One of the main goals of the campaign is to build a Green party that can meet the moment. To me that means we need a strong, resilient party that can channel the aspirations of our members into real political change. To do this I believe that we need to build a party that is member driven, democratic, participatory, and responsive. I talk more about that here.

One aspect of that is to get rank and file Greens to participate in the internal decision making of the party and in party votes around how the party is organized, who leads it, and which candidates it nominates. 

The Maryland Green Party provides an annual opportunity for each member to weigh in on the party leadership and any bylaws amendments.

This year there are six bylaws Proposals, these are my recommendations on each of them .

TLDR Version
Question 1- At Large Delegates- Vote Yes

Question 2- Define Membership and Rights of Members -Vote Yes

Question 3- Changes to MGP Officers- Vote Yes

Question 4- Accessibility and Transparency of MGP Meetings- Vote Yes

Question 5A- Code of Conduct- Dana Polson- Vote Yes

Question 5B- Code of Conduct- Nancy Wallace- Vote No

This amendment changes the way that delegates are assigned to the Maryland Green Party Coordinating Council, the administrative body that handles the day to day functions of the party.

Currently that council is made up of state wide officers and local delegates from recognized chapters. There are only four recognized locals and their delegates are only responsible to the members of that local, not even all the Greens in their county.  Right now  most of the Greens in the state do not have delegates to the state party. The at -large-delegates in this proposal would be responsive to and elected by every Green in the state of Maryland. This is a win for internal democracy.

The Maryland Green Party is a confederation of Greens across the state and local county level organizations. In order to fulfill that mission this proposal also allows counties that have  established a local central committee with the State Board of elections to have an additional delegate on the state central committee if they so choose. This rewards county chapters that build more established Green Organizations, while ensuring that all Greens in the state have representation. 

I wrote this amendment to make it very clear how someone becomes a member of the Maryland Green Party and what rights they have as members. If we want a member-driven, democratic, and participatory party it is essential to put this up front. 

Specifically, all Maryland Voters affiliated with the Green Party are members. There is also a  mechanism for those not able to register to vote to become members; this includes those excluded due to age, immigration status, or incarceration.

Under this proposed amendment members would have a right to run for party office, seek nomination for public office, vote in party elections, propose bylaw or platform amendments, serve on party committees, and sign a petition to call an emergency assembly. 

One great feature of this amendment is it is not making any functional changes, it represents things that have been party policy one way or another for years; nonetheless enshrining it in the bylaws ensures that those policies cannot change and that it is clear that our party is dedicated to being member-driven, participatory, and democratic.

Reason to support this amendment

I wrote this amendment to ensure that members of the party can easily observe the discussions and decisions the party’s central committee is making, and to make sure this can happen online. The party has long had a theoretical commitment to open meetings, but in practice this has been difficult. There is no public announcement of meetings, no easy way for people to observe meetings, and unless someone knows who to ask, it is unlikely the vast majority of Greens will ever know that a meeting is occurring or what is on the agenda. 

This has created an insular party culture in which the party leadership operates outside of the view of its membership. To address these problems, this amendment requires public posting of meeting information including agendas and links by which someone can observe a meeting. It also requires public posting of minutes and meeting recordings so that members can watch asynchronously.

A member driven, grassroots democratic party requires transparency, not secrecy and insularity. This amendment seeks to align our actions with our values. 

Answering the Opposition

The Montgomery County Green Party has recommended a No Vote on this Amendment . They make two arguments against this proposal:

First they claim it includes  “a hard requirement that all proposals be submitted one week in advance of monthly meetings, MEANING NO PROPOSALS CAN BE SUBMITTED THE WEEK BEFORE NOR DURING A MEETING.” This is true, but it is also the current policy of the Maryland Green Party. Furthermore, it is good policy. If we believe that the leaders of the party are there to represent the members of the party, and its local chapters, then it is useful to provide clear proposals and discussion periods. 

Very often public bodies try to avoid public scrutiny of their decisions by hiding them from the public. The idea that proposals can be made in meetings is an example of this kind of insular and anti-public thinking. While this kind of flexibility may be useful for a private club, or a campaign, it is not good for a member-driven democratic institution.

Second, they claim this proposal “Also requires the Zoom link to be posted on the website, a zoom-bombing risk.” This is simply not true. First, the proposal does not specify a technology or a product, just that meetings need to be able to be observed. Beyond That I don’t need to get into the technical details of how any online meeting platform works here, but suffice to say plenty of political parties, government bodies, and small organizations have meetings that are observable without getting “zoom bombed”. This includes the Green Party of the United States which has allowed observers in its steering committee meetings  for years, with no problem.

Party bylaws are not the most exciting part of the political process, but they are important discussions to have, and the more members who are involved in discussions and debates about these policies the better we are. A growing grassroots party needs people who are concerned about how it works.

This set of bylaws makes the party more member driven, more transparent, more democratic, and creates more opportunity for more people to participate. These are important steps in building a party that can meet the moment and transform the political reality of today so that we can build the better world of tomorrow.

In Part Two of this guide I will discuss the two competing Code of Conduct Proposals. 

I appreciate anyone who has read this far and look forward to further discussion!