation to negotiate for better wages, working conditions, living conditions, and recognition of their union (Alianza) as their bargaining representative for farmworkers, and rehire farmworkers who had been fired for going on strike, and calling for the consumer boycott; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the California Green Party supports the San Quintin farmworkers’ demand of a union contract and recognizes Alianza as a union, and therefore the Green Party of California supports the boycott of Driscoll berries.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(16) Next meeting: June 4th, 2018
LATE ITEM: Approve General Assembly Agenda [see Appendix K].
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix A ================================
=====================================================================
Monthly Bylaws Committee Report to the GPCA Coordinating Committee – APRIL 2018
From: The GPCA ByLaws Committee
To: The GPCA Coordinating Committee
Date: May 6, 2018
Submitted By: Mimi Newton, CC Liaison/Co-Co ByLaws Committee
* * *
Date of the last ByLaws Committee Meeting:
Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Attendees:
Present: Gloria Purcell, and Adam Siegel (NO Quorum present.)
Absent: Victoria Ashley, Steve Breedlove (could not access the call), Tim Laidman, Mimi Newton, and Laura Wells
Date of the ByLaws Committee’s next regular meeting:
Sunday, May 20, 2018 at 7:00 pm, Call in number - (515) 739-1271, access code: 753142.
Any significant actions the Committee is taking:
— Committee members are continuing to work on a Bylaws Template Project for the Counties.
— Committee members are breaking up into three subcommittees between now and our May meeting to work toward our Bylaws Revision project, beginning with the preparation of a presentation at the June 2018 General Assembly:
Adam and Steve will be analyzing the existing bylaws.
Laura and Vic will be gearing up to collect existing information about issues and possible changes and figure out how to solicit more input from a broad variety of CA Greens.
Mimi will be evaluating last year’s annual work plan, has already reserved a spot for a bylaws presentation at the GA in June and is helping Vic and Laura with a questionnaire to solicit input from GA Attendees. The subcommittees will be reporting back to the rest of the Bylaws Committee at the Committee’s May 2018 meeting.
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix B ================================
=====================================================================
Candidates & Campaigns Working Group (CCWG)
CCWG monthly report of meeting/teleconference-call April 22:
Candidates & Campaigns Working Group (CCWG) Meeting
April 22, 2018 (on the 4th Sunday)
at 7:30pm
Call in number: 505-398-0507 (No PIN required)
In attendance:
David Cobb, Humboldt
Gary Blenner, Sacramento
Barry Hermanson, San Francisco
Chris Carlson, Sacramento
June Brashares, Sonoma
Deatra Cohen, Yolo
Adam Siegel, Yolo
Agenda
1) Set functionaries (facilitator: David)
2) Review and Set Agenda
3) Greendozer proposal from GPCA Fundraising Committee
4) Report from Candidates (candidates on the call Barry, Chris, Carol)
5) upcoming GPCA General Assembly in Stockton June 9-10 & CCWG Plenary Proposal
**********************************
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix C ================================
=====================================================================
April 2018 Clearinghouse Committee Meeting Report
Minutes 4-4-18 Clearinghouse Committee
Attendees:
MD – Mica Daniel
NN – Nassim Nouri
BD – Brett Dixon
MR – Michael Rubin
BG – Brian Good
Facilitator: NN Notes: BG Time Keeper: MD
Action items in bold, DECISION ITEMS IN BOLD CAPS
NN offers that Greg Varra is willing to volunteer for projects. NN will ask if Greg is resigning from the committee.
Finance info: State Treasurer Ruscal wants to send the check directly to Red Tie. NN to discuss with Ruscal and Victoria a swag purchase strategy to get maximal benefit. NN to hold off on printing language cards
IT info: Gearing up to start website for swag store and rewriting bylaws.
NN: IT policy changes need to be integrated. Bylaws may be in pre-social-media context
MR, MD – We need someone to coordinate with the bylaws committee
MR: The outreach plan has the potential to step on some GROW toes, and volunteers should work through GROW
NN: The CH swag project involves collaboration with GROW. Our only obligation is printing. NN proposes that CH plan for next month to discuss CH plans for the San Joaquin General Assembly (GA).
1. NN to survey counties for their opinions about tabling kits
2. Counties have been surveyed about swag, and Rusca
l is on the job of funding.
3. MD to pick up swag at Red Tie. Trifolds will be available to distribute at the GA. MD, MR to stack cards in sets of 100 after pickup.
The CH Handbook is being updated to reflect the roles of secondary volunteers.
Roles:
1. Administer incoming GPCA emails. Need to call Mike to get access. Mike says there’s a lot of spam, but he won’t give access to helpers.
MD: Colt Gonzalez has gotten most of the access, will check to see if he has enough
NN: Action item to check with Colt
BG to volunteer to check emails, filter spam
MR wants a replacement to field phone calls, is willing to train if replacement can come to his house
NN – there are 400 pages recording non-calls – Scary what you see when you look under the rug
We’ll have phone computer training so we can clean all this up. Much to delete.
Administer CH email list. Bert set up NN as admin, but she’s not sure the old access code is working.
Content Creation:
BG: is willing to write but warns that his opinions tend to be controversial
NN: Wants to profile the People’s Bank
MR: Will draft solicitation for volunteers, MD to send solicitation out for review
NN – we are an electoral imperative, need to solicit existing Greens to contribute. Handbook to be revised to include duties of authoring and content, and describe more and responsibilities for MD and MR to manage new work.
Graphics and Design – BD to have primary responsibiliity, NN secondary
MR and NN to store swag
NN to ship swag (NN to be out of town in June for 1 week and Juily for 3 weeks)
Directing NationBuilder (NB) volunteers – NN is doing that. Will designate a secondary to cover for her absences.
Laura Wells has list of county contacts from Laura Wells. Maybe we should send emails to volunteers to try to hook them up with local contacts, and for GPCA work.Handbook calls for 72-hour turnaround on volunteer contacts. Maybe it should be changed to a week. NB is useful in assigning volunteers to a particular contact. We need to be welcoming so they know they were heard.
NN – how are donations processed? Checks for swag? ND doesn’t know.
NN currently mails out lit, emails recipients requesting donations to the NB donation page. Honor system. NN to discuss with Ruscal and Vic. We need a secondary by July for directing NB volunteers. Colt is the current trainer. BD agrees to do a teleconf training but needs to refresh familiarity with the system.
NN proposes zoom conference for NB training. BD agrees to set up a training conference, maybe next week, for MD. 3:30 Monday.
7. Bylaws description of CH duties is a big deal. Bylaws give a link to CoCo for volunteer contacts.
8. Design for swag and what to order. Alliance Graphic has a good mockup in the online catalog for the products.
NN: proposes that we do tote bags, water bottles, and T-shirts.
BG concurs with tote bags.
MD wears t-shirts routinely.
NN cost analysis. Total budget $2600. MD to confirm with Ruscal
140 T-shirts cost $1300. Need to discuss with Finance the proposition that most of the proceeds from swag should go to finance future projects.
MD points out that budget requests are voted upon at GA.
NN- maybe delay order to Q3 so we can figure budget and cash flow. Alliance Graphics will take care of tax. Need info about shipping and handling fees. We’ll want access to a list of purchasers, and we’ll need to visit the store (in Alameda) to check the quality of printing and the cloth.
NN- T-shirts $1350 for 140 ($9.64)
BD—prefers round neck to v-neck on T-shirts
Discussion of deadline agenda items for upcoming GA (possibility of meeting to discuss this)
NN advocates recruiting volunteers from other committees. Do we have a report to give at GA beyond a simple call for volunteers? Or do we need a breakout group at the GA?
BD – favors announcement over meeting.
MD – talk to Greg Varra. The GA agenda is full and we have no official report. Announcement is sufficient. We have a resignation. We’ll join Media in the breakout and can recruit there.
MR – We should describe the problems in getting access
NN We can have it in a report. Need to create a donations spreadsheet. We need a pitch at the GA for content creators, a library of written content (Media committee does graphics)
. WE should have a newsletter and other communications channels by Q3.
MR: We need to add a sentence to describe what our mission is.
Next Meeting Wednesday May 2, 2018
###
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix D ================================
=====================================================================
ERWG
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix E ================================
=====================================================================
April Finance Committee Meeting
Thursday April 26th, 2018, 8 – 9:00 pm
Dial-in Number: (515) 604-9861
Access Code: 616301*
Present:
Victoria Ashley – Liaison, Co-co (8/8/2016 - 8/2018)
Maxine (Mica) Daniel – Co-co (1/23/2016-1/2018)
Ruscal Cayangyang – Treasurer (6/2017-6/2019)
Colt Gonzalzes
Eric Brooks
Absent:
Quinton Crawford – (9/2017-9/2019)
Bob Marsh – (2/2017 – 2/2019)
Frank Lambert – (9/2017-9/2019)
1. Agenda approval
Added EB item about cryptocurrency
Approved by consensus
2. Approve March Meeting Minutes
Will look at March Minutes next month
3. Updates / Treasurer Report
Send the Barnett Paypal account info, sustainers, to Colt and Eric
* Summary and review of reports submitted
Ruscal is working on the current report.
* Bank account balances:
Current bank balances as of 4/26
* Travis Credit Union state acct: $14,011.90
* Travis Credit Union state acct: $1,617.18
* One United acct: $394.38
* PayPal: 246.78
* Barnett PayPal: $199.19
* Fines status
Even though we paid fines in the beginning of the year, we still owe at least $5000 of fines.
* Upcoming expenses
Reserving the room for the June GA - $1400-1500 estimate
4. Fundraising Updates, Issues, Discussion
Fundraising needs to know the legalities behind joint fundraising
5. Crypto currency – over view legality and issues
6. Next Meeting: Thursday, May 24th
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix F ================================
=====================================================================
Fundraising Committee
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix G ================================
=====================================================================
GROW/Grassroots Organizing Working Group
Monthly report - teleconference notes, Tuesday, April 10, 2018
ATTENDEES and ROLES
Nassim Nouri (Santa Clara) - FACILITATOR
Laura Wells (Alameda) - GROW Co-coordinator - NOTES
Anthony Krzywicki (Ventura) - GROW Co-coordinator
Brian Good (Santa Clara)
Christine Pepin (Santa Clara)
Jennifer Hall (San Joaquin)
Josh Jones (Yolo)
Richard Gomez (Fresno)
Sadie Fulton (Yolo)
GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN SAN JOAQUIN
- Jennifer gave a brief report, looking for lodging recommendations in Stockton area, etc.
- Group discussed the voter registration sessions that GROW is planning
ACTION ITEMS:
[ ] Richard will send links to new official voter registration county counts
[ ] Laura will send request for GA time for voter registration sessions, right after the call.
[ ] Laura will contact “pro” Tim Smith to see if he can help.
[ ] Nassim will propose a structure of how to use the 45 minutes
[ ] Laura will send info re: next state meeting planning call
[ ] Brian will ask Tarik to ask counties to bring county banners for the walls at the GA
TABLING MATERIALS
- Nassim gave a report on tabling/starter kits and materials that have been sold and/or will be brought to the GA to avoid $12 shipping charges. Cost $35.00.
[ ] Need to do a ranked choice survey of what materials are desired for inventory.
JOSH JONES and SADIE FULTON CANDIDATE & COUNTY OUTREACH REPORT
- Covered many counties on northwestern CA campaign, GP organizing, and fact finding trip: Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, and soon Glenn and Colusa Counties
- “Organizing counties cold takes going back a few times to cultivate contacts and build the GP.”
NEXT MEETING
- May 8, 2018, second Tuesday, 7:30pm
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========================= Appendix H ================================
=====================================================================
GPCA-IT Committee
=====================================================================
========================= Appendix I ================================
=====================================================================
Media Committee
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========================= Appendix J ================================
=====================================================================
Platform Committee
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========================= Appendix K ================================
=====================================================================
Draft agenda of the San Joaquin County General Assembly, Stockton, June 9-10, 2018
(This agenda has not yet been approved by the Coordinating Committee and may change)
Saturday, June 9th
8:00 am Breakfast, registration
Facilitators: TBD
9:00 am Opening, new delegate orientation, quorum count, announcement of Standing Committee vacancies
9:25 am Quorum Count
9:30 am Agenda approval
10:00 am Presentation: Coordinating Committee candidates for FY 2018-2020 make statements
10:15am Presentation: GPUS Delegation delegate and alternate delegate candidates for FY 2017-2018 make statements
10:45 am Proposal: Budget FY 2018-2019 - Draft budget will be linked to when available.(Budget Committee)
11:55 am Announcements
12:00 pm Lunch, Women’s Caucus meeting during lunch
Facilitators: TBD
1:00 pm Reconvene and Quorum Count
1:05 pm Breakout sessions for committees and working groups (CCWG, Fundraising, ERWG, Bylaws)
2:05 pm Confirmation: Standing Committee and Working Group Co-Coordinators
2:10 pm Discussion: Registering People Green: Favorite Tips from the Counties. (GROW)
Voter Registration is one of the ways the GPCA stays on the ballot in California, as well as a way to both help activate a new county and to sustain an existing county Green Party. Counties will present their favorite strategies for registering people green. All counties will get unique awards for their tips later in the day.
2:55 pm Skill Building and/or Training Workshops (CCWG)
Workshop I: TBA
Workshop II: TBA
3:55 pm Discussion: Beginning a whole-scale re-evaluation of the existing GPCA Bylaws. (Bylaws Committee)
The Bylaws Committee will present an analysis of the legal requirements for the GPCA Bylaws under State law and provide an overview of our existing Bylaws. The Committee does not plan to debate the specifics of possible changes during this session, but rather to introduce a process whereby the Committee will be seeking input on a broad array of subjects and concepts.
4:55 Announcements
5:00 pm Dinner on your own (host committee providing recommendations), GPUS Delegation meeting during dinner
7:30 pm Evening Social Gathering
Sunday, June 18
8:00 am Breakfast, registration, Consensus Training
Facilitators: TBD
9:00 am Convene and Quorum Count
9:05 am Breakout sessions for committees and working groups (Platform, Media, Grow, Finance)
10:05 Reconvene
10:10 Decision: Proposal: Platform Amendments. (Platform Committee)
Proposal: Platform Plank: Water plank.
Proposal: Platform Plank: Land Use plank.
Proposal: Platform Plank: Food and Fiber Systems plank.
11:10 am Discussion: Lessons Learned in 2018. (CCWG)
A discussion of the 2018 election cycle.
Overview by CCWG
What worked well re: candidate recruitment/support ?
What do you suggest we do differently (be concrete, and state if you will join the Committee/Working Group that would do that work)
Endorsement process discussion
Wrap up
12:15 pm Proposal: Next General Assembly Meeting Date and Place (Coordinating Committee)
12:25 am Announcements
12:30 pm Lunch
Facilitators: TBD
1:00 pm Reconvene and Quorum Count
1:05 pm Breakout sessions for committees and working groups (Clearinghouse, IT, Green Issues)
2:05 pm Confirmation: Standing Committee and Working Group Co-Coordinators (for any committees or working groups not confirmed in morning session)
2:10 pm Decision: Proposal: Bylaws Amendment: Amend Article 7 of GPCA Bylaws. (Yolo County)
3:10 pm Workshops focused on Skills Building and/or Training (CCWG)
Workshop III: TBA
Workshop IV: TBA
4:10 pm Closing session
===========================================================
======================APPENDIX L ===========================
===========================================================
REVISED LANGUAGE FOR ITEM 6 RECEIVED FROM JUNE BRASHARES:
Decision Item: Bylaws Interpretation and/or take necessary actions for Greens who are non-binary gender to be eligible to be candidates and run for election to the GPCA CC (10 min)
*Sponsor*: June Brashares, Sonoma County
*Background*: This topic was on the Agenda of the CC March 5th call and also on the April 2nd call.
Following the March CC meeting, an announcement was sent out to the GPCA Inform list on March 20th to "announce a call for candidates for a regular election to fill twelve seats on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC) for the two-year CC terms running from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020."
The notice included the following text:
"These seats on the CC are specified in our bylaws as apportioned for six “male” and six “female” California Greens. However, the current CC has concluded that the decades-old Green Party of California bylaws were not intended to exclude any Greens who are non-binary, or any Greens who identify not as male nor female, or not solely as male or not solely as female. Rather, these gender-specific bylaws were intended to prevent monopolization of power by those who historically, in western culture, have held power (cis-male) to the exclusion of those whose opinions or rights have historically been suppressed. The CC desires input into how best to ensure that representation on the CC is effected according to these principles. And, in the meantime, the CC also requests that each candidate's application for the CC clearly indicate whether they are applying for one of the six "male" seats, one of the six “female" seats, or for a "neither male nor female seat" (if our bylaws had included such a category)."
I have received some input about how to ensure that representation on the CC is effected according to these principles and I have attempted to incorporate that input into the proposal below. (Which I believe received consensus on the April call but it is being brought up again for the inclusion of additional text)
*Proposal*: For the CC to pass a Bylaws interpretation and/or take necessary actions for candidates of all gender identities to be able to apply and run for election to the GPCA CC (including for the election terms running July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020), making clear that eligibility is non-exclusionary regarding gender (not bound to the old language of only "female" and "male" candidates). The method of implementation will preserve the spirit of the bylaws to protect against cis-male dominance by limiting males to half of the CC open seats, and not reserve seats as a privilege for cis-males over non-cis-males who receive higher ranking votes. (A candidate who receives better vote rankings would not be denied a CC seat to a cis-male who received vote rankings that were not as good).
Bylaws Interpretation:
Whereas the GPCA Bylaws calling for six men and six women to be elected each year to serve staggered two year terms on the Coordinating Committee, were designed to uplift and not marginalize people who have been historically oppressed due to gender and/or gender identities, and the bylaws did not intend to exclude any Greens who are non-binary, or any Greens who identify not as male nor female, or not solely as male or not solely female;
Therefore until the Bylaws language can be fully updated, this bylaws interpretation makes it clear that any California Green who identifies as non-binary gender, as not male nor female, or not solely as male or not solely female, is eligible to apply to be a candidate and run for election to a seat on the GPCA CC. The call for candidates and other information about the CC election shall include information to make clear that non-binary gender candidates are not excluded and are eligible to apply and run for election to the CC. All other previous non-conflicting rules for election to the CC would apply (where to submit application, terms, timelines and deadlines, etc...)
Each candidate's application for the CC is to clearly indicate whether they are applying for a "male" seat (cis-male), or a “female" seat, or for a "non-binary" seat.
Whereas the gender-specific bylaws were intended to prevent monopolization of power by those who historically, in western culture, have held power (cis-male) to the exclusion of those whose opinions or rights have historically been suppressed
Therefore the cis-male candidates receiving the highest rankings shall be limited to no more than 6 seats, but shall not be guaranteed 6 seats if there are "female" and "non-binary" gender candidates that receive higher rankings than the cis-male candidates.
++++++
Additional new text:
Therefore:
Implementation: To prevent cis-male candidates from taking seats from other candidates who receive higher votes than the cis-males, rankings between all candidates will be determined by having all candidates for CC seats run together in a single CC rank-choice-vote election for the total 12 seats. (There will NOT be separate ballots for 6 "male" seats and 6 "female"seats ). Cis-males will be limited to 6 seats for the 6 males who receive the best rankings. It is possible for there to be less than 6 males elected if other candidates rank better than one or more of the male candidates, even if there are 6 or more male candidates running.
For example:
It’d work like this
(for simplicity sake say there are 4 seats with no more than two going to males)
Mary (female) 1321 elected
Steve (male) 1206 elected
Andrew (male) 1191 elected
Jim (male) 875 not elected
Sue Ellen (female) 743 elected
Lucille (female) 621 not elected
Nina 412 not elected
Beth 134 not elected
so Jim gets more votes but because Steve and Andrew took up the two male slots available, the fourth seat goes to Sue Ellen.
but if it were
Mary (female)1321
Steve (male) 1206
Sue Ellen (female) 1191
Eleanor (non-binary) 875
Andrew 743
etc
Andrew wouldn't be elected because the 2 male seats is a cap, rather than a requirement.
======
*References*
Email Announcement sent out to the GPCA Inform list on March 20th with the Suject title "ANNOUNCEMENT: Application period for election to fill twelve seats on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC)to "announce a call for candidates for a regular election to fill twelve seats on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC) for the two-year CC terms running from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020
GPCA Bylaws re the Coordinating Committee
http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-03#Article_8._Coordinating_Committee
8-2.1 regarding the GPCA Coordinating Committee election and membership:
(http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-23#Section_8-2_Membership)
Section 8-4. Elections (http://www.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-23#Section_8-4_Elections)
8-4.1 Elections shall be conducted each year by the Standing Green Assembly by secret ballot, using Ranked Choice Voting with a No Other Candidate option, with the six week discussion period beginning on the first Monday of May and the one week voting period commencing immediately thereafter.
8-4.2 Candidates must submit an application to the Coordinating Committee by the last Monday of April to be eligible. Applications must include a biography and what they wish to accomplish on the Coordinating Committee.
. . .
8-4.4 Candidates shall be given time to present themselves and respond to questions on a Standing General Assembly teleconference during the Standing General Assembly discussion period in 7-6.3. Where General Assemblies or Gatherings occur after the close of the submission date in 8-4.2, and before the close of the voting period in 7-6.3, candidates shall be given time to present themselves to any General Assembly or Gathering occurring this period.