[statecom-discuss] Fwd: Telecon for Advisory Ballot Working Group - Sunday 3pm

Fri Apr 18 18:33:13 EDT 2008

John Andrews <jandrews166 at gmail.com> wrote:  Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:11:02 -0400
From: "John Andrews" <jandrews166 at gmail.com>
To: "Andrews, John [gmail]" <jandrews166 at gmail.com>, 
"Cunningham, Bill" <etwee at earthlink.net>, 
"Flittie, Tom" <tom.flittie at gmail.com>, 
"Hicks, Gary" <gooberthink06 at yahoo.com>, 
Merelice <merelice at gmail.com>, 
"Randall, Steve" <chanrandall24 at comcast.net>, 
"Stein, Jill" <jstein at massmed.org>
Subject: Telecon for Advisory Ballot Working Group - Sunday 3pm

[There was no perfect telecon time, but Sunday at 3pm seemed to be acceptable to the greatest number of people.  If you can't make it, feel free to send out comments on the agenda items.   I did some advance preparation to help us get things focused (Given the tasks and deadlines, we absolutely can't afford to have a telecon that doesn't make progress, so let's keep our fingers crossed that we can fix up the proposals and make some decisions.  Some additional items for the reading package will be sent out shortly - they may not be necessary for this telecon, but will be relevant at some point. ) - John]

Please have this material available during the telecon!

GRP Advisory Ballot Working Group (ABWG)

Draft Agenda and Proposals,  4/20/08 telecon

ABWG TELECON INFORMATION

Sunday, April 20, 2008, 3:00 PM
    Dial-in Number:     1-605-475-4150  (Midwest)     
    Participant Access Code     47704

=============================

TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR TELECON [times in minutes]

ï¿½ Opening comments from members [10]
ï¿½ Adopt a meeting agenda [3]
ï¿½ Review of the schedule, including key legal deadines [3]
ï¿½ Organizational structure of the ballot initiative  (Proposal ABWG.01) [5]
ï¿½ Review and approve the ABWG terms of reference (Proposal ABWG.02)  [15]
ï¿½ Procedure for approving questions (Proposal ABWG.03) [10]
ï¿½ Outreach to GRP Locals (Proposal ABWG.04) [5]
ï¿½ Priority action items/ questions for next two weeks [5]
ï¿½ Next meeting (date and agenda) [4]
ï¿½ Adjourn

Total time for above agenda:  60 min

Reading Package:

1) Draft plan for the ABWG
2) ABWG Calendar
3) Public Policy Questions from 2004 and 2006
4) Draft Agenda and Proposals (File ABWG_agenda_20April08.doc)

==========================================
ABWG Members (as of 4/16/08)

John Andrews
Bill Cunningham
Tom Flittie
Gary Hicks (CDLC liaison)
Merelice
Steve Randall
Jill Stein (CDLC liaison)

==========================================
PROPOSAL ABWG.01

TITLE: Organizational Structure

The ballot initiative organization structure shall include the following entities:

Platform Committee - The standing GRP committee responsible for convening the Advisory Ballot Working Group.

Advisory Ballot Working Group - a committee of GRP members responsible for success of the overall advisory question initiative.

Ballot committees - Committees, legally established,  formed for each question topic.  The ballot committees support their designated question in all districts for which it will appear on the ballot.  They are able to accept donations in support of the question. 

District Action Groups - Informal groups organized in a particular district to gather signatures and carry out the campaign in that district. Each District Action Group is allowed to designate a ballot committee representative for their district.

=============================================
PROPOSAL ABWG.02

TITLE: Terms of Reference for the ABWG

The following Terms of Reference for the ABWG, derived from the draft Platform Committee minutes of 4/10/08, is hereby accepted by the ABWG.  The Terms of Reference are subject to change by the Platform Committee.

ï¿½ The ABWG is the overall steering group for all questions in all districts.  It will ensure that the overall effort is focused, within scope, and successful.
ï¿½ The ABWG members will be members of the Green-Rainbow Party (This does not preclude the ABWG appointing associate members or advisors who are not members of the Party).
ï¿½ The ABWG is the interface between the advisory ballot work and the other committees in the Party (particularly Platform and StateComm).  The ABWG reports directly to State Committee.
ï¿½ The ABWG will be responsible, with the assistance of CDLC, for meeting legal requirements.
ï¿½ The ABWG will help establish the ballot committees and district action groups as required to carry out work on individual questions in selected districts.  It is understood that these subgroups will operate on a nonpartisan basis, although it is recommended that the treasurer of any ballot committee be a member of the GRP. The ABWG ensures coordination between subgroups, resolves any conflicts between subgroups, and can declare a subgroup to be inactive if required.
ï¿½ The ABWG may raise dedicated funds to support the ballot questions, possibly working in conjunction with special ballot committees. 
ï¿½ Members of the ABWG are encouraged to volunteer to work on one or more particular ballot questions, but in their actions as ABWG members they are expected to make decisions for the overall good of the initiative.
ï¿½ The ABWG will be responsible for working with other GRP committees to accomplish the initial follow-through after the election.

======================================================
PROPOSAL ABWG.03

TITLE: Adopted Ballot Questions

"Adopted ballot questions" are questions that, if placed on the November 2008 ballot,  are eligible for support from the ABWG.  In order to be placed in this category, a ballot question proposal form as specified by the ABWG must be submitted to the ABWG and receive a 3/4 vote of approval.   The deadline to ensure adoption shall be May 9, but the earlier a proposal is submitted, the better.  Applications received later than the deadline may be considered at the discretion of the ABWG.

All persons who have an interest in a particular question shall be encouraged to work together to submit a single question proposal form for that topic. 

======================================================

PROPOSAL ABWG.04

TITLE: Outreach to GRP Locals

One person shall be assigned to contact each GRP local (club) and ask if they will make a commitment to sponsor a ballot question in a district in their area.  Locals will be asked to complete a volunteer form on behalf of the local and return it by April 28.  They will also be asked to participate in the writing of the question adoption proposal.

---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.