[External Relations] RE: [statecom] External Relations Committee

[David Rolde]

Betts. My understanding is that the External Relations Committee is 
supposed to deal with the GRP's relations with ALL external groups 
that we belong to or deal with (for example IPPN, Jobs With Justice, 
UJP), not only with the GPUS. I assume that in your post below you 
are objecting to having a GRP committee that deals with relations 
with the GPUS.  I don't know exactly how the External Relations 
Committee was set up. I assume that the idea was passed by Statecom 
or a state convention at some point in a previous year before I 
joined State Committee, but that the committee had never actually 
been convened. There was an effort  at the State Committee meeting in 
April of this year to get people to sign up to be on the External 
Relations Committee.

The reason State Committee is now considering a proposal to set up 
another committee to deal with the GPUS is because we discussed this 
idea at a Platform Committee meeting in May at which you (Betts) were 
present.  Everyone at that Platform Committee meeting including you 
(Betts) agreed that we should propose the creation of a new committee 
to deal with GPUS issues and that I should write up the proposal and 
solicit feedback on the wording and then send it to Statecom list for 
email decision process. I did write up a proposal. I sent it to a 
large ad hoc email list for vetting. Several people voiced strong 
opinions against the proposal. Several people voiced strong opinions 
in favor of the proposal. Nobody offered any feedback on the specific 
wording of the proposal. Gil then noted that the External Relations 
Committee was already supposed to deal with GPUS issues and that we 
could activate this functionality faster by convening the External 
Relations Committee than by going through State Committee to form 
another new committee. I had been unaware of this official function 
of the External Relations Committee.  The proposal for the new 
committee to deal with GPUS issues was never submitted for email 
decision-making process.  And I'm not sure if the External Relations 
Committee has been convened yet or not (Somebody at the July State 
Committee meeting said that the External Relations Committee had 
started operating via an ad hoc email list).  When the deadline for 
proposals for the July State Committee meeting was coming up, I felt 
that I had to submit the proposal to form the new committee to deal 
with GPUS issues because there had been a lot of support for the 
proposal and I thought that people were expecting this proposal to be 
submitted.  Julie and Aram had agreed to cosponsor.  I believe that 
currently there are some State Commitee members who believe that GPUS 
issues are so important and complex that they need a dedicated 
committee, there are other State Committee members who think that the 
External Relations Committee should be able to handle these issues, 
and there are other State Committee members who think that our reps 
to the GPUS CC and GPUS committees can operate effectively without 
having a GRP committee to coordinate GPUS issues.  I think this needs 
to be sorted out at the upcoming State Committee meeting.

I'm confused about your (Betts's) position on having a GRP committee 
to deal with GPUS issues. You say in this email that you have never 
supported the idea. But I thought you supported the idea at the 
Platform Committee meeting in May. The new committee wouldn't be only 
or primarily about dictating our delegates' votes in GPUS CC voting. 
The new committee would be a place for GRP members who are interested 
in working on GPUS issues to discuss these issues so that such 
discussion wouldn't have to occur on the State Committee list and so 
that proposals for Statecom dealing with GPUS issues would have a 
sub-committee to vet them. The new committee would coordinate 
information and discussion about other GPUS committees and other 
things about the GPUS that are beyond or not directly related to GPUS 
CC voting.  The new committee would attempt to recruit and support 
GRP members to join and work on GPUS committees such as the GPUS 
Platform Committee, International Committee, procedures committee (I 
can't remember exactly what it is called), Peace Action Committee, 
Communications Committee, Accreditation Committee, etc. The new 
committee could be a place for the GRP to develop ideas for how we 
can more actively influence the GPUS. We could be suggesting changes 
or new initiatives to the GPUS rather than just responding via "yes" 
or "no" CC votes to ideas that are submitted by other state parties. 
The Green-Rainbow Party could be exerting more influence on the 
national party, and we could play a very positive role in making the 
national party become an even better party than it is now.

I think the creation of a new GRP committee to deal with GPUS would 
not be an encumbrance upon our delegates to the GPUS CC. Rather it 
would be an expansion of the role of our CC delegates and an increase 
in their importance as they would be chairing what would hopefully be 
a vibrant committee doing a lot of important work.  There are several 
GRP State Committee members who are already interested in and working 
on GPUS issues. At the moment these State Committee members don't 
have a proper subcomittee through which to work together and channel 
their energy in an efficient and pro-active (rather than reactive) 
way.

I don't have a strong opinion on whether the GRP committee dealing 
with GPUS issues needs to be a new separate committee or whether it 
can be the External Relations Committee. It seems that the External 
Relations Committee probably cannot be convened before the August 15 
State Committee meeting, so I still hope that the proposal can be 
dealt with at the State Committee meeting.

In response to Betts's question about what is wrong and why I am 
unhappy, the original reason that I felt a need for a committee like 
this is because last winter I attempted to join the GPUS Platform 
Committee. At the time I didn't know much about the GPUS. There was 
no support for me to learn about the GPUS and how to function in the 
role of a member of a GPUS committee and in the role of a GRP 
representative to the GPUS.  I'm not the only person to have this 
problem. I believe that one of our reps to the GPUS CC in a previous 
year was never even able to learn how to vote in GPUS CC voting. 
Since then I have learned more about the GPUS over many months. It is 
now clear to me that there have been and always are a lot of national 
Green Party issues that are of great concern to GRP members, for 
instance the way the Green Party National Convention and Presidential 
Nomination Process were conducted, and that the GRP could be exerting 
influence on the national party in a more organized, efficient, 
well-thought-out and proactive manner.  I have no mistrust of Betts, 
Ebony, Gil and Aimee.  This is not a personal issue.

- David

At 5:04 PM -0400 8/4/04, Betty H. Zisk wrote:
>I dont supprt this idea of an external relat committee. I never have --and
>if I misunderstood purpose of this committee I am sorry. Frankly there is
>far too much control over our voice already. I have tried hard t0 explain my
>vote in the past and to consult wth my constituents. So has Rudy in past. So
>have Gil and Aimee. What is wrong--ie why are you unhappy? Betts Zisk in
>sorrow.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: statecom-bounces at green-rainbow.org
>[mailto:statecom-bounces at green-rainbow.org]On Behalf Of David Rolde
>Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 10:17 AM
>To: statecom at green-rainbow.org; outreach at green-rainbow.org
>Subject: [statecom] External Relations Committee
>
>
>Could whoever is running the ad hoc external relations committee
>email list please add me? Or better yet could we use the Outreach
>list on the GRP server for this committee? I'd like to discuss
>whether the External Relations Committee can handle relations between
>the GRP and GPUS or whether the External Relations Committee supports
>the proposal to have a new full GRP committee to deal with the GPUS
>or whether the External Relations Committee wants to have a
>sub-committee for GPUS issues. I'd also like to see if someone can
>provide a thorough overview of what coalitions and other groups the
>GRP belongs to or deals with regularly. I also have ideas for new
>coalitions we could join and things we could sign on to.
>- David
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