On Monday, December 7, 2020 at 6:30 pm, the Charlotte County Democratic Party will hold an organizational meeting as required by the Charlotte County Democratic Party’s Bylaws and the Florida Democratic Party (FDP). At this meeting we will be electing officers, so it is imperative that we have a quorum of the 43 eligible voting members. At 7:30 pm, a special meeting for all members and interested persons will follow.
Every four years, in December following a Presidential Election, all DECs are required to reorganize by convening the newly elected membership to elect DEC officers.
- What offices are we electing?
- Chair – two-year term
- Vice Chair – two-year term
- Secretary – two-year term
- Treasurer – two-year term
- State Committeewoman – four-year term
- State Committeeman – four-year term
- Who is eligible to run for these offices?
- The Charlotte County DEC (CCDEC) Bylaws state that elected Precinct Captains (PC) can run for any position in the County Party. Only those who have submitted the Oath of Candidacy in June 2020 are eligible to run in this election.
- All eligible PCs are encouraged to consider running for an officer position. If you are interested in running, please contact Vice-Chair Nancy Razvoza, razvozan@gmail.com, for more information and to officially declare your candidacy.
- Who is eligible to vote for these offices?
- Elected Members may vote in this election. All Democrats who were interested in running for Precinct Captain were required to file an Oath of Candidacy with the Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections on or before June 12, 2020. PCs were unopposed and after the August Primary they automatically became a PC for their precinct. Their term of office begins on December 1. Only those who submitted the Oath of Candidacy by June 12, 2020 are eligible to vote in this election.
- Club and Caucus Presidents can vote in this election but cannot run for office.
- Who Cannot vote for Party Officers?
- Associate Members are those registered Democrats residing in Charlotte County who wish to make a contribution to the CCDEC but have fewer responsibilities than elected or appointed members. They do not have to take a loyalty oath and cannot vote but can participate in debates and discussions at meetings. The term of an Associate is one year from date of approval. However, during a Presidential election year, their term shall expire immediately prior to the commencement of the Organizational Meeting.
- Any Precinct Captains who were sworn in after the June 12, 2020 filing deadline. These new PCs are not recognized by the Supervisor of Elections as voting members because they were elected after the filing deadline, so while they continue to be official members, they cannot vote in this election.
- How will we vote?
- Voting will be conducted at the December 7 meeting using the Zoom Polling feature.
- PCs residing in the same household must sign-in on separate devices and locations to cast their votes.
- Do not dial-in via your phone; your vote will not be able to be counted.
- Are proxies allowed?
- Yes. If you are a voting member and are unable to attend, please consider assigning your vote to an eligible Proxy. All eligible voting members will receive the Proxy Form via email. It should be used by elected Precinct Captains who are unable to attend our Organizational Meeting on December 7, 2020. According to our current By-Laws, a Proxy must be a registered Democrat residing in the same precinct. A written statement designating the proxy and the meeting must be either witnessed and signed by two registered Democrats OR subscribed before a Notary Public, and delivered to the DEC Chair prior to the meeting. No voting member shall be permitted to hold more than one (1) proxy. Please contact Tom Garner, tomgarner1@gmail.com, for additional information and instructions.
- Duties of each officer:
1. Chair: It shall be the duty of the Chair to: preside at all meetings of the DEC and of the Steering Committee; appoint the Chairs and the membership of all Standing Committees and a Parliamentarian within sixty (60) days of assuming office; consult with the Steering Committee to set the agenda and the Secretary of any special meetings in sufficient time for the Secretary to send notice of such meeting to the DEC membership; approve all checks issued; serve as an ex-officio member of all committees of the DEC; promulgate an annual precinct organization activity and campaign schedule and campaign budget; serve as the only official spokesperson for the CCDEC or to designate a temporary spokesperson; receive resignations of officers and committee members; and excuse members from attendance requirements. The DEC Chair must electronically certify the results of the re-organization meeting to the FDP within 48 hours after the election.
2. Vice Chair. It shall be the duty of the Vice Chair to: Act, during the absence or inability of the Chair, to render and perform his or her duties or exercise his or her powers, serve as the Chair of Campaign Committee; serve as an ex-officio member of all committees, and perform such other duties as the Chair shall direct.
3. Secretary. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to: Attend and keep minutes and records of all membership meetings of the DEC and submit said minutes, Treasurer’s report and other records of the DEC and records to the DEC and the FDP within twenty (20) days following the meeting, submit a complete membership list to the FDP each year no later than January 31; keep, file and report on correspondence related to the DEC, furnish to the Credentials Committee a list of all members or proxies, at each DEC meeting; notify members by mail or electronic mail of all regular and special meetings at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the meeting; serve on the Credentials Committee; keep a record of elected and appointed members’ absences and perform such other duties as the Chair may direct. In the event of a vacancy of the DEC Chair, the Secretary shall send by certified mail notice of the vacancy to the State Chair within ten (10) days of said vacancy.
4. Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to: Prepare an annual budget in conjunction with the Steering Committee, deposit any and all funds of the DEC in such bank or banks as the DEC may direct, and be responsible for all funds of the DEC as required by Florida Statutes and the Charter and Bylaws of the Florida Democratic Party, keep a record of all receipts and expenditures, pay all legitimate bills (Article VII,D.1); render an accounting of all receipts and expenditures at each meeting of the DEC and timely and accurately file required and approved reports with the Supervisor of Elections, maintain office copy of same; arrange for an annual audit of the financial condition of the DEC prior to April 1 of the ensuing year as outlined in Article VII (Party Finances) Sec. E, transfer all records to the successors in office after all accounts have been audited and approved by the appropriate authorities. The Treasurer collects party contributions from all chartered clubs of which 80% shall remain with the DEC and 20% shall be remitted to the FDP no later than April 1. The Treasurer shall perform such other duties as the Chair shall direct.
5. State Committeeman and State Committeewoman. It shall be the duty of the State Committeepersons to: participate cooperatively in DEC activities; participate effectively with the Congressional District Caucus of the State Committeepersons, reflect, to the best of their knowledge, the wishes of the DEC in all votes cast, keep the DEC informed of all changes made in the Charter and Bylaws of the Florida Democratic Party, and attend all State Executive Committee meetings of which they are members, or when attendance is not possible, obtain proxies.
- Who is Running?
As of this writing, the following have “declared” their intention to run:
Teresa Jenkins, Chair
Larry Kuranowicz, Vice Chair
Jane Merriam, Secretary
Bil Tucker, Treasurer
Tom Garner, Committeeman
Dr. Lucy Garner, Committeewoman
- Meeting Details:
Monday, December 7, 6:30 pm for organizational elections by invitation only. 7:30 pm special meeting for all. Both via Zoom.
All forty three eligible voting members will be directly asked to register for the Zoom organizational meeting through an emailed invitation. It is essential to complete the registration via Zoom to receive the personalized log-in information and to vote.
Non-voting members and interested persons are invited to observe the meeting streamed on Facebook Live.
Immediately following the Organizational Meeting, a special DEC Business Meeting for all members and interested persons will be called to order at 7:30 pm via Zoom. Please register for this event here.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
