The 40th LD reorganization will take place Sunday, January 10, 1 pm, sign-in starts at 11:30 am, via Zoom. Please check in early. You may check in and then come back when the meeting starts.
PCOs must be present to vote and nominate – no proxies.
The register link has been sent to the PCOs, members, and candidates. If you wish to attend the meeting, please email Trevor Smith at steelshanks@yahoo.com and ask for the registration link. Pre-Registration is highly recommended!
When you pre-register for the 40th reorganization meeting, PCOs and members must use the same email we used to send you the registration link earlier last week or if you are not a PCO or member, use the email you use to ask Trevor for the link.
There will be no other agenda items except the elections.
All positions are open (descriptions are below).
Informational only: The Skagit Vice Chair, San Juan Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer are seeking re-election. The Chair and Whatcom Vice Chair are not running again, and both the State Committee members have not decided, yet.
The Vice Chairs are elected by PCOs who reside in each of the 3 Counties (for example: Skagit Vice Chair is elected by PCOs who reside in Skagit County). Vice Chair elections will be done using Break Out Rooms.
We are encouraging all candidates to let the Chair, Trevor Smith (steelshanks@yahoo.com), or Skagit Vice Chair, Janet McKinney (cedarwaxwings@gmail.com), know if you are running for an office at least 3 days before the meeting (January 7). The sooner we know who is running, the better we can organize the meeting. Please let us know as soon as you can. This is not a requirement. All nominations must be made by a PCO during the meeting regardless of whether the candidate has contacted us before the meeting or if they decided to run from the floor.
If candidates are unable to attend the meeting, they must email the chair by January 9th with the name of the PCO who will be present to nominate them. Otherwise, only those present during the meeting may be nominated for any position.
If a candidate wants a list of the PCOs to send out their statements, please email Janet McKinney at cedarwaxwings@gmail.com
Candidates and their nominators will each be given 2 minutes to speak.
A majority is required for election.
Here is a link to the rules: Tinyurl.com/40threorg2021rules
PLEASE let us know if you have any disagreement with the rules. Changing the rules at the meeting will be very disruptive and cause the meeting to go much longer than necessary.
We are using google forms for ballots and every ballot must include your Email, Name, and Address to ensure the integrity of the election. Only PCOs present during the meeting may vote in these elections. Any ballot that does not have these identification criteria shall be considered spoiled and invalid.
Links to a sample ballots (please do not fill out):
Chair: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfud-q9RS3bnEwa5HF__orAXxqvvIXoyvlx-w-RG9MJ0lV4vw/viewform
Vice-Chairs: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0-fFMAVLuVYV9PIsa7RvQWhwuaWmCMCjpruFUZX7uQGvtNQ/viewform
If you need any kind of accommodation for the meeting, please let Trevor Smith know by calling him at (360) 395-5602 or emailing steelshanks@yahoo.com. Earlier notice will allow us to make the meeting as accessible as possible despite our limitations in resources.
People calling in with smart phones must use a browser.
Everyone planning to vote during the meeting must have access to an internet browser and reliable internet access on their phone, computer, or another device so that they can access the ballots on google forms while calling into the zoom meeting.
If you are interested in becoming a member, go to the 40th Website and click on AB (ActBlue). https://40thdems.org/.
You are not required to be a member to run.
Turn Georgia Senators Blue!
Trevor Smith, Chair of the 40th LD Democrats
What is a Reorganization Meeting?
The State Party’s Charter and Bylaws require that all county and legislative district party organizations elect new officers (a process called “reorganization”) every two years, shortly after each even-year election. In addition, the county parties and some legislative district organizations will be electing positions required by statute. Counties are responsible for planning and running their reorganization meetings in accordance with the State Party’s Charter and Bylaws and (where not inconsistent with Party rules) statutes.
At these reorganization meetings newly elected PCOs elect local leadership like chairs, vice chairs, and state committee members and in some cases additional representatives to other party organizations.
E-board positions’ descriptions:
The officers elected to the 40th Legislative District Executive Board represent a large geographical area ranging from as far north as downtown Bellingham to as far south as Burlington to as far west as San Juan Islands and as far east as Acme. It is important these persons be actively involved with the Party and its betterment, as well as being willing and able to devote time and energy to its activities.
CHAIR
- The Chair is the central figure of the LD Democratic Party. This person must have considerable organizational skills and be respected by party members. The Chair calls and presides at meetings of the executive committee as well as general membership meetings. Chair is responsible for arrangements for re-organization meetings, special elections, and ultimately any and all functions of the Party.
- All meetings of the Fortieth Legislative District shall be called and presided over by the District Chair or in the absence of the Chair, the 1st Vice-chair or another Vice-chair. If none of these are present,the Secretary shall preside.
- The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the nominating committee,
- and shall have the power and the duty to appoint such additional committees as are deemed
- necessary for the effective operation of the Fortieth District Organization.
- The Chair shall have the power to appoint an assistant to any officer whenever, in his or her
- opinion such an assistant is necessary or beneficial.
- The Chair shall be the chairperson of the Executive Board.
- The Chair shall be the Public Relations officer of the Fortieth District Organization.
VICE CHAIRS
- The First Vice Chair assumes the role of Chair when the Chair is unavailable. Ideally, this person would assist the Chair in their roles and responsibilities.
- Chairs shall serve as liaisons to their respective counties. One Vice-chair shall be appointed each calendar year to the position of First Vice-chair, the term of which shall expire at the end of each calendar year.
- The First Vice-chair shall assist the chair by carrying out those responsibilities delegated by the Chair and will preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair.
- The 40th LD has 3 Vice Chairs–one for each county (Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan). Each Vice Chair is responsible for attending the Democratic meetings of the county they represent and reporting back to the 40th District. This is important because the 40th represents 3 counties and we try to avoid overlapping our events with county and neighboring LD organizations.
SECRETARY
- The Secretary keeps the minutes of the meetings of the General Membership as well as the Executive Committee and the reorganization meeting and transmits copies of minutes to board members in a timely fashion.
- It is also the Secretary’s duty to inform Democrats within the organization as well as neighboring Democratic organizations about meetings and activities. This includes the following:
- Adding meeting dates to website calendar
- Assisting Chair with mailing meeting notices
- Creating Facebook event pages for meetings
TREASURER
- The Treasurer is arguably one of the most important positions of any organization.
- The Treasurer oversees the financial affairs of the LD Party. Treasurer duties include keeping detailed records of expenditures and donations garnered from fundraising activities and memberships as well as disburse all funds and filing timely reports with the PDC.
- In addition, the Treasurer is responsible for providing briefings to the Executive Board, checking the PO Box as well as collecting membership dues and updating our membership roster.
- The Treasurer shall be a member of the finance committee and chair of the budget committee.
State Committee Members
The State Committee Members are the liaison between the LD and the Washington State Democrats by attending the WSDCC meetings. The State Committee Members also report to the membership at the quarterly meetings and to the E-board.