Bylaws - Democrats of Durham, New York

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE TOWN OF DURHAM, NEW YORK
(as adopted September 2, 2019)

The Democratic Town Committee of the Town of Durham, New York, hereby adopts the following bylaws for its governance (the “Bylaws”).

ARTICLE I – Durham Democrats

Section 1. Definition

“Durham Democrats” shall be defined as all people (irrespective of race, sex, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, disability, economic status or philosophical persuasion) who reside full-time or part-time in the Town of Durham, New York (the “Town”) and who are currently registered anywhere as Democratic voters.

ARTICLE II – Town Committee

Section 1. Town Committee

The Democratic Town Committee of the Town of Durham (the “Town Committee”) is the official organization of the Democratic Party within the Town, pursuant to Article 2 of the New York State Election Law (“Election Law”). The affairs of the Democratic Party within the Town shall be vested in the Town Committee, except as limited by law, by these Bylaws, or by the bylaws of the Greene County Democratic Committee.

The Town Committee shall encourage and assist Durham Democrats to work for the success of the Democratic Party at all levels, and shall promote effective local government in the Town.

Section 2. Composition of the Town Committee

The Town Committee shall consist of up to eight (8) members. Up to four (4) of these members shall be registered Democrats whose registered voting address is within the Town’s Election District 1 and up to four (4) shall be registered Democrats whose registered voting address is within the Town’s Election District 2.

To provide parity with the bylaws of the Greene County Democratic Committee, the number of authorized members in each Election District shall be computed according to the following formula. The total Democratic vote for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election shall be divided by the number of election districts in the county to find “A”, the average number of votes per election district. If the vote in an election district was less than half of “A”, that district shall be authorized to have two members. If the vote in an election district is equal to or more than half of “A” and less than “A”, that district shall be authorized to have three members. If the vote in an election district is equal to or greater than “A”, that district shall be authorized to have four members. In case the boundaries of such districts have been changed or a new district has been created since the last preceding gubernatorial election, the above formula shall be applied to the Democratic vote cast for assembly member. In case the boundaries of such districts have been changed or a new district has been created since the last assembly election, the same formula shall be applied to the Democratic Party enrollment in the last general election. In case the boundaries of such districts have been changed or a new district has been created since the last general election, the same formula shall be applied to the Democratic Party enrollment at the time of the change in boundaries and/or creation of a new district.

Section 3. Election of the Town Committee

Town Committee members shall be elected for terms of two years at the primary election in odd-numbered years, each such term beginning as soon as that primary election has been conducted and ending as soon as the election has been conducted two years later, unless terminated sooner pursuant to these Bylaws.

A registered Democrat whose voting address is within one of the Town’s two Election Districts and who wishes to be a candidate for election to the Town Committee shall collect and file with the relevant authorities a petition signed by at least 3% of the active registered Democrats residing within the relevant Election District.

In the event that there are no more candidates than there are seats available within the Election District in question, the primary shall be deemed uncontested, and none of these candidates need to be on the ballot. But in the event that there are more candidates than there are seats available, all candidates shall be on the ballot and the top vote-getters shall be selected.

Section 4. Responsibilities of Town Committee Members

The responsibilities of a member of the Town Committee include the following:

Attend meetings of the Town Committee, and vote when there is a vote.
Serve, when agreed, on a standing committee.
Help organize current and potential Democrats in the Town – including registering voters, finding and training volunteers, raising funds, recruiting candidates for Town and County elective office (see Article III, Section 5), carrying designating petitions for those candidates, and supporting those candidates’ campaigns.
Serve as a member of the Greene County Democratic Committee. (Responsibilities are spelled out at http://greenedems.org/?page_id=4008.)

Section 5. Ex-officio Members

Durham Democrats who have been elected to public office within the Town or Greene County or NY State shall be ex-officio members of the Town Committee but shall have no vote unless they are also Town Committee members.

Section 6. Associate Committee Members

For each of the Town’s two Election Districts, the Town Committee may at any time appoint a first (and, if desired, a second) Associate (i.e. alternate) Committee Member. Each of these must be a registered Democrat whose registered voting address is within the Election District in question. Each Associate Committee Member may attend Town Committee meetings. Each may only vote if he/she does so in place of a Town Committee member from the relevant Election District who is absent. Terms of office shall be as described in Article II, Section 3, above.

Section 7. Filling of Vacancies

Other than when terms of office expire (see Article II, Section 3, above), a vacancy on the Town Committee shall occur in the case of:

The failure to elect a member, or the death or enrollment in another party of an existing member; or
The written resignation of any member that is accepted by the Town Chair.

Such vacancies shall be filled by majority vote of the Town Committee at the next Town Committee meeting. Members appointed to fill vacancies shall serve for the remainder of the replaced member’s term.

Section 8. Removal from Office

A Town Committee Member may be removed from office for corruption in office or for substantial and/or persistent failure to carry out the responsibilities in Article II, Section 4. Before such a removal may take place, a written notice has to be given and a hearing has to be held. The hearing shall be held by the Town Committee, which shall report its findings to the Greene County Democratic Committee. The Town Committee Member shall be removed if five or more of the eight Town Committee members vote for this to be done.

ARTICLE III ‑ Meetings

Section 1. Types of meeting

The Town Committee shall hold meetings of the following types:

Committee meetings: These may be attended by Town Committee Members, Ex-Officio Members, Associate Committee Members, and anyone else that is invited by the Town Committee or the Town Chair. There shall be a minimum of three such meetings per year, excluding Special meetings.
Open meetings: These may be attended by all Durham Democrats, and anyone else that is invited by the Town Committee, the Town Chair or the Secretary. Prior notice of such meetings shall be sent on a timely basis to all Durham Democrats who the Town Chair or Secretary believes might be interested in such meetings. There shall be a minimum of three such meetings per year.
Special meetings: These are meetings as described in Article III, Sections 3, 4 and 5 below. They may be attended by all Durham Democrats, and anyone else that is invited by the Town Committee, the Town Chair or the Secretary.

Section 2. Voting

At all meetings except party caucuses and primaries, voting may only be conducted by (a) Town Committee Members, and (b) Alternate Committee members voting in place of absent Town Committee members. No votes may be cast by people not present, nor may absent Town Committee members specify how Alternate Committee members should vote.

Section 3. Election of Officers at Biennial Organizational Meeting

In odd numbered years, within twenty days of the State party primary election and prior to the County Biennial Organizational Meeting, the newly-elected Town Committee members shall hold a Biennial Organizational Meeting at which they shall elect one of their number to serve as Chair, one to serve as Vice-Chair, one to serve as Secretary, and one to serve as Treasurer. These four positions (“Officers”) shall be held for two years. One person may be elected to serve as both Vice-Chair and Secretary, or as both Vice-Chair and Treasurer.
Before conducting any other substantive business, the participants shall elect by a simple majority a temporary chair to preside over the meeting until the election of the new Town Chair, after which the new Town Chair shall preside. They shall also elect by a simple majority a temporary secretary to record the minutes of the meeting until the election of a new Secretary, after which the new Secretary shall record the minutes.
Each nominated and seconded candidate for Officer shall be given three minutes to make a statement, followed by a question and answer period of not more than five minutes.
The Town Committee members shall then elect who shall serve in each Officer position.
Within three days of each Biennial Organizational Meeting, the Secretary shall file with both the state and county boards of elections a certificate stating the names and mailing addresses of the new Officers.

Section 4. Annual Operating Meeting

Every January, the Town Committee shall hold an annual operating meeting at which it shall:

Receive a written report by the Secretary on the activities of the past calendar year;
Receive a written report by the Treasurer on the Town Committee’s finances for the past calendar year;
Receive presentations from each Standing Committee Chair on their committee’s past operations;
Receive and approve a written long-term strategic plan presented by the Town Chair;
Receive and approve a written budget presented by the Treasurer;
Adopt a schedule of Town Committee meetings over the coming year. Town Committee members shall be informed of any subsequent change in the date or time of a meeting at least five (5) days prior to the rescheduled meeting.

Section 5. Party Caucuses and Primaries

Democratic candidates for Town office (that is, for seats on the Durham town board or for any other seats involving town-wide election) shall be chosen by party caucus or primary ballot. If the Town Committee wishes to proceed by party caucus, the following rules shall apply.

The Town Chair shall set the date for the party caucus. However, if by forty days before the deadline specified by the State for conducting a caucus no such date has been set, or if the office of Town Chair is vacant, the Chair of the Greene County Democratic Committee may designate another Town Committee member to convene a caucus and give notice thereof.
Notice for each party caucus shall be given by posting such notice in the public areas at the offices of the Town clerk and the County Board of Elections and by filing a copy of such notice with the Town clerk and the County Board of Elections at least ten days prior to the caucus date. Notice shall also be given either by newspaper publication (in the legal notices section) within the Town between one and two weeks prior to the caucus date or by posting announcements in ten public places in the Town at least ten days prior to the caucus date. Each notice shall specify the date, time, place and purpose of the caucus.
Participants in a caucus who wish to vote or to be candidates for Town office must be enrolled Democrats in the Town and appear on the corresponding list provided by the Greene County Board of Elections.
Those present at the caucus shall elect a caucus chair and a caucus secretary and, if desired, caucus tellers. Each caucus officer shall take the constitutional oath of office provided by the County Board of Elections before acting.
Candidates for Town office must be present at the caucus and must be nominated and seconded by others present at the caucus. Each candidate shall be given three minutes to make a statement, followed by a question and answer period of not more than five minutes.
The caucus chair shall inform those present whether, over the preceding few weeks, the Town Committee had been given adequate opportunity to interview and evaluate each person who has just been nominated, and what opinion the Town Committee had formed as a result of this process.
Caucus participants shall then be given an opportunity to discuss the candidates.
The caucus shall then vote on each candidate for Town office. Any candidate who receives more votes For than Against, and more votes For than any other candidate for the same position, shall be deemed nominated.
The caucus may choose not to nominate any candidate for certain openings.
It is the responsibility of each chosen candidate to become familiar with relevant State Board of Elections regulations, procedures, financial requirements and required filings.

If, instead, the Town Committee wishes to proceed by primary ballot, Election Law must be followed.

Section 6. Scheduling and Prior Notice

A meeting of the Town Committee that is not on the schedule of meetings agreed at the Annual Operating Meeting (see Article III, Section 4, above) may be called by the Town Chair or by any three other Town Committee members. The date, location and agenda of any special meeting must be communicated by the Secretary to each Town Committee member at least five (5) days prior to the meeting.

Section 7. Rules of Order

The Rules of Order for Town Committee meetings shall be as contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order so long as they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and with any special rules of order that the Town Committee may adopt.

Section 8. Quorum

A quorum of the Town Committee shall consist of four Town Committee members. If less than a quorum is present, the meeting can take place but all matters requiring a vote shall be adjourned until the next meeting.

ARTICLE IV ‑ Elected Officers

Section 1. Duties

The Officers of the Town Committee shall be elected as specified in Article III, Section 3.Their duties shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

The Town Chair shall preside at all meetings. The Town Chair shall also appoint chairs and members for all committees (unless over-ruled by the Town Committee), shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, and shall exercise any other powers and duties assigned by the Town Committee.
The Vice-Chair shall perform the duties of the Town Chair in the absence or inability of the Town Chair to do so, and shall perform any other duties assigned by the Town Committee or the Town Chair.
The Secretary shall maintain a document listing all known Durham Democrats, showing for each one their contact details, which Open Town Committee meetings (if any) they have attended, and whether it is believed they might be interested in attending future such meetings. The Secretary shall also prepare minutes for each Town Committee meeting, and shall on a timely basis send those minutes, and notices of upcoming meetings, to all Town Committee members and to all other Durham Democrats who the Secretary believes might be interested. The Secretary shall also electronically store copies of all these records, and of all group communications to Durham Democrats, and shall provide Town Committee members with a means to access these records on a read-only basis. The Secretary shall also give a copy of these Bylaws to all new Town Committee members, and shall make the existence and content of these Bylaws known to all interested parties.
The Treasurer shall receive, hold in trust and disburse all funds of the Town Committee, which shall be deposited in such financial institutions as may be determined by the Town Committee. All withdrawals made from accounts of the Town Committee shall require the signatures of the Treasurer and the Town Chair. Expenditures of more than $250 shall require the prior approval of the Town Committee. The Treasurer shall file all financial reports and statements required by law and perform such other duties as the Town Committee or the Town Chair may require.

Section 2. Filling of Vacancies

In the event that an Officer position becomes vacant, the Town Committee at its next meeting shall elect a new Officer by a majority vote to fill the vacancy until the next Biennial Organizational Meeting. If the position of Town Chair becomes vacant, the Vice-Chair shall serve as Acting Town Chair until the next meeting of the Town Committee, which shall be held within thirty days of the position of Town Chair becoming vacant.

Section 3. Removal from Office

An Officer may be removed from office using the same procedures as are described in Article II, Section 8.

ARTICLE V– Standing and Other Committees

Section 1. Purpose

The purpose of standing committees is to help manage and carry out the day-to-day work of the Town Committee. Each standing committee may fulfill its goals as it sees fit, subject to review by the Town Committee. Other temporary committees may be formed from time to time for specific purposes at the discretion of the Town Chair.

Section 2. Committee Appointments and Role of the Town Chair

The Town Chair shall, unless over-ruled by a majority vote of the Town Committee, appoint or remove all standing and other committee members, shall designate the committee chairs (except for the Finance Committee chair) and shall be an ex-officio voting member of all committees. The terms of all committee members and chairs shall expire no later than the next Biennial Organizational Meeting.

Section 3. Standing Committee Designations, Membership and Roles

Insofar as is determined by the Town Committee to be necessary, the following Standing Committees shall be set up. Their members and chairs shall be Durham Democrats. Their tasks shall be as follows, though the Town Committee or the Town Chair may establish additional tasks.

The Finance Committee shall be chaired by the Town Committee Treasurer. The committee shall propose (for approval by the Town Committee) procedures for disbursement of funds, an annual financial report, and an annual budget.
The Fundraising Committee shall plan and conduct all fund-raising activities. Fundraising goals shall be determined by the annual budget.
The Platform and Issues Committee shall research issues that may be adopted as part of the Town Committee’s platform, and shall monitor the activities of the Town and County governments.
The Party-Building Committee shall research and promote party-building within the Town.
The Candidates and Campaigns Committee shall: recruit suitable candidates for Town elective office; screen such candidates for approval by the Town Committee; prepare petitions for candidates for Town and County elective office; provide such candidates with information, logistical support and advice on requirements of the Election Law; assist in their campaigns within the Town; and liaise with the County Board of Elections and the state and national Democratic Parties.
The Communications Committee shall manage the Town Committee’s communications with Durham Democrats and the public.
The Rules Committee shall review these Bylaws and recommend revisions to the Town Committee.

Section 4. Meetings

Each standing committee shall meet at the call of its chair. When practical, all standing committee members and Town Committee members shall receive notice of such meetings at least one week prior to the meeting. Standing committees shall act according to the majority vote of those members in attendance. No quorum is necessary, provided that notice of the meeting has been given at least one week in advance.

Section 5. Minutes

Each standing committee shall designate its own secretary, who shall be responsible for recording the minutes of meetings, when appropriate, and for communicating them in a timely manner to the Town Committee.

ARTICLE VI – Code of Ethics

The Town Committee shall not make payments to any Town Committee member, or to any entity controlled by that member, except for reimbursement of expenses incurred by that member that have been approved by the Treasurer (or by the Town Chair, if the reimbursement is being made to the Treasurer).

ARTICLE VII ‑ Amendment of the Bylaws

These Bylaws may be amended from time to time by a majority of the members of the Town Committee present at a meeting at which there is a quorum, provided a copy of the proposed amendment was sent at least one week previously to all Town Committee members.