WOODSTOCK DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE BY-LAWS

 Revised July 19, 2010

SECTION I

This committee shall be known as the Woodstock Democratic Committee ("WDC").

SECTION II (Mission)

The object and purpose of this committee shall be to promote the ideals and principles of the Democratic Party of New York State and the nation through the election of duly nominated Democratic candidates and by doing this, aid our state and national governments to function effectively as a true democracy and a government of all the people.

Discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, ethnic identity, disability, national origin, age or color in the conduct of the Woodstock Democratic Party affairs is prohibited.

The WDC shall encourage and support the broadest possible voter registration, without discrimination.

SECTION III (Woodstock Democratic Committee)

1. The WDC shall consist of those Democratic County Committeepersons ("Members") elected for the election districts of the Town of Woodstock

2. The officers of the WDC shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer, and they shall be enrolled voters of the Democratic Party, but need not be members of the WDC. The secretary shall manage all data and voting records of the WDC and shall keep same confidential as the exclusive property of the WDC.

3. The Members elected for each district in the town shall be members of the Democratic Committee of Ulster County upon certification by the County Committee.

4. Members shall be elected at the biennial primary elections after filing designating petitions. Vacancies of Elected Members on the WDC shall be filled by a vote of the County Committee. Until such time as the County Committee fills any vacancy, the WDC may fill such vacancies on an interim basis at a meeting of the WDC by a legal majority vote.

5.  All Members of the WDC shall:                                                                                                                         

a) Attend all regularly scheduled meetings of the WDC or notify the Chair of their reason for absence and ask to be excused from attending

b)  Offer public support only for Democratic candidates

c)  Organize the primary

d) Assist in the Get Out the Vote efforts for all elections

e) Assist in carrying nominating petitions for Democratic candidates; and

f) Obey these Rules and Bylaws.

6. A Committee Member may be removed:

a) "for cause," as reflected in the County By-Laws approved March 2010

b) for "Disloyalty": hereby defined as carrying or signing petitions, other than a Democratic Party nominating petition, for a local candidate (Town of Woodstock or anywhere in Ulster County) who does not already have the Democratic Party endorsement; or

c) for publicly supporting the candidacy of a member of another party who does not also have the endorsement of the Democratic Party.

SECTION IV (Local Committees)

1. Sub-Committees: The chairperson of the Town Committee is hereby delegated and vested with the power of appointing such other committees as he/she may deem proper for the transaction of normal committee business and to act at the pleasure of such chairperson.

SECTION V (Committee Meetings)

1. An organizational meeting of the WDC shall be held within twenty (20) days of the primary, as stated in the County By-Laws

2. Regularly scheduled meetings of the WDC shall be established by annual resolution of the full WDC. This shall include a regular day of the month, time and place for meetings. The WDC must meet at least six times a year.

3. Meetings of the WDC shall be called at any time by the Chairperson of such committee, or in his or her absence, by the Vice-Chairperson, who shall cause to be given to each member of such committee a notice of the date, time, and place of such meeting.

4. Special meetings of the WDC may be called upon the written request of four Members of the committee. Notice may be by e-mail or by telephone, with a copy of all e-mails sent by regular mail within 24 hrs after posting the e-mail.

5 All meetings of this committee are open to the public unless designated as a closed meeting in the notice of meeting.  The chair or the majority present may call a closed meeting. All private/closed sessions will be held at the end of the regular meeting. Any member may call an executive session.

6. All minutes of Executive Sessions of the Committee Meeting, shall be confidential. All data belonging to the WDC shall be kept confidential as property of the WDC.

7. Seven Committee Members on the WDC present at any duly called meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 

8. A majority vote of the Members present at any meeting shall be sufficient to carry and adopt any motion, resolution, or other matter, which may be presented at such meeting, but not including amendments to these Bylaws.

9. Procedure: All WDC meetings shall be guided generally by Roberts Rules of Order, except where superseded by the Election Law.

10. Authority: Nothing in the rules and regulations of the WDC shall abrogate, negate, or usurp the authority of the rules and regulations of the Democratic Committee of the County of Ulster or the New York Election Law.

11. The Treasurer shall file all state reports in a timely fashion. This information is public information.

12.  In case of emergency WDC business may be conducted by email and/or telephone. Individual votes will be made available at the next meeting.

SECTION VI (Amendments to Bylaws)

These bylaws may be amended, repealed, or suspended or any new bylaws Adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Members present at the second reading of such proposed amendment, repeal, suspension, or adoption. Changes in bylaws shall be initiated at any regular meeting with advance notice to the Committee members and then acted upon at the next regular meeting

WOODSTOCK TOWN PRIMARY 2011

The Woodstock Democrats will be selecting candidates in 2011 to represent the Democrats in November for Woodstock Town Offices. If the committee fails to select candidates or if there are challengers to selected Democratic Committee selections then the candidates shall be chosen through a Primary Election held on Tuesday September 13th at designated times and polling places yet to be determined. Non Democratic party members seeking the Democratic line will need an exception from the Woodstock Democratic Committee to appear on the primary line in September.

Signatures on designating petitions may begin on June 7th and must be in at the Ulster County Board of Elections between July 11th - 14th. Any candidate, challenged or not, will be required to complete a designating petition of 5% of the registered active Democrats in Woodstock (2640 total - 132 = 5%) to qualify as a candidate for the Democratic Party line for local offices in Woodstock.