CCCC Bylaws
From Cook County Green Party
Approved January 26th 2008
BYLAWS OF THE COOK COUNTY GREEN PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Contents |
ARTICLE I - Name and Purpose
A. Name. The name of this entity shall be the Cook County Green Party Central Committee, hereinafter called "the Central Committee".
B. Purposes. The purposes of the Committee are:
- to nominate candidates for county office as stipulated in Section 7-7 of the Illinois Election Code;
- to promote, in Cook County, Illinois, the election of Green Party candidates to public offices generally; and
- to uphold the Ten Key Values of the Green Party, as described in the Platform of the Illinois Green Party: Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Nonviolence, Decentralization, Community-Based Economics, Feminism, Respect for Diversity, Personal and Global Responsibility, and Future Focus.
ARTICLE II - Membership
A. The Central Committee shall be composed of all duly elected and/or appointed Ward and Township Committeepersons within Cook County, hereinafter called "Committeepersons".
B. Vacancies in Ward or Township Committeeperson positions may be filled by a vote of the Central Committee. Such appointments shall be done in consult with the members of the Illinois Green Party within the jurisdiction, or with the relevant local organization of the Illinois Green Party. Only members in good standing of the Illinois Green Party may be considered for filling such vacancies.
ARTICLE III - Officers
A. Convention. The Central Committee shall have officers charged with specific duties and responsibilities and elected by the members at the County Convention (which is scheduled by statute "[o]n the 29th day next succeeding the primary at which [committeepersons] are elected", to meet "within the county").
B. General Requirements. In addition to any requirements as specified under statute, all officers of the Central Committee must be members in good standing of the Illinois Green Party.
C. Chairperson. There shall be a Chairperson, who will (1) plan an agenda in advance of each meeting, (2) appoint a Facilitator for each meeting, (3) be the Central Committee's primary spokesperson for authorized communication with the general public, (4) be responsible for maintaining the basic functioning of the organization and seeing that its decisions are carried out, and (5) insure that appointments of new Committeepersons for wards or townships with vacancies occur according to the process defined in 2-B. Unless the Chairperson has separately been elected to such position, he/she shall not be considered the Chairperson of the Cook County Green Party.
D. Secretary. There shall be a Secretary, who will (1) see that minutes of meetings are recorded and disseminated to the members, and (2) act as the Committee's official correspondent, and (3) maintain an updated roster of committeepersons and their contact information. The Secretary is not required to be a Committeeperson. Unless the Secretary has separately been elected to such position, he/she shall not be considered the Secretary of the Cook County Green Party.
E. Other Officers. The Central Committee may select other officers as it deems appropriate.
F. Vacancies. If a vacancy occurs in the position of any of the Officers, that vacancy will be filled for the remainder of the term by a special election at a meeting called for the purpose. Notice of the special election shall accompany the announcement of the meeting.
G. Recall. Any officer of the Central Committee may be removed from such office by a two-thirds weighted vote of the Central Committee, and only at a meeting where such a recall motion was on a previously distributed agenda for the meeting.
ARTICLE IV - Meetings
A. Statutory Convention. Per Illinois statute, the Central Committee shall hold the statutory county convention on the 29th day next succeeding a general primary election.
B. Regular Meetings. The Central Committee, at any duly convened meeting, may set a schedule of regular meetings. Committeepersons must be given five days notice in writing of any such meeting.
C. Special Meetings. The Chairperson, or any 25% of the members of the Central Committee, can call a special meeting of the Central Committee, provided that all members of the Central Committee are given five days notice in writing, and are provided with the time and place of the meeting and the business which is to be conducted at the meeting.
D. Teleconference. Meetings of the Central Committee may be held by teleconference except when otherwise specified by statute.
E. Notice. Whenever these Bylaws refer to providing notice "in writing", appropriate forms of communication shall include postal mail, email, and fax.
ARTICLE V - Decision-Making
A. Quorum. Decisions by the Central Committee may be made only at an appropriately called meeting at which a quorum is present. A quorum for this purpose shall be defined as any number that is equal to or greater than one half of the sitting committee.
B. Consensus. For decisions other than internal elections and nominations of candidates, the Central Committee shall strive to reach consensus. If consensus can not be reached, then a vote will be taken.
C. Weight. The weight of a Committeeperson's vote shall be equal to the number of persons who took Green Party ballots within the Ward or Township that such Committeeperson represents in the preceding general primary election.
D. Officer Elections. A weighted vote shall be taken for each officer position at the beginning of a term or, in the event of a vacancy, in the middle of a term. If no candidate should receive an outright majority of votes cast, then the seat will be declared vacant and subject to a new vote.
ARTICLE VI - Nomination of Candidates for Public Office
A. Guidance. When a vacancy in nomination for public office occurs that may be filled by an action of the Central Committee, the Central Committee shall, as regards filling such a vacancy, and to the extent possible, follow the direction of those members of the Illinois Green Party residing in the relevant jurisdiction, or of the Cook County Green Party or a relevant local organization of the Illinois Green Party.
B. Eligibility. The Central Committee may only nominate a candidate to fill a vacancy in nomination for public office if such candidate is a member in good standing of the Illinois Green Party.
ARTICLE VII - Amendment
These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds supermajority of the votes cast at a meeting attended by a quorum as defined in these Bylaws, provided that any proposed amendment was presented at a preceding meeting and that notice of the proposed amendment accompanied the notice of the meeting at which the proposed amendment is to be considered.
