Our March General Meeting will be taking place via Zoom on Sunday, March 27th at 10:30am — not Saturday 26th. This is a one-time change to avoid a conflict with the LD caucuses scheduled by Washington State Democrats. Future meetings will still be held on Saturdays. A link to this meeting can be found in your March Whatcom Democrats Newsletter.
At the March General Meeting, there will be the First Reading for a set of proposed draft Bylaw Amendments. The purpose of these amendments is to provide greater clarity on Whatcom Democrat’s expectations for conflicts of interest. The language for these amendments can be found below.
There will also be a second reading of proposed amendments to Endorsement Policy. These amendments were first read during our November General Meeting. Click here to view the language for these amendments. Also, an additional one proposed by the E-Board at its March 17 meeting:
Before the primary:
2. In races where there are at least two candidates that are certified Democrats and more than one other candidate, the E-Board may decide to hold an endorsement vote only if there is a significant chance that no certified Democrat will otherwise emerge in the top two.
In addition, there will be a First Reading of a Resolution on the Proposed Bessie Timber Sale. Adoption of this resolution will require a two-thirds vote.
Following that, we will have a 2022 Legislative Session Recap with our state legislators!
Proposed Bylaw Amendments
Italics indicate new language, crossouts indicate language that would be removed. Underlined text indicates notes made to provide clarity on proposals and will not be included in the amendments.
Article III Officers
ADD a new Section 5, Conflicts of interest.
Section 5. Conflicts of interest
The Chair of the Central Committee is prohibited from accepting anything of value, including but not limited to paid employment, from candidates who are eligible for Whatcom Democrats endorsement. This prohibition does not extend to attendance at campaign events that offer food or drink. The Chair is also prohibited from making donations to such candidates before they have been endorsed by Whatcom Democrats, provided that the Chair shall not be prohibited from donating to their own campaign.
Article VII Executive Board
ADD a new Section 4, Conflicts of Interest
Section 4. Conflicts of Interest
Members of the Executive Board who are on a campaign committee or acting as a formal consultant or advisor to a campaign must disclose that involvement to the Executive Board, and recuse themselves from any relevant discussions and votes.
Article VIII Committees
Section 1. Standing Committees
The standing committees will be made up of Central Committee members. Committee members shall disclose any conflicts of interest to the Committee Chair and to the other Committee members. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to: being a candidate for office (except for PCO), being closely related to a candidate, being in a long-term relationship with a candidate. Committee members with a conflict of interest shall recuse themselves from discussions and voting on matters where their conflict of interest exists.
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