SC Call Notes — February 19, 2004
Participants:
SC members: Jo Chamberlain, Jake Schneider, Ben Manski, Alan Kobrin, Greg Gerritt
Staff: Emily Citkowski
Call Functions:
Not noted
Abbreviations used:
AFT = American Federation of Teachers
AC = Accreditation Committee
ANM, ANMC = Annual National Meeting Committee
BRPP = Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures Committee
BC = Black Caucus
CC = Coordinating Committee
CCC = Coordinated Campaign Committee
CG SC = Campus Greens Steering Committee
DC = Diversity Committee
FC = Fundraising Committee
FEC = Federal Election Commission
GP = Green Party
GW = George Washington University
IC = International Committee
ICA = Institute for Cultural Affairs
LC = Lavender Caucus
LG = Lavender Greens
PEC = Presidential Exploratory Committee
PCSC = Presidential Campaign Support Committee
SC = Steering Committee
[Brackets denote editor’s suggested corrections. Some punctuation corrections done with no content change. -ed.]
Published Agenda
Agenda Review
OLD BUSINESS AND REPORTS
Finances/fundraising/budget 20 minutes
Convention report including paying the hotel 20 minutes
this topic can be the bridge to the convention report from the financial discussion as the state of the convention preparations will influence this decision.
Credentials Committee
Voting rules progress
Office Report 10 minutes
List netiquette 5 minutes
including legal concerns about lists
Sierra club call 5 minutes
Black Caucus tour 5 minutes
Nominating committee 5 minutes
voting queue 20 minutes
Results
Supermajority Voting
Floor Manager: Ben Manski
Campaign for President of the US in 2004
Floor Manager: Jo Chamberlain
STRATEGIC PLAN
Floor Manager: Jo Chamberlain
Media Committee Rules
Floor Manager: Greg Gerritt
CREATION of an GREEN OFFICEHOLDERS NETWORK
Floor Manager: Greg Gerritt
Currently Voting
Budget 2004 (Revised)
Floor Manager: Ben Manski
Proposal to Restructure the Steering Committee
Floor Manager: Greg Gerritt
What is coming in to the queue and coming up
caucus rights
Office holders
NEW BUSINESS
Portfolios, beginning the transition 15 minutes
Anything else here
*****
OLD BUSINESS
Office Report
Emily: 3 main projects in office. 1. preparing for new office staff (Fundraising Director and political organizing staff) 2. Database 3. Credit Card sustainers
Reorganizing office went fine, all done.
Data base is really problematic. Current program does not allow for importing data.
Credit card sustainers system is in need of replacement. Program is corrupted, so no mater how we fix it, it will require reentering all of the sustainers into the db. Our current service provider is also not very good. There is currently an intern in the office, and there will be another one soon. They will do much of the reentering db info.
The finance committee is working on database issues, with eye on how it will help us do our reporting and compliance work more easily. There are also no protocols for how we use the database for organizing work. All fundraising from the database must be coordinated with the fundraising committee, but we do not have protocols about how to use the database for other purposes like political turnout. Working Group that will include members from Finance, Fundraising and CCC will convene and start to draft guidelines.
The finance committee has a subcommittee working on data base issues. It was pointed out that the Communications Committee also has folks working on db issues, so it was agreed that the two subcommittees should work together. Emily was asked to follow up with Susan Dridi of the Communications Committee.
Finances, fundraising, budget
Budget is currently being voted on, and appears likely to pass.
Contract with direct mail company (Whitney/Garcia ???) is slowly coming together. After the details are worked out the contract will come back to the SC and FC for approval.
Fundraising Director is now in DC and working. Getting pledges. She is sending regular reports on results to Jake and Marnie. The rest of the SC felt they wanted to see summaries of results, but not the detailed person by person reports. Individual names will not be broadcast. Jake, Marnie, Kara will work out the details of reporting.
Again discussed database and reporting issues.
Convention
Ben: Hotel has asked for a payment plan to be developed for the $25K costs to the party.
Credentials
Floor Rules
Hire Organizer
Ben and Jake will continue to work with the Hotel over costs and when to pay what. Contract cals for payment by June 11, but the hotel is asking for earlier payments. We are pretty optimistic that the room allocation that we are contracted to can be met. Encouraging folks to register early. There are still routine things to work through with the hotel.
Credentials Committee is still short staffed. They are working, but could use more help. This is part of a larger problem, most commitees could use help. Agreed that Greg would start to talk to committees to see if they have enough folks active to do their work. Get a better handle on strength of the committees.
Voting Rules:
Greg reported that two different proposals have been floated. One is an IRV based system for picking the nominee, the other would use multiple rounds of voting. There were comments on the inappropriateness of IRV in a situation when the various state party delegations come in with different types of instructions (ie. IRV only should be used when the ground rules are totally affirmed by all of the parties involved and the state parties all have the same ground rules and candidates on the ballot) We expect that this will continue to be discussed in the varoous committees and working groups already discussing it, and that eventually proposals will come to the CC for a vote.
There was also a discussion on how to operate the CC meeting in Milwaukee. There has been some discusion in a variety of circles that the CC meeting should focus on discussion, and that nothing except the electing of officers should be voted on by the CC at the meeting. This arises out of concerns that proposals voted on at the in=person yearly meetings tend to be less fully developed and have experienced much less vetting and discussion. Often something will pass and then we spend months trying to figure out how it will actually work. All of us can think of several examples in recent years including examples form the DC meeting in 2003. Greg will ask the BRPP for further thinking on this.
Hiring a convention organizer. Ben noted that a draft job description was circulated. SC signed off on the job description and agreed that it shold be circulated. Calls for an organizer to be hired on a contract that extends from April until shortly after the convention. Organizer wil work out of donated space in Milwaukee. ANMC will conduct the resume review and interviews. ANMC will recommend a particular hire and the SC will have to sign off on it before it can be affirmed.
List Netiquette
There are concerns that litigious individuals might sue over slights on the list, and therefore it mihgt make sense to have a disclaimer on the lists noting that the lists are unmoderated and the opinions expressed on the list are the opinions of the posters and not the resonsibility of the GP. SC agreed that they would ask the Communications Committee to lok into this, and that one place to start would be by asking Mike Wyman for his thoughts as he is a lawyer and has been researcvhing these issues.
Call between Sierra Club leadership, GPUS SC. Next call is scheuled for March 12.
Black Caucus
Greg reported that discussion to work out the loose ends still left from the proposal that passed in DC are still going on.
Nominations Committee
Greg will ask the BRPP if they are willing to help get this moving.
Voting queue
Noted that the restructuing of the SC passed
Budget vote is ongoing. As of the call the vote was 41y 19 n 10 abstain. Vote ends Monday
Proposal to have votes be by supermajority. Amended to include that it must pass by a supermajority. Voting starts March 1.
Proposal on campign 2004 Very little discussion so far. Vote starts March 1.
Strategic Plan proposal. Vote starts Feb 23.
Media committee rules. Media committee amended proposal and reposted it. Vote begins Feb 23
Office Holders Network: This proposal has been delayed while waiting for the Office Holders task force to finish their discussions. The discussion has not been finished but there is impatience among the task force. SC agreed that Ben would ask the Task force to offically report on what they would like us to do, and that we would do what they ask.
Proposal from BRPP on Caucus Rights to be introduced to the voting page for 3 week discussion, one week vote beginning Monday. Greg will floor manage.
Illinois has forwarded a draft proosal on convention credentialling process. The proposal was forwarded as a draft and they are looking for additional sponsors and may amend it before forwarding it formally.
Restructuring the SC
Greg asked that this be on the agenda, as now that the restructuring proposal has passed. SC was in general agreement that this would be implemented with the reconstituted SC after the elections in June when 5 co-chair slots will be elected (with 2 co-chairs being held over) It was agreed also that some planning for this would be proper and that the SC would ask the BRPP for help and guidance. Here, as in the nominations process the SC agreed that its job is implementation but that the policy should come from the CC and its committees. The SC will provide its input to this procss as well. Greg will ask the BRPP to participate.
Adjourn at 11:20 PM
Minimally edited and HTML formatted by Charlie Green