[Procedures] Re: [statecom] certifying locals

[jackswin]

Adam et al,
This is my interpretation of MGP bylaws on certifying
Green Locals (short version).

There are three major considerations with regard to 
certifying locals. One is affiliation with the MGP; another is 
voting rights in MGP matters, and the third (as you pointed out) 
is keeping contact information up to date. 

The structure of the locals determine affiliation to MGP according to 
state law and MGP bylaws Sec. 7.5. The MGP Secratary certifies locals 
by verifying that each local has met the structural criteria as stipulated  
in the MGP bylaws Section 7.3. My guess is that MGP Secratary 
cannot dis-allow certification of a local that meets any of the bylaw/state-law 
criteria. Bylaws Sec's 7.7 & 7.8 address the issue of disaffiliation.

http://www.massgreens.org/Documents/ByLaws/bylaws_2002_03_23.pdf

Responsibility for maintaining certification/recognition falls on 
both the MGP Secratary and the locals. Locals have an interest in 
maintaining voting & communication status while the MGP has 
an interest in the current status, structure and activities of party 
membership. 

Does this help?

peace,
Jack Swindlehurst
Procedures and Structures Committee
Central Berkshire Greens

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Adam Sacks" <adam_artist at yahoo.com>
To: <adcom at massgreens.org>; <statecom at massgreens.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 2:53 PM
Subject: [statecom] certifying locals


| Hi All --
| 
| Our Secretary, currently Larry Klay, is tasked with certifying locals. 
| At this point according to the bylaws (7.5) ". . . The Secretary shall
| certify the locals."  The local must send a letter to the MGP (for
| clubs -- it probably should indicate sending the letter to the
| Secretary) or the MGP Secretary (for committees) however, there is no
| indication of what, if anything, the Secretary *does* to certify
| locals.
| 
| We may wish to require some things from a local before certification,
| for example:
| 
| 1.  evidence that organizers and all voting members are members 
|     of the MGP (maybe the Secretary just needs to check our
|     database) -- would they need to send us a list of members
|     on a periodic basis for verification?  would the local be
|     required to check that and send confirmation to the 
|     Secretary?
| 2.  a copy of the local's bylaws, including statement of purpose
| 3.  minutes from the first meeting
| 4.  someone from the local is on the locals e-mail list to ensure
|     that we can maintain contact easily
| 5.  Connect a new local with an organizer from a veteran local as 
|     a mentor.
| 
| Also -- is there any kind of periodic recertification?  For example, we
| have locals listed on our locals web page that haven't done anything
| for I don't know how long.  If people from that area call the defunct
| local and don't get any response, it's not a good introduction to the
| Green Party.  Perhaps annually we should just get some basic
| information from all the locals -- number of members, frequency of
| meetings, summary of year's efforts.  I'm sure that this would be
| something that all locals would like to read about each other.  In any
| case, we need to make sure that a local is alive and breathing in order
| to stay on the web page.
| 
| Are there other ideas?  I don't want to make this a bureaucratic
| tangle, but the MGP is responsible for the locals to the extent that we
| certify them, so I think we need to ask ourselves what is the minimum
| we need to get from a new local -- a local which may well be organized
| by people that nobody knows personally (and efforts to undermine the
| MGP *will* happen).
| 
| Thoughts?  I'm going to need to start telling new locals how to proceed
| pretty soon.
| 
| Thx!
| 
| Adam
| 781 674-2339
| 
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