WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN
BYLAWS AND STANDING RULES
January, 2008, Last Revision March 25, 2010
ARTICLE I The name of the organization shall be the West Seattle Democratic Women (WSDW).
ARTICLE II MISSION
The mission of the West Seattle Democratic Women is to join all Democrats to discuss, inform, educate, and better understand the political process and to support related civic and education programs in the West Seattle community. We shall work to elect Democrats to local, state and national office through grass roots efforts. We welcome and include all people and their ideas.
ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
A. Membership
1. The membership shall be open to any person who is a Democrat.
2. Voting members must be current in their annual dues.
3. Honorary members shall be defined as candidates cannot practically become members.
B. Dues - The amount of the annual dues shall be set by recommendation of the Executive Board and vote of
the membership at a monthly meeting prior to the beginning of the calendar year.
C. Fiscal Year -- The Fiscal Year shall be from January 1 to December 31.
ARTICLE IV MEETINGS
A. Regular meeting shall be held monthly on the fourth Thursday of each month.
B. Meeting dates may be changed as needed by a vote of the membership.
C. A voting quorum shall be 20% of the membership.
ARTICLE V OFFICERS
A. The elected officers of the WSDW shall consist of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, and Parliamentarian.
B. The term of office should be one year from January to January.
C. Any officer may be removed for breach of office or by an absence at three or more consecutive Board Meetings. Removal will require a two thirds vote of the membedrs a meeting called by at least five members in good standing. Such call shall be served in writing to the Chair.
D. Any vacancies among the Officers shall be filled for the balance of the term by the Executive Board and
approved by the membership.
ARTICLE VI DUTIES OF OFFICERS
A. CHAIR The Chair shall perform all duties incumbent upon the Office and in addition shall reside at all meetings, shall appoint chairs of all committees, and may service as ex officio member of all committees.
B. VICE CHAIR The Vice Chair shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the Chair and shall aid in the selection of speakers for meetings.
C. SECRETARY The Secretary shall keep minutes of all Executive Board meetings and record any votes taken at the general membership meetings.
D. TREASURER The Treasurer shall receive all monies and pay all bills as ordered by the Chair; keep an accurate accounting of receipts and disbursements including the balance of each budgeted item, present monthly financial and bank statements to the Executive Board; and provide a year end financial statement to the membership in
January.
E. PARLIAMENTARIAN The Parliamentarian shall act as a resource when questions arise as to the conduct of a meeting.
ARTICLE VII EXECUTIVE BOARD
A. The Executive Board shall consist of elected Officers, the immediate past Chair, and Committee Chairs.
B. Time and place of monthly Executive Board meetings will be announced by the Chair.
C. The Executive Board may make recommendations for consideration at the regular membership meetings.
D. Fifty percent of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE IX COMMITTEES
The Chair may create committees and appoint members as deemed necessary to the working order of the organization, including but not limited to Sunshine Committee, Awards Committee, Scholarship Committee, Notification Committee, Membership Committee and Librarian.
ARTICLE X NOMINATING COMMITTEE
There shall be a Nominating Committee elected by the membership in September. The Executive Board members are not eligible for election to the Nominating Committee. A slate of candidates shall be presented at the October meeting.
ARTICLE XI ELECTIONS
A. Election of office shall be held at the November meeting.
B. A member must be current with his/her dues to be eligible to run for office and to vote on any issue including the November election.
ARTICLE XII AMENDMENTS
A. Proposed amendments to the bylaws may be proposed at a membership meeting for a vote at the following meeting.
B. Approval by 2/3 of the voting members present at the meeting is required to pass.
ARTICLE XIII ENDORSEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
A. Endorsements and donations to candidates shall be made only in General Elections.
B. Donations shall be made only to candidates who are members or honorary members of the WSDW.
C. Proposed endorsements and donations to causes, community organizations, and ballot issues may be introduced and discussed at any meeting.
D. To be eligible for a donation, a cause or community organization must be one that upholds the values and principles of the Democratic Party and the West Seattle Democratic Women.
ENDORSEMENT RULES (Revised August 27, 2009, Paragraph 5 Revised March 25, 2010)
A quorum of fifteen (15) eligible members is required to be present for any endorsement vote. Only members in good standing, i.e., having paid their annual dues by the end of the previous regular meeting of the WSDW, shall be considered eligible members.
Notice of the intent to make endorsements shall be provided to the membership through the standard means of notice for the regular meeting.
A candidate must appear before the membership during the calendar year of the election for which endorsement is sought and declare herself or himself a Democrat in order to be considered for endorsement. This applies to partisan and nonpartisan races.
Only one candidate may be endorsed for any one position. There will be no dual endorsements.
An endorsement shall be given with a simple majority of the members present and voting. No proxies allowed.