[statecom] [adcom] Important question Re: credentialing new StateCom reps

[Jamie O'Keefe]

Hi Merelice,

> I have received a couple of questions regarding the election of new
> StateCom members BEFORE the virtual StateCom meeting now in session
> takes care of the business of the meeting.

Happy to try to resolve them.

> AdCom discussed this at its Monday night teleconference. We were told
> that at in-person meetings, part of the credentialing process was
> electing and credentialing _new_ StateCom members and, therefore, it
> would be part of the process of a virtual meeting.

That is true as a special state committee meeting is still a state
committee meeting and is bound by the Standing Rules as defined:

http://green-rainbow.org/StateCom/standing_rules.html

> However, in the past, virtual meetings did not include a credentialing
> process because it was assumed that ALL StateCom members receiving the
> notice of the meeting were "credentialed" to participate in the
> meeting.

That we did it in the past in the manner you suggested does not mean
that we did it correctly those times.  Also, as Dan pointed out at our
Adcom meeting, other times credentialing was not necessary as there
were no new party members who wanted to join the State Committee.

> Waiting for quorum was not an issue since the meeting takes
> place over a period of time. We simply needed to hear from at least
> two-thirds of StateCom to complete the business of the virtual
> meeting.

Quorum is always an issue for state committee.  Due to the virtual
nature of special state committee meetings, we require consensus of
two-thirds of the entire state committee to ensure that whatever
decision was made would reflect the entire state committee.  In such a
case, quorum is two-thirds of the state committee.

> There has not been an effort to add StateCom reps AFTER the notice of
> a virtual meeting went out. I can understand (and share) concerns
> about being asked to vote for new statecom reps without the benefit of
> in-person discourse and, as important, without the potential new reps
> having participated in the business to be addressed at a virtual
> meeting that doesn't allow for the same kind of deliberation as an
> in-person meeting.

While it is true that people would get some minimal interaction at the
start of a state committee meeting with potential members, the
interaction does not appear much larger than what is offered.  Some
people who others have nominated are known by most, others are not.
Certainly, we could ask for brief statements by people who are seeking
to be elected to the state committee, if that would settle any
concerns.

> I suggest that by virtue of sending out the StateCom meeting notice
> and having already begun the session, the credentialing has already
> taken place. Therefore, we should proceed with the business for which
> the meeting was called.

I appreciate the suggestion, but as facilitator, I believe we have to
keep to the standing rules of the state committee.

Jamie