Waukesha West Young Democrats Constitution
Table of Contents
Preamble
Article I: Name, Affiliation, Purpose
Article II: Memberships and Clubs
Article III: Officers
Article IV: Duties of Officers
Article V: Executive Committee
Article VI: Standing Committees
Article VII: Impeachment and Removal from Office
Article VIII: Parliamentary Authority
Article IX: Amendments
Article X: Ratification
----Return to Waukesha West Young Democrats Main Page.----
Preamble
We, the Waukesha West Young Democrats, in order to further the ideals and
principles of the Democratic Party, do hereby establish this Constitution of the
Waukesha West Young Democrats.
Article I
Name, Affiliation, Purpose
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Waukesha West Young
Democrats.
Section 2: The Waukesha West Young Democrats shall affiliate with the Young
Democrats of America and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Section 3: The purpose of the Waukesha West Young Democrats shall be to
support and elect candidates of the Democratic Party, to encourage a more
pluralistic participation in the Democratic Party, and to increase the role
for under-represented people in our government, society, and Party.
Article II
Memberships and Clubs
Section 1: Membership in the Waukesha West Young Democrats is open to those
between the ages of thirteen and thirty-five, inclusive, that consider
themselves Democrats.Membership shall be open to all persons without regard to race, sex, religion, economic status, disability, national origin, or sexual
orientation.
Section 2: The basic organizational unit shall be the chartered club.
Chartered clubs are autonomous and may operate in any manner not
inconsistent with the Constitution of the Waukesha West Young Democrats.
Article III
Officers
Section 1: The elected officers of this organization shall consist of the
President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2: The Waukesha West Young Democrat offices of President, Vice
President, Secretary/Historian, and Treasurer/Public Relations shall be elected at an annual convention for a term of one year by the voting members of that convention. All appointed officers shall serve one-year terms. All candidates for the office of President must have been a member of the Executive Committee during the previous term and be subject to re-appointment after each term.
Section 3: In the event of vacancy in the office of President, the Vice
President shall assume the office for the unexpired term. Vacancy
in any other office shall be filled by a vote of the Executive Committee at
any duly called meeting where notice of election is given.
Article IV
Duties of Officers
Section 1: The duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings
of the Executive Committee; to administer and execute all rules adopted by
the Waukesha West Young Democrats; to appoint with the approval of the Executive Committee any committees as may be needed to administer the rules and
regulations of the Executive Committee; to appoint, with the approval of
the Executive Committee, any other such positions deemed necessary by the
President or Executive Committee, with said appointees having voting
privileges on the Executive Committee.
Section 2: The duties of the Vice President shall be to preside at all
meetings where the President is absent; to assume office of the President
in case of an unexpired term; to perform any other such duties assigned
by the President or Executive Committee.
Section 3: The Secretary/Historian shall keep minutes of all meetings of the
Executive Committee and mail minutes out to members; prepare and keep a
record of all club rosters; be responsible for developing and tracking a
historical record of all Waukesha West Young Democrats' activities; review and
report to the Executive Committee all charter submissions; and to provide a
calendar of events to the staff of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Section 4: The Treasurer/Public Relations shall have charge of all state funds; shall
exercise control over all expenditures and income; serve as Chair of the
Budget Committee; make a year-end report on expenditures and income to the
Executive Committee.
Section 5: No officer may have more than one vote on the Executive
Committee.
Article V
Executive Committee
Section 1: When the Waukesha West Young Democrats are not in convention, the
Executive Committee shall be the governing body of this organization. The
Executive Committee shall be responsible for the general direction,
operation, policy, and management of the Waukesha West Young Democrats.
Section 2: The voting members of the Executive Committee shall be the
President, Vice President, Secretary/Historian, Treasurer/Public Relations, and those appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.
Section 3: The President shall serve as Chair of the Executive Committee.
Section 4: There shall be at least four Executive Committee meetings per
year. Beginning with the second meeting of each year, members of the
Executive Committee must submit written reports to the Secretary, which
will detail all of the activities which they have undertaken on behalf of
the Waukesha West Young Democrats. Special meetings of the Executive Committee
may be called by the President or any three members with one week's written
notice sent to each member.
Section 5: A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be seventy-five percent.
Article VI
Standing Committees
Section 1: The standing committees of the Waukesha West Young Democrats shall be State and Legislative Affairs, Resolutions, Budget, Fundraising, Financial Review, and any other such committees as the Executive Committee deems necessary. All of these standing committees are appointed with the approval of the Executive Committee.
Section 2: The Budget Committee shall consist of at least four members and
be chaired by the Treasurer. Each officer or committee chair shall submit a
budget to the committee within thirty days following the beginning of the
fiscal year. The Budget Committee shall submit a budget to the Executive
Committee at the second meeting after the beginning of the fiscal year. The
budget proposal shall include a plan of expected income and expenditures
for the fiscal year. Upon approval by the Executive Committee, each officer
or committee chair shall oversee expenditure of the funds allocated to
their office. The Budget Committee shall meet at least four times during
the year to review expenditures and to report to the Executive Committee.
Alleged irregularities in expenditures shall be reported to the Budget
Committee, which shall investigate said allegations and report to the
Executive Committee. The Budget Committee shall assist the Treasurer in
preparing a year-end fiscal report to present to the Executive Committee.
Section 3: The Fundraising Committee is charged with raising money
sufficient to fund the activities of the Waukesha West Young Democrats. The
President, Vice President, and Treasurer shall serve as ex officio members of this
committee.
Section 4: Two months before the end of the fiscal year, the President,
with approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint three people, not
including the Treasurer or members of the Budget Committee, to serve on the
Finance Committee. This committee shall audit the income and expenditures
of the Waukesha West Young Democrats for the past year.
Section 5: The State and Legislative Affairs Committee shall be responsible
for tracking and evaluating legislation that affects this organization's
members and advising the Executive Committee on what action should be taken
in response. This committee shall have one chair responsible for State
activities and one chair for Federal activities.
Section 6: The fiscal year of the Waukesha West Young Democrats shall begin
February 28th of each year. This may be changed with a three-fourths vote of the Executive Committee
Article VII
Impeachment and Removal from Office
Section 1: The Executive Committee shall be the ruling body in
investigations and enforcement of Impeachment proceedings against any
officer or member of the Waukesha West Young Democrats. Decisions of the
Executive Committee or the Convention will be final.
Section 2: The following shall constitute grounds for removal from office
and/or revocation of membership: malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance of
duties.
Section 3: The procedure for impeachment of any Executive Committee member
or the revocation of membership in the Waukesha West Young Democrats is as
follows: Any member of the Waukesha West Young Democrats may present a call for Impeachment or revocation of membership to the Executive Committee. The
grounds for said action must be presented in writing to the Secretary and
President, or the Vice-President and/or Treasurer if the Secretary or
President are charged, at least 10 days before any action can be taken by
the Executive Committee. In addition, the grounds presented may not be
acted upon unless written notice is sent to every member of the Executive
Committee at least two weeks before said meeting. The member(s) presenting
the case for impeachment or revocation of membership shall be given an
opportunity to address the Committee and present any evidence to support
said charges. If a majority of the Executive Committee, present and voting
not including the accused, decides by a unanimous vote to proceed
with impeachment, the presiding officer shall appoint three members to
investigate said charges and make a presentation to a special session of
the Committee to be held within six weeks. If the Executive Committee
declines to proceed, the matter shall be considered closed. The Secretary,
or Treasurer if the Secretary is charged, shall notify the accused within
five days of the date, time, and place of the impeachment proceedings. The
accused shall have the opportunity to address the investigating committee
if he or she so desires. At the impeachment proceedings, the report of the
Investigating Committee shall be hard first, followed by the defense for
the accused. The accused may present any evidence or testimony which they
deem pertinent and shall have the right to be represented by counsel of
their choice. After hearing the Investigating Committee's report and any
defense, the Executive Committee shall by four-fifths vote of those present
and voting remove from office or revoke the membership of the acused.
Section 4: In accordance with established customs of American
jurisprudence, the accused shall have the presumption of innocence until
proven guilty and shall not lose any of the rights or privileges as an
officer or member of the Waukesha West Young Democrats. The exception to this
shall be that the accused cannot vote in any proceedings affecting their
status.
Section 5: All proceedings before the Executive Committee concerning
removal from office or revocation of membership shall be held in open
session with votes publicly taken and recorded. The only exception to this
is if the accused asks for a closed hearing, which shall lead to all such
proceedings being held in executive session.
Article VIII
Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Roberts' Rules of Order shall
govern the Waukesha West Young Democrats meetings and all their committees and caucuses in all case in which they are not inconsistent with this
constitution or the Democratic Party Plan of Wisconsin.
Article IX
Amendments
This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote. Amendments shall take effect immediately upon approval unless otherwise stated in this constitution.
Article X
Ratifification
This constitution can be ratified by a majority vote of the Waukesha West Young Democrats.
----Return to Waukesha West Young Democrats Main Page.----
Waukesha West Young Democrats