The Culver City Democratic Club Constitution

THE CULVER CITY DEMOCRATIC CLUB CONSTITUTION Revised 1/10/2007

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Culver City Democratic Club.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

The purpose of this organization shall be to promote the interests of the Democratic Party; to advance the political and educational interest of the community; to foster the active participation of constituents in politics toward the end of electing Democratic candidates to all public offices; and to achieve the principles and carry out the policies of the local, state, and national organizations of the Democratic Party.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
All members of this organization shall be registered Democrats.

ARTICLE IV. MEETINGS

Section 1. The Club shall meet at a time and place to be determined by the Executive Board subject to the approval of the membership. Written notice shall be mailed to the membership at least five days in advance of the meeting.

Section 2. The Executive Board shall meet at least once a month. Such meetings shall be Special Club meetings may be called by the President. Special meetings must be called by the President upon receipt of a written request by a) two or more elected officers; or b) ten members of the club. Such meeting shall be called within two weeks from the date of receipt of written request and notice shall be given as provided in Article IV, Section 1.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the Culver City Democratic Club shall consist of the following: a. President b. First Vice President c. Second Vice President d. Corresponding Secretary e. Recording Secretary f. Treasurer g. Membership Secretary

Section 2. Offices may be shared by no more than two members upon the approval of the membership at the time of the election of the officers.

ARTICLE VI.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club. Subject to the approval of the Executive Board, the President shall have the authority to create committees to carry out the purposes of the Club and to appoint individuals to serve as members of such committees. The President shall be responsible for the functioning of all such committees and shall perform other duties as the Club shall prescribe. In his or her official capacity, the President shall act as spokesperson for the Club in all matters pertaining to the Club and shall be responsible for the functioning of all committees.

Section 2. The First Vice President shall act to assist the President in carrying out his or her duties, and shall preside in the absence of the President at any general meetings. The First Vice President shall further preside at all Executive Board meetings.

Section 3. The Second Vice President shall act to assist the President and the First Vice President in carrying out their duties. The Second Vice President shall be the Chairperson of the Ways and Means Committee.

Section 4. The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for sending out all Club correspondence. Under the direction of the President, the Corresponding Secretary will be responsible for receiving and answering all communications addressed to the Club

Section 5. The Recording Secretary shall take minutes of meetings (all, general, board, etc. should be specified for clarity) of the Club and maintain a file of such meetings.

Section 6. The Membership Secretary shall maintain the names, addresses and record of dues payment of each member of the Club. The Membership Secretary shall notify members of dues obligation and delinquencies and shall report to the President members who do maintain good standing.

Section 7. The Treasurer shall prepare a yearly budget (the budget) for the Club. The budget is to be presented to the membership at the December meeting. The members will vote to approve a budget at the January general membership meeting concurrent with the election of officers. The budget shall list all expected sources of revenue, cash on hand, and estimated monthly expenses for the calendar year. The Treasurer may pay all bills relating to the expenses of the Club as set forth in the approved budget. The Executive Board may authorize changes in the budget on a monthly basis, within the following guidelines:
Budgeted monthly expenses may be reallocated, provided the aggregate sum of all monthly expenses for the calendar year does not exceed the membership approved budget.

Except as noted above, all expenditures not covered by the budget must be approved by the general membership. However if the President and three officers agree that an emergency exists, additional funds may be expended at any time. Such action must be presented to the membership at the next general meeting.

All checks must be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the President or a Vice President for checks over $300.

Incase of the absence of the Treasurer for any reason the signing of the checks will fall to the First Vice-President with a co-signature of the President or Second Vice-President, until the Treasurer has returned, or a new Treasurer is elected.

ARTICLE VII. EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1. The elective officers of the Club together with the immediate past President, the chairpersons of all standing committees, and the chairpersons of all Ad Hoc committees shall constitute the Executive Board.

Section 2. The Executive Board shall be empowered to act on behalf of the Club, between its regular membership meetings, for routine functions including, but not limited to,planning of regular Club meetings, publishing of the newsletter and expenditures of Club funds not to exceed $600, Other Board actions shall be subject to the approval by the membership at the next regular meeting

Section 3. Actions taken by the Executive Board on behalf of the Club shall be approved by a majority of the Board members present at Board meetings, as noted in Section 1.

ARTICLE VIII.  COMMITTEES

The Committees of this Club shall consist of those created by the President as the need arises, subject to the approval of a majority of the Executive Board. In addition, standing committees shall consist of the following: a. Ways and Means b. Newsletter c. Community / Legislative Issues d. Political / Elections Committee e. Financial Review Committee The Financial Review Committeeshall review the books of account of the organization at least annually year and at any time when the incumbent Treasurer shall leave office, and furthermore, shall submit a report of each review to the Executive Board. The President shall appoint the members of all committees, subject to the approval of a majority of the Executive Board.f. the young adults’ committeeall new members between thees of 18 and 35 shall automatically be enrolled in the young adults committee.

ARTICLE IX. DUES

Section 1. Any Change in dues may be approved by the membership at a general membership meeting.. The amount of said dues shall be determined by vote in accordance with procedures set forth in Article XI of this Constitution. Section 2. All dues are payable as of January 1 of each year. Dues for new members joining the club after November 1 of each year shall be considered paid up for the following calendar year.

ARTICLE X.

VOTER ELIGIBILITY

Section 1
To be eligible to vote for the election of Club officers in January, a continuing member (a member who was in good standing in the preceding membership period) must have been a member in good standing for at least 25 calendar days prior to the election meeting and must have paid the dues for the current membership period prior to the vote at the election meeting.

Section 2

To be eligible to vote in all other balloting, a continuing member (a member who was in good standing in the preceding membership period) must be paid up and in good standing prior to the vote at a regular meeting in which an election of officers, an endorsement of candidates, an amendment to the Club's Constitution or any other action requiring a membership vote takes place.

Section 3. To be eligible to vote for the election of Club officers in January and in all other balloting, a new member (a person who was not a member in good standing in the preceding membership period) must be paid up and in good standing at least 25 calendar days prior to the regular meeting in which an election of officers, an endorsement of candidates, an amendment to the Club's Constitution or any other action requiring a membership vote takes place.

Section 4Final determination of voter eligibility shall be the responsibility of the Membership Secretary or, if the Membership Secretary is unavailable, the presiding officer at said meeting.

ARTICLE XI. VOTING PROCEDURES

Section 1. The presiding officer shall review all voting procedures and issues with the membership present prior to the vote taken.

Section 2. No action requiring a vote by the membership may be taken without a quorum of the membership present at the meeting, as provided in Article XII.

Section 3. Voting for Club officers shall be by secret ballot unless waived by unanimous consent of the eligible voters present. Voting for endorsement of political candidates or ballot propositions shall be by secret ballot unless waived by 2/3 of the eligible voters present.

Section 4. All votes taken shall be by simple majority of members present and eligible to vote except as set forth: a) Endorsements of candidates shall require a 60% vote of those members present and eligible to vote and returning ballots. b) Amendments to the Club's Constitution require a 2/3 vote of those members present and eligible to vote.

Section 5. Revocation of any vote taken by the membership shall be in accordance with the applicable provisions of the latest revision of Robert’s rules of order.

Section 6.If a first ballot does not result in an endorsement for all open seats, a second ballot shall be conducted.

ARTICLE XII. QUORUM

Section 1. A quorum to do business at any meeting shall be at least 25 members paid up and in good standing. At least three members of the Executive Board must be present.

Section 2. No action requiring a vote by the membership may be taken without a quorum of the paid membership present at the meeting.

Section 3. The use of proxies is not permittedSection 4.An Executive Board meeting must have a majority of members present to have a quorum to conduct a meeting.

ARTICLE XIII. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers shall be elected at the January meeting of each year and shall take office for a period of one year beginning with the general meeting in February. Said officer shall be formally installed at the installation meeting called at the discretion of the retiring Executive Board.

Section 2. At the November meeting, a nominating committee of five shall be selected. Two are to be selected by the President and three are to be chosen from the floor by the general membership. The nominating committee shall report a slate of candidates. Notices of the election meeting together with the nominating committee's slate shall be published in the Club's newsletter prior to the election meeting. Nominations may be made from the floor at the election meeting, with the written or verbal consent of the nominee. All such nominations from the floor may be accompanied by a nominating speech not to exceed two minutes and a seconding speech not to exceed one minute.

Section 3. Nominees for President, Vice Presidents and Treasurer must have been members in good standing at least one year prior to nomination. Nominees for other offices must be members in good standing.

Section 4. Voter eligibility and voting procedures pursuant to Article X and XI will apply.

ARTICLE XIV. OFFICE VACANCIES

Section 1. An elective office shall be declared to be vacant by the Executive Board if an elected officer fails to attend four consecutive regular meetings of the Executive Board and general meetings combined unless such absence(s) is excused by the Executive Board.

Section 2. If a vacancy shall occur in any of the offices as noted in Article V, more than one month prior to the date of the annual election, such vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of the membership present and eligible to vote at the next regular meeting. Written notice of such action shall be sent to the membership at least five days prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE XV.CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT/ MEETINGS

Section 1. The Club may endorse only registered Democratic candidates for any public offices, local, state, and national.

Section 2. A procedure for endorsement shall be established by the Executive Board prior to the endorsing meeting.

Section 3. At the endorsing meeting, all sections of Article X and XI providing for voter eligibility and procedure shall apply.

ARTICLE XVI. REVOCATION OF MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership of any member of this club may be revoked for cause. For the purpose of this section, the word "cause" is defined as any act or acts which are substantially contrary to, opposed to, or not in conformity with the purpose of this organization as set forth in Article II of this Constitution.

Section 2. The following are the conditions which must be fulfilled and procedures which must be followed prerequisite to revocation of membership as noted in Section 1.

Part A. A written complaint, signed by any member of this club, must be personally delivered in duplicate to the President or First Vice President of the club. The complaint must contain the name and address of the member against whom the charges are being made, the act or acts that are alleged to constitute "cause" as defined in Section 1.

Part B. The Corresponding Secretary of the club, or any other officer designated by the President, shall forthwith mail the copy of the complaint to the member against whom charges are made, at the member's address as it appears on the records of the club. Said copy of the complaint shall be accompanied by a notice of the place, date and time of the regular or special meeting at which the issues raised by the complaint will be heard and acted upon. Such meeting shall in no event be set for a date earlier than seven days or later than thirty days after the date the notice is mailed.

Part C. All members of the club must be notified in writing of the place, date and time of the regular or special meeting at which the issues raised by complainant will be heard and acted upon. Such notice shall contain a statement that a complaint has been filed, the name of the member filing the complaint, the name of the member against whom the complaint was filed, as well as the fact that the complaint will be heard, and acted upon at the meeting so noticed.

Part D. At the meeting so noticed, the member against whom charges are made shall be entitled to present his or defense personally or by representation, or both, and shall have the right to present testimony from witnesses who appear at the meeting or to present testimony taken by deposition.

Part E. Voting on revocation of membership shall be in accordance with procedures set forth in Article XI of this Constitution.

ARTICLE XVII. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Section 1. The President may appoint a By-Laws Committee to review and revise the Club's Constitution.

Section 2. Amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted to the Executive Board for further recommendations, and intent to amend shall be published in the Club's newsletter.

Section 3. The Constitution shall be subject to amendment by a 2/3 vote of the members of the club present and eligible to vote at any regular or special meeting of said Club.

Section 4.Motions to amend the Constitution may only be voted on at only one meeting a year.


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