Welcome

Posted by George Webb

Bylaws


AS AMENDED NOVEMBER 9, 2007



ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of the organization will be Democratic Club of the Santa Rita Area, herein referred to as “DCSRA.” The Democratic Club of the Santa Rita Area shall serve as an official unit of the Pima Country Democratic Committee and the Arizona State Democratic Committee in accordance with ARS Title 16, Sections 821-828. Nothing in these DCSRA bylaws shall be in nonconformance to the bylaws of the Pima County Democratic Party.

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

DCSRA shall influence, foster, encourage and promote the aims and objectives of the Democratic Party and aid in the election of Democratic candidates for public office.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Club shall be open to all interested persons in the Santa Rita area. The dues shall be renewed on the anniversary date of joining. A notice for membership dues renewal will be sent or phone calls made during the month of the due date.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1. Officers

The officers of DCSRA shall consist of a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, a Membership Chairperson, a Publicity Chairperson, and three Board Members at Large. All officers shall be elected for two-year terms to coincide with the terms of the Legislative District’s offices. A representative and an alternate to the Pima County Executive Committee shall be chosen by the DCSRA Board.

Section 2. Duties

a. The President shall preside at all meetings of DCSRA with the Executive Board and shall appoint all standing and ad hoc Committees and be an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.

b. The First Vice President shall, in the absence of the President, assume all the duties of the President.

c. The Second Vice President shall, in the absence of the President and First Vice President, assume the duties of the President. The President may assign other duties as required.

d. The Recording Secretary shall keep a record of all proceedings of the DCSRA meetings and have such other duties as necessary. The Secretary shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and the Vice Presidents. The President may delegate other duties.

e. The Corresponding Secretary shall write thank you notes on request and correspondence with members.

f. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection and disbursement of all funds in a manner approved by the DCSRA and Executive Board. The Treasurer shall keep all financial records and submit regular reports to the Board, serve as ex officio member of the Finance Committee and file reports as required by state law. The Treasurer shall reimburse expenditures of three hundred dollars or less and any expenditures exceeding three hundred dollars shall require approval by the President or by the Executive Board. An audit committee shall be appointed by the President to audit the financial records biannually or upon the resignation of the Treasurer.

g. All Executive Board members, including the three members at large, may be responsible for a committee, assigned by the Executive Board.

h. In view of the expectation of fairness and equal treatment for all Democratic candidates, officers of DCSRA are encouraged to refrain from using the titles of their offices in public endorsements of candidates involved in contested Democratic Primary elections. If they make endorsements as individual citizens, that is their right.

Section 3. Nominations

No later than the regular October meeting of even numbered years, the President shall appoint three members of the DCSRA to serve as a Nominating Committee. This Committee shall present a slate of nominees for DCSRA offices at the November meeting, at which time additional nominations may be made from the floor with the consent of the nominee.

Section 4. Elections

Executive Board Officers will be elected at the December meeting of even-numbered years. When there is only one candidate for an executive office, the election shall be by raised hands of the voting members of the DCSRA present. When there is more than one candidate for an executive office, the election shall be by secret ballot of the voting members of the DCSRA present. Elections require a simple majority. Terms of office shall be two years.

Section 5. Removal from Office

Any Executive Board Officer of DCSRA with three consecutive absences from the Executive Board meetings, or who fails to fulfill the duties of the office, may be asked to resign by the President. A DCSRA Executive Board Officer may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership present at a special meeting.

Section 6. Vacancies

Any vacancy occurring in a DCSRA office shall be filled by a special election, held within 60 days of the vacancy, provided that notice has been given at least twenty days prior to the election meeting. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the First Vice President shall act as President until the election is held. In the event an Executive Board Officer runs for public office, the officer shall resign prior to announcing his/her candidacy.

ARTICLE V

MEETINGS

Section 1. There must be no less than six (6) regular meetings with no more than two (2) months between meetings in each calendar year.

Section 2. The President as approved by the Executive Board will set time and Place of all regular DCSRA and Executive Board meetings.

Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the President or by a majority of the Executive Board, or by 25% of the membership of the DCSRA.

Section 4. Notice of the DCSRA meetings shall be announced through media releases, e-mail, the DCSRA web site and/or telephone calls one week prior to the meeting.

Section 5. Meetings will be conducted in accordance with these Bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 6. Fifteen percent (15%) of the DCSRA members shall constitute a quorum.

Section 7. An orientation meeting shall be facilitated to review these bylaws with the election of any new officers.

ARTICLE VI

COMMITTEES

Section 1. There shall be the following standing committees:

    a. Membership.
    b. Program & Fundraising
    c. Finance
    d. Nominating
    e. Bylaws
    f. Publicity
    g. Get Out The Vote

Section 2. Ad Hoc Committees may be created by the President for special purposes.

ARTICLE VII

BYLAWS

Section 1. Effective date

These bylaws shall be in effect immediately upon their adoption.

Section 2. Amendments.

Following prior announcement within 30 days of the intent to revise the bylaws, they may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the members present and voting.

Section 3. Review.

The Bylaw Committee shall review these bylaws at least biannually and shall recommend amendments as required.

ADOPTED IN A REGULAR MEETING OF THE DEMOCRATIC CLUB OF THE SANTA RITA AREA ON   November 9th. 2007