The RPDC Charter

THE ROCKLAND PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CHARTER

Mission Statement

The Rockland Progressive Democratic Caucus was formed and is united in the common purpose to provide a strong, credible voice in advancing progressive solutions to community problems.

We will work to secure advances in progressive public policy. We believe in an interdependent world that respects and upholds human rights, democratic processes, economic justice, government transparency, peaceful resolutions to conflicts, sustainable communities, and environmental protection. We believe that government and its officials must use modern information technologies to provide accessible and transparent communication about their activities.

By uniting around issues important to Rockland County residents, we will:

Work on strategies to expand active public support for progressive issues and policies.

Work with other progressive organizations to use the aggregate power of everyday people to encourage policy changes.

Work to recruit, support and elect progressive candidates.

Work to educate and engage citizens from across the county around issues of national, state, or local concern.

Harness information technologies to help implement these organizational goals.

We seek for our County and hope for all its residents:

A living wage for all workers, decent housing standards.

Universal health care.

Renewable energy resources.

Equality for all regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation.

Respect for civil liberties found in the Bill of Rights.

We pledge ourselves to be open and transparent in our dealings, honest in our endeavors, and to conduct our affairs in a manner worthy of a society of free people.

ARTICLE I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Membership

ARTICLE II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conventions and Meetings

ARTICLE III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Executive Committee

ARTICLE IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Committees

ARTICLE V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Recommendations and Endorsements

ARTICLE VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Treasury

ARTICLE VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fundraising

ARTICLE VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Communications

ARTICLE IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amendments

ARTICLE X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Affiliations

ARTICLE XI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethics

Membership. Membership is open to any Rockland County resident regardless of party affiliation and requires no dues. Our membership must be diverse, with members residing in each of Rockland’s towns. New members can register at any meeting or by notifying the Secretary and providing proof of residence and contact information. Participation in at least one official Caucus event per year is required to maintain membership. The Executive Committee shall, on a regular basis, direct the secretary to purge non-attending members from the membership list, at which time these membership shall be deemed to have lapsed. Expired memberships will be reinstated upon request at full-membership meetings, but will not resume until the subsequent meeting.

Conventions and meetings. The Executive Committee (defined below) shall meet monthly to provide reports on progress and to define the agenda for membership activities and meetings. The Secretary, or a proxy, will provide minutes of the Executive Committee meetings to the entire membership. Committees (defined below) shall meet as directed by that committee’s chair.

The full Caucus shall meet bimonthly, with notification and agenda of the meeting provided no later than 10 days before the meeting through the caucus’s official email list and Web site. Voting members include all members in attendance that remain in good standing. All final decisions of the Caucus shall be made by a majority vote of members in good standing. A quorum for a meeting shall be greater than 20 percent of current membership. The default for voting is voice vote. If a member in good standing objects, voting will be conducted by roll call.

Executive Committee. The Executive Committee are the officers that shall manage the organization. It shall consist of a chair, vice-chair, treasurer, secretary, and the chair of each active committee, as defined by the Executive Committee. A voting quorum for the Executive Committee meeting shall be 50 percent of its membership. Voting by the Executive Committee is conducted by recorded, roll call vote.

The terms of Executive Committee officers expire after one year, and they serve until their successors are elected or until they are removed. The full Caucus elects officers at the first meeting in each calendar year—the agenda for such meeting must include election of officers. The Executive Committee may remove an officer from his/her position with two-thirds vote so long as the motion is included in the meeting notice.

Roles of the charter members of the Executive Committee.
1. Chair. To preside over meetings, represent the Caucus in external communications and publicity, and to be the spokesperson for the organization.
2. Vice Chair. Handles logistics associated with Caucus meetings, tracks progress of committees, oversees fundraising, and assumes the duties of the Chair when the Chair is unable to fulfill his/her duties.
3. Secretary. To keep records of the Caucus including attendance records, to take minutes at meetings and to submit a draft of minutes to the email list and on the organization’s Web site within ten days of any full-membership or Executive Committee meeting. The secretary is also charged with purging the membership list at the direction of the Executive Committee.
4. Treasurer. To manage an account of the organizations funds and to provide reports in regards to the finances of the Caucus.

Committees. Committees shall be established by a majority vote the Executive Committee and should have no less than four active members. Standing committees are defined by this charter and include the Publicity and Fundraising Committees, chaired by the Chair and Vice-Chair respectively. All Committees shall meet when instructed by the Executive Committee or by the Committee Chair. The structure, mission, duties, and members of Ad hoc committees shall be determined by the Executive Committee.

Recommendations and Endorsements. The Caucus is an issues-based organization and makes endorsements and recommendations based upon their compatibility with values as determined by the full Caucus membership. The Caucus may endorse any Democratic Party, Working Families Party, Green Party, or unaffiliated candidate for public office. The endorsement process is initiated with a recommendation by the Executive Committee, followed by a two-thirds vote at a full-membership meeting of the Caucus; a quorum of the full membership is required. Proposed recommendations or endorsements must be included in the notice for a full-membership meeting in which an endorsement is to take place.

Treasury. The treasury, maintained by the Treasurer, shall receive, disburse, and maintain an account for Caucus funds. The Treasurer shall prepare reports before each Caucus meeting and quarterly on the organization’s Web site. The Treasurer shall also provide an annual report before the end of December that appears on the Web site. It will file income and expense reports as required by law and use common bookkeeping practices and accepted accounting principles in managing and reporting on finances.

Fundraising. The Vice-Chair is charged with leading organizational fundraising. All fundraising receipts shall be turned over to the Treasury by the next business day for deposit into the appropriate account. Fundraising tallies shall be presented at all Executive, full-membership meetings, and one the organization’s Web site. Fundraising is primarily to promote the Caucus, its recommendations and endorsements.

Communications. The Chair is charged with creating all external communications for the Caucus. The Caucus will operate a Web site run by the Publicity Committee and a listserv email directory run jointly by the Caucus Secretary and Publicity Committee. The Caucus Web site shall include opinion articles about relevant political issues that are approved by the Executive Committee. All Caucus members in good standing are encouraged to write opinion articles for inclusion. Press releases will be written by the Chair and approved by the Executive Committee.

Amendments. An amendment to this charter may be proposed by a majority vote at any full-membership meeting of the Caucus. The amendment can then be adopted with two-thirds vote at the next full-membership meeting. Notice of an amendment proposed at a meeting shall be provided on the Caucus Web site and in an email of the minutes to the membership prior to the next full-membership meeting of the Caucus.

Affiliations. It is the intent of this Caucus to form relationships with similar Statewide and national organizations. We will seek to become affiliates of other organizations should the membership ratify such a relationship in a vote by two-third of the Caucus. All external affiliations require a two-thirds vote of the full membership.

Ethics. Members of the Caucus must act in a principled, ethical and legal manner while conducting business for the Caucus. Public officials who are members Caucus must also conduct their political affairs in a principled, ethical and legal manner. The Caucus may remove any member by two-thirds vote if they determine that a member has acted unethically, illegally, or in an unprincipled manner in those capacities.