BYLAWS OF THE GREEN PARTY OF KENT COUNTY

YEAR 2004

SECTION 1.  The name of this organization shall be the Green Party of Kent County.

SECTION 2.  The mission of this organization is to work toward a “green” society as represented by the Four Pillars/Ten Key Values of the international Green Movement.  The Four Pillars are as follows: Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice, Nonviolence. The Ten Key Values are the Four Pillars plus: Community-Based Economics, Decentralization, Respect for Diversity, Feminism, Personal and Global Responsibility, Future Focus.

SECTION 2a.  The Green Party of Kent County is a local chapter of the Green Party of Michigan.  The Green Party of Michigan is an affiliated state party of the Green Party US.

ARTICLE 2.  MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1.  The Green Party of Kent County shall be composed of individuals who have chosen to endorse the Ten Key Values or the Four Pillars and to support the Green Party of Michigan.

SECTION 1a.  Membership is open to anyone regardless of any cultural, social, biological, economic, or political condition.  There shall not be requirements of gender, ethnicity, or any other characteristic in order for a member to hold any position in the Green Party of Kent County.  However, efforts are to be made to promote diversity among the leadership.

SECTION 1b.  No dues are required for membership.  However, members are encouraged to contribute to projects undertaken by the Green Party of Kent County.

SECTION 2.  Members in good standing shall provide the following information to the Green Party of Kent County: full name, mailing address, and, if applicable, phone number(s) and email address(es).  Members in good standing shall have attended one meeting of the Green Party of Kent County in person per year or participated in one email meeting/discussion.  They shall register as dues-paying members of the Green Party of Michigan.

SECTION 2a.  Members in good standing shall have the right to vote in meetings in person and vote in email meetings or discussions.  Others shall not be excluded from either attending meetings and contributing to dialogue or participating in email meetings/discussions, but voting shall be restricted to members in good standing.

SECTION 2b.  Members in good standing shall be eligible to attend state meetings and other GPMI functions as delegates of the Green Party of Kent County.  The Green Party of Kent County shall send a representative(s) to all State Quarterly Meetings and a delegation to all State Conventions.  If this is not possible, statements of intent should be sent dealing with each agenda item.

SECTION 3.  Members not in good standing shall be defined as those who have expressed interest in participating in the Green Party of Kent County, and receive email or other Green-related communications from, or forwarded by, the Green Party of Kent County, but who have not provided all information, failed to appear in person at a meeting or failed to respond in an email meeting or discussion, or have not registered as members of the Green Party of Michigan.  Members not in good standing are not to be excluded from any communication shared among the Green Party of Kent County, or exempted from any plan of action prepared by them.  They differ from members in good standing only in their lack of voting rights.

SECTION 4.  Members of the Green Party of Kent County may be expelled from the GPKC for any of the following behaviors:

FALSE REPRESENTATION: member has passed him/herself off as a representative of the Green Party of Kent County without being authorized to do so.  For example, member has sent their own communications to GPKC media lists without permission of the group.

VIOLENT/UNGREEN BEHAVIOR: member has abused other GPKC members through violence or intimidation of any kind.

SECTION 4b.  Expulsion shall require a 2/3 vote of the GPKC in general assembly.

SECTION 4c.  When expulsion is proposed, the member in question has the right to a hearing before a general assembly of the GPKC.

ARTICLE 3.  OFFICERS

SECTION 1.  The Green Party of Kent County shall elect officers as follows: there shall be two co-chairs to call, conduct, and host meetings, both general assemblies and email discussions, as well as functioning as an executive in the interim between general assemblies.  In addition the co-chairs or their designees shall record meeting minutes and pass this on to the membership.  There shall be a treasurer to collect, oversee, and utilize any funds the group may amass, including such campaign finance and other local, state, and federal filing as may be necessary.  There shall be a secretary to maintain a membership list, a current copy of the bylaws, and a media list.  In addition, the chapter secretary shall take responsibility, through a phone chain and personal mailings, for passing on GPKC communications to those without access to email. There shall be two State Central Committee delegates, elected by the GPKC in general assembly, having qualifications and duties as defined by the state bylaws.

SECTION 1a.  Officership shall be restricted to members in good standing.

SECTION 1b.  Co-chairs may simultaneously serve as treasurers or secretaries, but there shall at all times be at least two officers.

SECTION 1c.  Officers may delegate necessary responsibilities to others as necessary.

SECTION 1d.  Vacancies in officer positions shall be filled by appointment, by the remaining officers, until an election can be held at the next general assembly.

SECTION 2.  All officers shall be selected at a general assembly of members in good standing at the beginning of each calendar year.

SECTION 1.  Decisions of the Green Party of Kent County shall be made by consensus in general assembly, or failing this, the opinion of a two-thirds majority. Consensus shall be defined as agreement from all members in good standing present in person in general assembly and agreement from all respondents to an email meeting or discussion who are members in good standing. Items for consideration may be accepted from any source.  The co-chairs shall record all items suggested for consideration and maintain each item on a list until it has been addressed.

ARTICLE 5.  MEETINGS

SECTION 1.  General Assemblies of the Green Party of Kent County shall be called at least monthly.  Email meetings and discussions shall occur as necessary.  Those unable to attend either, but wishing to participate, shall be contacted by phone or mailing.

ARTICLE 6.  COMMITTEES

SECTION 1.  Committees may be appointed as necessary by the general assembly.

SECTION 1a.  A committee shall be defined as not less than three people.

ARTICLE 7.  FUNDS

SECTION 1.  Funds shall be raised and spent as the general assemblies shall dictate.  The chapter treasurer shall have responsibility for any accounts maintained by the Green Party of Kent County.

SECTION 2.  In the event of dissolution, if there is no “successor” local to claim the money, the GPMI shall recoup any rebated dues from that year.  The Treasurer shall be directed to refund such money directly to the Treasurer of GPMI.

SECTION 3.  The GPKC treasurer shall submit a financial report to the General Assembly on a quarterly basis.

ARTICLE 8.  ORGANIZATION

SECTION 1.  In order to maintain a flexible, democratic organization most conducive to consensus and friendly relations, all powers not delegated specifically by these bylaws, and issues not specifically addressed, shall be dealt with on a situational basis.

ARTICLE 9.  ENDORSEMENTS

SECTION 1.  The procedure for obtaining GPKC cooperation with candidate campaigns in non-partisan local races is as follows:

STEP ONE: candidate agrees to endorse the Ten Key Values or the Four Pillars

STEP TWO: candidate endorses the main points of the Community Issues Platform.

            STEP THREE: candidate submits a statement of issues and concerns to the GPKC general assembly.

            STEP FOUR: General assembly then votes whether or not to cooperate with candidate, within the limits set out by election law for non-partisan elections.

ARTICLE 10.  AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

SECTION 1.  Amendments to these bylaws may be made by a two-thirds vote of members in good standing present in general assembly.

ARTICLE 11.  AUTOMATIC REVIEW

SECTION 1.  At the beginning of each calendar year, the Green Party of Kent County in general assembly shall appoint a bylaws review committee to review these bylaws and suggest needed changes.