Marcy,
I'm just going by what it says in our bylaws -- 30 days notice for
endorsement meeting, with candidates and ballot measure proponents and
opponents invited to said meeting if possible. If we want handle these
things differently, we should change the rules, not ignore them.
There's nothing stopping us from making such changes.
Meetings at which we hear from people on the ballot measures, and
candidates should be planned so as to attract as many LPSF members as
possible. Right now that probably means holding them at a regular
monthly meeting. There are several reasons for wanting to maximize our
turnout:
-It makes candidates and political players more likely to attend our
events in the future
-It increases the LPSF's clout and makes them pay more attention to
what we advocate
-It's very educational for our members to learn about who the local
players are, and what they're saying about the issues
-Having more Libertarians present makes it easier to press our visitors
to see things our way 8)
I'm less concerned about members showing up to the endorsement
meeting; if they care about having a vote, they'll come. So that could
be handled as a special extra meeting, in my opinion.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
Starchild,
We are OK doing the endorsements in October, but we will be cutting
it short. Also, having candidates, etc. at the endorsement meeting
is more that our group could possibly handle. Thus, please see my
suggestions in a separate e-mail.If someone wants to organize a "social" or a "meet the candidates"
gathering, that would be great.Marcy
--- In lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com, Starchild <sfdreamer@e...>
wrote:Marcy & all,
Here is the relevant language from our bylaws. We're OK
having our
endorsements at the October 8 meeting, since it (barely) meets the
criteria of being a full month before the election. We are requiredto
invite the candidates and proponents/opponents of ballot measures
to
that meeting, unless it is impossible for some reason.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>Amendment I.
(revised 10 August 2002)
The procedures for the LPSF taking positions on ballot measures
and
candidates for office shall be as follows:
Formal endorsements shall only be given to Libertarian candidates,
or
those exceptional non-Libertarian candidates whose beliefs are
clearly
in accordance with the platform and philosophy of the Libertarian
Party. Only candidates who have the LPSF's endorsement may listthe
party as a supporting organization.
The LPSF may, however, issue recommendations on which candidates
and
ballot measures are deemed worthy of the pro-liberty vote, given
the
available alternatives.
Candidate recommendations, as well as positions for or against
ballot
measures, shall be made on the basis of a majority vote by members
present at the endorsement meeting, or, if there is not theopportunity
to take such a vote in a timely manner before the election, by a
unanimous vote of the Executive Committee.(revised 10 August 2002) Endorsement or recommendation of
candidates
and positions on ballot measures shall be considered at the last
monthly meeting which is at least one full month before anyscheduled
election. If an election or the candidates or measures therein
are
announced when the next monthly meeting is less than one full
month
before the election, endorsements and recommendations shall be
considered at the very next monthly meeting. In addition,endorsements
and recommendations may be considered at any meeting if notice is
given
to the membership one month in advance.
When possible, the LPSF will invite candidates and proponents and
opponents of ballot measures to appear at the party's endorsement
meeting. If a candidate is invited to appear and declines to doso,
the candidate shall not be recommended unless members specifically
vote
to make an exception and do so. The LPSF may or may not take
positions
on state or national races or measures in accordance with the
wishes of
members. Where there is a lack of consensus, a ¾ majority shall
decide
the question.
The LPSF's voting recommendations shall be published in the Golden
Gate
Libertarian newsletter prior to the election in question, including
a
tally of how many votes were cast for, and against, or to take no
position on each candidate and measure voted upon.For offices where voters have several votes to allocate among a
field
of candidates, members will cast votes for a number of candidates
equal
to the number of vacant seats. Candidates selected will have
their
names printed in descending order by the number of votes they
received
from LPSF members. However if a candidate does not get any votes,
he
or she will not be recommended even if the number of
recommendations is
less than the number of open seats.
If we need to give one month's notice to the membership that
endorsements will be made at a particular meeting, sounds to methat
the earliest we can have endorsements is October meeting. Chris,
as
our By-Laws expert, could you please give us a time line. Thanks.
Marcy
--- In lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com, "Justin T. Sampson"
<justin@k...> wrote:I believe that according the by-laws our September 10 meeting
shall
be
the official endorsement meeting for issues on the November
ballot.
Could those in the know confirm this so I can announce it in the
newsletter?The election is November 8; one month before that is October 8,
which
is exactly the date of our October meeting. Is the October 8
meeting "at least one full month before" the November 8 election?I'm supposing that we should consider the election to begin the
morning
of November 8, such that "one full month before" would be the
morning
of October 8, meaning that the meeting that day, being in the
afternoon, would in fact be less than one full month before the
election, leaving September 10 as the proper meeting at which to
consider ballot endorsements."Endorsement or recommendation of candidates and positions on
ballot
measures shall be considered at the last monthly meeting which is
at
least one full month before any scheduled election."
-- http://www.lpsf.org/bylaws081002.htmlCheers,
JustinYahoo! Groups Links
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