Preregister for the December 4th reorganization meeting of the King County Democrats
Attention PCOs and interested Democratic activists:
A reminder that our county party reorganization meeting is scheduled to take place this Sunday, December 4th, 2016 at the Machinists Hall in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle.
This is the second call for that meeting.
Sunday, December 4th, 2016
Registration Begins: 11 AM
Call to Order: Noon/12 PM
Seattle (South Park) Machinists Hall
9125 15th Place South
Seattle, WA 98108
If you were elected as a Democratic Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) in August of this year, during the Top Two election, you are part of the King County Democratic Central Committee (KCDCC) for 2017-2018, and you are the only person who may represent your Democratic neighbors at this crucial meeting.
Please preregister for the meeting to let us know you plan to attend. You may preregister in one of two ways:
- By becoming a member of the King County Democrats for 2017 (includes meal ticket for a breakfast on Sunday, December 4th)
- By RSVPing (there is no cost to submit an RSVP)
The main business on Sunday will be to elect officers to run our county party for the next two years.
We have many new PCOs this year and we know new PCOs may have questions about reorganizations and how they work. Below are some commonly asked questions and answers to those questions.
Q&A: The King County reorganization meeting and the role of the Nominating Committee
Q: What is a reorganization meeting? Why do we reorganize?
A: At the local level, a reorganization meeting is a gathering of the Democratic precinct committee officers of one of Washington’s thirty-nine counties or forty-nine legislative districts. The purpose of the meeting is to give the grassroots an opportunity to reaffirm or change the direction of the party. All organizations must elect a Chair, at least one Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and two state committeemembers. Officers serve two-year terms that expire on November 30th of the following even-numbered year.
State law (RCW 29A.80.030) requires county party central committees to reorganize “no later than the second Saturday of the following January” following midterm and presidential general elections. We traditionally schedule our reorganization meeting shortly after the first day of December in order to allow newly elected officers to get started on planning for the following local election year.
Q: What is the Nominating Committee? What is the purpose of the Nominating Committee?
A: The Nominating Committee is a group of seasoned party leaders tasked with helping the outgoing administration prepare for a smooth reorganization meeting. The Committee exists to do the following:
- encouraging people to run
- collecting declarations of candidacy
- making the information submitted by candidates available to the Democratic precinct committee officers of King County
- helping candidates and PCOs understand the process before they arrive at the meeting
You may belong to nonprofit organizations or companies that have Nominating Committees which screen candidates for board positions and select finalists. But our Committee isn’t doing those things. That’s not our role. As stated above, our reason for existing is to promote the reorganization meeting and encourage people to seek leadership positions.
So far, we are seeing a healthy level of interest for many of our positions. We encourage you to consider running if you have time to give to the party and want to contribute your talents to electing Democrats and advancing Democratic causes.
The responsibility of narrowing down the field of candidates — if there be more than two people running for particular position — rests with the Democratic PCOs of King County. The proposed rules call for runoff balloting in the event no one gets a majority on the first ballot.
The Nominating Committee was established at the direction of the King County Democratic executive board, which voted at its October meeting to create the committee, exercising authority granted to it by Section 9.2 of the KCDCC Bylaws.
Q: Who may participate in the reorganization meeting?
A: Any Democratic activist or elected official may attend the meeting as an observer. However, only Democratic precinct committee officers who filed and were elected for terms beginning December 1st, 2016 and ending November 30th, 2018 will have voice and vote at this meeting.
To have voice means having the right to speak from the floor at the meeting (after having been recognized by the Temporary Chair or Chair).
To have vote means having the right to participate in deciding the outcome of motions and officer elections.
Q: Who may run for an officer position?
A: Any Democratic activist who is interested in taking on a leadership role in the party may submit a declaration of candidacy online in advance of the December 4th meeting. Note that submitting a declaration of candidacy does not make you a candidate; it only lets the Nominating Committee know of your interest. The proposed rules require that all candidates for officer positions be nominated and seconded by a Democratic precinct committee officer in order to actually be considered.
Remember, please preregister for the meeting to let us know you plan to attend. You may preregister in one of two ways:
- By becoming a member of the King County Democrats for 2017 (includes meal ticket for a breakfast on Sunday, December 4th)
- By RSVPing (there is no cost to submit an RSVP)
