Coordinating Committee minutes, September 12, 2011

GPCA CC Teleconference Minutes
Monday, September 12, 2011 – 7:30 p.m.
 
#1. Welcome and setup, roll call, quorum check
 
Coordinating Committee members present (13): Victoria Ashley (East Bay), Warner Bloomberg (Silicon Valley), Michael Borenstein (Central Valley, north), Sean Dodd (at-large), Sanda Everette (at-large), Mike Feinstein (Los Angeles), Dave Heller (at-large), Barry Hermanson (San Francisco), Tim Laidman (at-large), Matt Leslie (Orange/Riverside/San Bernardino),  Jeff Quackenbush (San Diego), Alex Shantz (at-large), Lauren Sinnott (at-large),
 
Coordinating Committee members not present (5):  Joe Feller (at-large), Jim Geraghty (at-large), Adrienne Prince (Central Coast), Michael Rubin (at-large), Kate Tanaka (at-large),
 
Invited Presenters (1): Marnie Glickman (GPCA Managing Director)

Quorum: Quorum reached at 7:37 with 10/18 present: Ashley, Bloomberg, Borenstein, Dodd, Everette, Feinstein, Hermanson, Laidman, Quackenbush, Shantz
 
Faciliator: Warner Bloomberg chosen by consensus
Minutes taker: Mike Feinstein chosen by consensus
Time keeper: Michael Borenstein chosen by consensus
 
Process Proposal (Bloomberg proposed, accepted by Hermanson): (a) Reorder agenda to take #4 “Report from Marnie Glickman on her work to date” (b) Defer approval of remainder of agenda until after #4 is concluded.
 
Approved by consensus.
 
Heller, Leslie and Sinnott join call at approximately 7:40.
 

#2.  Report (Glickman):  Progress update on cagreens.org redesign
 
Draft site reviewed hosted with http://www.radicaldesigns.org.  Glickman summarized the points she included in the written text to her agenda item and clarified that Pete Davis (web designer with Fuzion, New Zealand and also a member of the Green Party of New Zealand) has given an estimate of four to ten hours work @US$90 to construct a general donation page, a volunteer sign up form and an email newsletter subscription form. Glickman plans on following up on how counties can use the new redesign.
 
Report concluded at approximately 8:07pm.
 
#1. Welcome and setup, roll call, quorum check (continued)
 
Process Proposal (Bloomberg proposed, accepted by Hermanson): (a) add proposal to approve revised cagreens.org web site and date to go on-line as first item after agenda approval, (b) delete item #7.  “Brief report from Plenary Host Committee - Mike Feinstein has volunteered to act as Liaison. (5 min.) Shall Mike Feinstein be approved as the Liaison?”
 
Approved by consensus
 

#3  Proposal (Feinstein): That the CC Agree to approve the revised cagreens.org web site to go on-line on Wednesday, 9/21, with direction to web content team to continue to take input from party members, including from WG and SC co-coordinators

Outstanding concern (Borenstein): we have no feedback at this time from anyone in GPCA IT that he can see; should not go ahead until we have some consensus.

Approved by consensus, with one stand aside
 

#4. Proposal (Laidman, Quakenbush): Establish Article V Liaisons to Standing Committees and Working Groups, Article VI Appointments to Standing Committees and Article VII Personnel Committee in the internal procedures of the Coordinating Committee
 
In response to the presence of outstanding concerns by Borenstein and Dodd, the sponsors proceeded to a vote. A 2/3 vote required for approval.
 
Yes: Everette, Hermanson , Shantz, Heller, Quackenbush, Sinnott, Leslie, Feinstein, Laidman, Ashley
No: Bloomberg, Borenstein, Dodd,
 
Approved 10-3-0
Approved text in Attachment #1 below.

#5. Proposal (Laidman, Quakenbush): Establish Article IV On-Line Proposals in the internal procedures of the Coordinating Committee
 
In response to the presence of outstanding concerns by Borenstein and Dodd, the sponsors proceeded to a vote. A 2/3 vote required for approval.
 
Yes: Everette, Hermanson , Heller, Quackenbush, Sinnott, Leslie, Feinstein, Laidman, Ashley
No: Bloomberg, Borenstein, Dodd,
Abstain: Shantz

Approved 9-3-1
Approved text in Attachment #2 below.
 

#6. Appointment: Appointments to GPCA committees
 
Consensus was not reached for any of the applicants who submitted applications for the Bylaws Committee (Ashely, Feinstein, Kendra Gonzalez and Jim Stauffer) or the Clearinghouse Committee (Feinstein), necessitating an on-line vote according to the Coordinating Committee’s Internal Procedures.
 
Proposal (Bloomberg): That a request be made to GPCA IT by Everette and Hermanson to establish an email address for Coordinating Committee members to send their votes that would preserve confidentiality of all votes until the conclusion of the vote.  Bert Heuer and Jim Stauffer would be asked to recuse themselves within GPCA IT. At the conclusion the individual votes would be sent to Alex Shantz to run the ranked choice vote and Alex was given discretion to seek out support where needed.
 
Approved by Consensus

Approved text in Attachment #2 below.
 
Quakenbush left the call at 9:20
 

#7 Setting next meeting
 
Proposal (Hermanson): That the CC continue the remaining items on the agenda to Monday, September 19
 
Approved by Consensus
 

Items not heard

6.  Establish agenda committee. Announce timeline.   CC Liaison.  (10 min)

7.  Brief report from Plenary Host Committee - Mike Feinstein has volunteered to act as Liaison. (5 min.)

8.  Establish budget committee. Announce timeline. (10 min.)  Michael Borenstein
 
9.  Report back from Ventura Strategy Gathering -  (10 min.) Michael Borenstein and everyone else who attended.
 
10.  Review job description for Press Secretary and discuss how we will advertise it.  (5 min.)
 
11.  (10 min. ) Barry Hermanson
I may need to step back from the co-chair position
 
12.  Decision: Establish procedure to elect Coordinating Committee Co-coordinators/co-chairs. (10 min.) - Mike Feinstein
 
13.  7.  Review remaining CC Rules in this document:  http://wiki.cagreens.org/index.php/Coordinating_Committee_Rules_and_Proc...
 
14.  A letter from our committee co-chairs has been circulating.  A final draft should be forwarded to us very soon.  Since it touches on a number of issues, we may have to assign a discussion for this item when it is delivered.

Attachment  #1: Approved text of #4. Proposal (Laidman, Quakenbush): Establish Article V Liaisons to Standing Committees and Working Groups, Article VI Appointments to Standing Committees and Article VII Personnel Committee in the internal procedures of the Coordinating Committee

Article V Liaisons to Standing Committees and Working Groups

5-1 Duties

As per GPCA Bylaws 6-1.8, each committee and working group shall be assigned a Coordinating Committee Liaison, who will serve as a voting, ex-officio member of that committee or working group. The Liaison is charged with facilitating communications between the committee or working group and the Coordinating Committee. Liaisons appointed to Committees also serve as one of the Committee co-coordinators.

5-2 Term

The Liaison shall serve for as long as they are on the Coordinating Committee or two years, whichever is less. Upon the Liaison's term ending on the Coordinating Committee or upon two years, the Liaison position shall be considered vacant and a new appointment process shall commence. There are no term limits on the Liaison position.

5-3 Appointment

5-3.1 The Coordinating Committee shall fill open Liaison seats on an annual basis and/or whenever vacancies occur.

5-3.2 If there is only one candidate for Liaison, the Coordinating Committee shall first test for consensus. If consensus exists, the candidate shall be considered appointed. Where there is not consensus, there shall commence a three day voting period through midnight the ensuing Thursday. Votes shall be cast on a voting page equipped for instant run-off voting and shall include a No Other Candidate option. Any candidate receiving a majority of votes cast is considered elected.

5-4 Recall

A Liaison may be recalled by a 2/3 vote of the Coordinating Committee. A proposal for recall must be co-sponsored by 1/3 of the Coordinating Committee to be placed before the Coordinating Committee for a vote.

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Article VI Appointments to Standing Committees

6-1 Notice of vacancy

In order to meet its noticing requirement under GPCA Bylaws 6-1.4, the Coordinating Committee shall send a notice of vacancy of standing committee seats at least twice a year, once in the second week of November and once in the second week of June. Notice shall include the number of seats open on each committee, a link to the committee's home page and the eligibility, the appointment criteria in 6-2 and 6-3 and the appointment process in 6-4.

6-2 Eligibility

All candidates must submit a written request to the Coordinating Committee seeking appointment to the standing committee and to demonstrate compliance with GPCA Bylaws 6-1.4, which states that all applicants must have "attendance at two plenaries in the preceding 24 months", the request shall include a statement of which General Assemblies the candidate attended.

6-3 Criteria

When considering appointments to standing committees under GPCA Bylaws 6-1.4, the Coordinating Committee shall consider the following for each candidate:

6-3.1 Their working knowledge of GPCA bylaws and operating procedures;

6-3.2 Criteria drafted by the standing committee;

6-3.3 Input and nominations of the standing committee membership and co-coordinators;

6-3.4 Input and nominations submitted by active counties or Coordinating Committee members; and

6-3.5 Biographies and candidate statements presented by the candidate.

6-4 Appointment

If there are as many or fewer candidates than open seats, the Coordinating Committee shall first test for consensus on the full list of candidates. If consensus exists, then all candidates shall be considered appointed. Where there is not consensus, or where there are more candidates than there are open seats, there shall commence a six day voting period through midnight, the ensuing Sunday. During this time discussion may continue on the Coordinating Committee email list. Candidates shall be appointed by ranked choice voting, per GPCA Bylaws 7-1.8. As a further test, after the ranked choice vote is tabulated, a candidate must also be ranked on at least 40% of the ballots to be appointed. Both thresholds must be met for the appointment to occur.

6-5 Recall

A committee member may be recalled by a 2/3 vote of the Coordinating Committee. A proposal for recall must be co-sponsored by 1/3 of the Coordinating Committee to be placed before the Coordinating Committee for a vote.

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Article VII Personnel Committee

8-1 Duties and Authority

The Personnel Committee is a sub-committee of the Coordinating Committee, charged with implementing the GPCA Personnel Policy as approved by the General Assembly in May 2003 (http://www.cagreens.org/cc/internal/PersonnelPolicy.pdf) and with proposing amendments to the Personnel Policy.

8-2 Membership

The Personnel Committee shall be composed of six members appointed by the Coordinating Committee, each serving two year terms, with three members appointed annually and with appointments to occur in January of each year.

8-3 Appointment

8-3.1 If there are as many or fewer candidates than open seats, the Coordinating Committee shall first test for consensus on the full list of candidates. If consensus exists, then all candidates shall be considered appointed. Where there is not consensus, or where there are more candidates than there are open seats, candidates shall be appointed by ranked choice voting, per GPCA Bylaws 7-1.8.

Attachment  #2:  Approved text of# 5. Proposal (Laidman, Quakenbush): Establish Article IV On-Line Proposals in the internal procedures of the Coordinating Committee

Text:  Article IV On-Line Proposals

4-1 Purpose

The Coordinating Committee may make on-line decisions about proposals via the process described in this Article. The same standards for quorum and approval threshold apply as with other Coordinating Committee decision making, except as provided for in 4-5. Use of on-line decision making is restricted to:

4-1.1 When a proposal has been discussed first at a regular Coordinating Committee meeting and a decision is taken by majority vote to put the item to an on-line vote. In these cases the Coordinating Committee may direct that either the voting period shall begin upon conclusion of the meeting and run through the upcoming Sunday at midnight, or the discussion period shall continue through the upcoming Sunday at midnight, after which there shall be be a week for voting.

4-1.2 When a proposal has been scheduled as part of the Coordinating Committee's annual draft schedule as per 2-2.2. In these cases, there shall be one week discussion, beginning on a Monday and ending at midnight on Sunday followed by one week of voting commencing immediately thereafter, ending at midnight the following Sunday;

4-1.3 When there is a need to meet legal and/or internal party deadlines, or to otherwise effectuate the Coordinating Committee's ability to meet and perform its duties and responsibilities in a timely manner not possible by waiting until the next teleconference or face to face meeting. In these cases, there shall be one week discussion, beginning on a Monday and ending at midnight on Sunday and one week of voting commencing immediately thereafter, ending at midnight the following Sunday.

4-1.4 When there is a need to make an expedited decision in a compressed time period not possible under 4-1.1, 4-1.2 or 4-1.3. In these cases, the Coordinating Committee may act under 4-4.

4-2 Posting

All proposals shall be posted with "ONLINE VOTE: [TITLE]" in the subject header of the email and shall be in the format described in 3-4.

4-3 Discussion

Although on-line discussion may not afford the same responsive nature as that envisioned for live meetings of the Coordinating Committee in Section 2-5 Consensus-Seeking, the purpose of the discussion period shall be for:

4-3.1 Hearing and responding to clarifying questions;

4-3.2 Hearing concerns and affirmations and hearing responding to concerns;

4-3.3 Considering and accepting amendments.

If a proposal is amended during the discussion period, it shall be reposted as amended before the voting period commences. The sponsors of a proposal may also chose to withdraw the proposal before the discussion period concludes, but may not do so once the voting period commences.

4-4 Expedited Proposals

When a decision can only be made within a compressed time period to respond to pressing legal, financial or political deadlines, the Coordinating Committee may make a decision within 48 hours if it achieves a 2/3 quorum and an approval threshold of 80%. In such cases, the proposal shall be posted as "48 HOUR ONLINE VOTE: [TITLE]" in the subject header of the email and shall be in the format described in 3-4.