Labor Party Standing Committee thread: Endorsement voting

[Gass3268]

I just want to introduce myself to my party! I am hoping to bring back the former glory of social liberalism and a new era of economic fairness to the Mideast Region! I will post a thread soon with my personal political ideology outlined in a more detailed fashion.

Labor Proud!!!

[Gass3268]

Thank you both for the warm welcome. Is there an established party platform and bylaws for the labor party? If so, could someone link them to me? Thanks!

[Gass3268]

I am declaring my candidacy for the Mideast Assembly as a Labor party member from the great state of Wisconsin!

[Gass3268]

Clarence (Whig)
[ ] Aye
[ ] Nay
[X] Abstain

Seatown (Labor)
[X] Aye
[ ] Nay
[ ] Abstain

Snowstalker (Labor)
[X] Aye
[ ] Nay
[ ] Abstain

Hagrid of the Deep (Whig)
[ ] Aye
[ ] Nay
[X] Abstain

Xahar (Национа́льное движе́ние «Алия́ Муста́фина»)
[X] Aye
[ ] Nay
[ ] Abstain

Hashemite (Национа́льное движе́ние «Алия́ Муста́фина»)
[ ] Aye
[X] Nay
[ ] Abstain

AndrewTX (Independent)
[ ] Aye
[X] Nay
[ ] Abstain

Marokai Blue(Labor)
[X] Aye
[ ] Nay
[ ] Abstain

SJoyceFla(IB)
[ ] Aye
[X] Nay
[ ] Abstain

Franzl(Liberal)
[X] Aye
[ ] Nay
[ ] Abstain

Bacon King(Liberal)
[X] Aye
[ ] Nay
[ ] Abstain

NVTownsend(Liberal)
[ ] Aye
[X] Nay
[ ] Abstain

[Gass3268]

On second thought I am switching my vote on NVTownsend from Nay to Aye. We need all the Liberals and Labor members we can get in the Senate.

[Gass3268]

I respectfully ask for the endorsement of the Labor Party, my party, for my candidacy in the September Mideast Assembly election. Any questions about my positions or any topic of interest, just ask! Thank you!

Labor Proud!

[Gass3268]

It is the Mideast Assembly?

Yup

[Gass3268]

We really do need to get more organized as a party. We still need to establish party bylaws, a platform, endorsement procedures and the establishment of regular conventions.

[Gass3268]

We really do need to get more organized as a party. We still need to establish party bylaws, a platform, endorsement procedures and the establishment of regular conventions.

You know, I've never checked to see if we have any of this. Do we have any of this? I know we have a logo, FWIW.

It could be me, but does anybody think we should start a new thread for our upcoming convention? We obviously need to have one and address any issues that Gass mentioned. Perhaps it becomes easier to ignore this thread over time as it becomes bigger.

I'm thinking we could leave this thread open for general discussion and daily business while we establish a special convention where we can get done what what needs to be done.

[Gass3268]

Where should the convention be? I was thinking Chicago 'cause of the teachers' strike, but we already did that.

That would be nice, but we should go somewhere else.

Here are some of my suggestions:

- Buffalo (25% 0f New Yorkers are union members, my top choice)
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Detroit
- Milwaukee
- Pittsburg
- St. Louis

[Gass3268]

I'd be down for Birmingham. Should we have a vote?

[Gass3268]

So we wait for Nathan? I'm just hoping that we can get to work soon so we can get some important party procedures in place.

[Gass3268]

Convention Location

[X] Birmingham, AL, IDS

Endorsements

Snowstalker/Redalgo - Aye
Tmthforu - Aye
Gass3286 - Abstain
Belgiansocialist - Aye
Mr. X - Aye

[Gass3268]

I would like to thank my party for their endorsement!

[Gass3268]

When do we want to start our new convention in Birmingham? I was thinking maybe after the Mideast elections are completed?

[Gass3268]

When do we want to start our new convention in Birmingham? I was thinking maybe after the Mideast elections are completed?

After the IDS elections?

When will that be?

[Gass3268]

Here are the 2 things we must get done at our convention in Birmingham:

1. Party Bylaws:
This needs to include the following:
- Regular elections for Party Chairman, Party Vice-Chairman and other positions that we wish to create like Whips
- The process by which we update and amend the party platform
- Rules on endorsements and a procedure for who gets to be on the party line
- Establishment and rules for regular conventions

2. Creation of a Platform:
There are some parts of an attempted platform in this thread, but they are really unorganized and there really wasn't any agreement on many points. I would suggest we start from scratch.    

Thoughts?

[Gass3268]

I agree and I'll work on creating some official party by-laws tomorrow so we can have them in writing. 

[Gass3268]

Here are the By-laws!!!

Labor Party By-laws

•   Establishment of regular conventions
-   Convention will start one month before the Atlasia Presidential Election
-   The location of the convention will rotate among the five regions of Atlasia in the fallowing order: Mideast, Imperial Dominion, Pacific Northeast and Midwest
-   Establishing the next convention shall employ the fallowing process:
o   Each Member is given 24 hours to nominate one city in the given region assigned for the next convention
o   Top three nominations will be put on a ballot
o   Members will be given 24 hours ton select their choice   
-   Each convention will have the fallowing agenda
1.   Updating and amending the party by-laws
2.   Election of the new Politburo
3.   Updating and amending the party platform
4.   Endorsements for the upcoming Atlasia Federal Elections
5.   Special and irregular business put forward by the Chairman
6.   Establishing the date and city for the upcoming convention
•   Creation and amending of party by-laws
-   By-laws will be presented to the members
-   Members will then be allowed to make objections and suggest changes to the by-laws
-   If there are no objections, the by-laws will be automatically approved
-   If there are objections, 24 hours will be given for the members to discuss and make changes as a group, more time can be given by the Chairman if necessary
-   Then a 24 hour vote will take place to approve or reject the by-laws
•   Creation and amending of the of party platform
-   The Vice Chair will have the task of the initial creation of the party platform
-   Platform will be presented to the members
-   Members will then be allowed to make objections and suggest changes to the platform
-   If there are no objections, the platform will be automatically approved
-   If there are objections, 24 hours will be given for the members to discuss and make changes as a group, more time can be given by the Chairman if necessary
-   Then a 24 hour vote will take place to approve or reject the platform
•   Election of the politburo
-   Members will have 24 hours to declare that they wish to have the fallowing positions: Chairman, Vice-Chairman & General Secretary
-   We will then have a 24 hour election for Chairman
-   The elected Chairman will then have the ability to make his selection for Vice-Chairman, General Secretary and any other position he wishes to create
-   If two members object to the selections made by the Chairman, then the appointments will have to be confirmed by the party
-   If the appointment is rejected, the process is repeated
•    Role of the Politburo
-   Chairman:
o   The official leader of the party, unless there is a Labor Party President
o   Is in charge of the convention process and all of the actives that take place
o   Giving the Vice Chairman and the General Secretary goals and objectives for their given jobs
o   Is allowed to create appoint other party officials as he or she sees fit
-   Vice Chairman
o   Takes over for the Chairman if the Chairman requests a leave of absence or has been absent for 24 during the convention
o   Is in charge of party political strategy
o   Is also the party whip, responsible for getting party members out to vote for the right candidates in elections, that party members vote the right way in the legislatures and governors approve/veto the correct bills
-   General Secretary
o   Takes over for the Chairman and Vice Chairman if the Chairman and Vice Chairman both have requested a leave of absence or has been absent for 24 during the convention
o   Is in charge of party recruitment with the goal of growing the party
o   Is also in charge of candidate requirement for all levels of government
•   Endorsement and primary procedure
-   All Labor party members are automatically endorsed by the party, except for the following situations in which there will be a Labor Party Primary:
o   There are more Labor party members running then open spots in a given election, then we have a primary
o   A Labor party member is a party of a cross party ticket for President or Governor
-   Primaries
o   Primaries will take place 3 weeks before the respective election
o   Voting will last for 3 days
o   The loser is not allowed to run as an independent and remain a member of the Labor Party
-   Regular Endorsements
o   If there are not enough Labor Party members running for a given election, we will then endorse candidates from other parties
o   Endorsement elections will take place 3 weeks before the respective election
o   In order to receive the endorsement of the Labor Party, the candidate from the other party has declare that he or she wishes to receive or party’s endorsement at least 24 hours before the endorsement election takes place 
o   Voting will last for 3 days
-   Convention Endorsements
o   Follow’s the same procedures as regular endorsements, except it takes place during the convention
o   Only deals with the upcoming Federal Elections for President and Senate

[Gass3268]

I've spent the last 3 hours working on this, so if someone wants to make it look better, that would be great, lol! =p

[Gass3268]

Anybody eles have any thoughts on the by-laws?

[Gass3268]

I've fixed up the structure a bit and revised parts (text in bold) to reflect the wishes of the party:

Labor Party By-laws

Establishment of regular conventions
- Convention will start one month before the Atlasia Presidential Election
- The location of the convention will rotate among the five regions of Atlasia in the fallowing  order: Mideast, Imperial Dominion, Pacific Northeast and Midwest
- Establishing the next convention shall employ the fallowing process:
   o Each Member is given 24 hours to nominate one city in the given region assigned for the next convention
   o Top three nominations will be put on a ballot
   o Members will be given 24 hours ton select their choice   
- Each convention will have the fallowing agenda
   1. Updating and amending the party by-laws
   2. Election of the new Politburo
   3. Updating and amending the party platform
   4. Endorsements for the upcoming Atlasia Federal Elections
   5. Special and irregular business put forward by the Politburo
   6. Establishing the date and city for the upcoming convention
   7. Selection of by-laws and platform committee for the next convention

Creation and amending of party by-laws
- The Chairman, along with two party members appointed by the Chairman, will have the initial task of creating the party platform and will be in charge of initial changes in subsequent conventions 
- By-laws are then presented to the members
- Members will then be allowed to make objections and suggest changes to the by-laws
- If there are no objections, the by-laws will be automatically approved
- If there are objections, 24 hours will be given for the members to discuss and make changes as a group, more time can be given by the Politburo if necessary
- Then a 72 hour vote will take place to approve or reject the by-laws

Creation and amending of the of party platform
- The Vice Chair, along with two party members appointed by the Vice Chairman, will have the initial task of creating the party platform and will be in charge of initial changes in subsequent conventions 
- Platform are then presented to the members
- Members will then be allowed to make objections and suggest changes to the platform
- If there are no objections, the platform will be automatically approved
- If there are objections, 24 hours will be given for the members to discuss and make changes as a group, more time can be given by the Politburo if necessary
- Then a 72 hour vote will take place to approve or reject the platform

Election of the Politburo
- Members will have 24 hours to declare that they wish to have the fallowing positions: Chairman, Vice-Chairman & General Secretary
- The declared candidates will then have 24 hours to group together as a three-member ticket
- There will then be 24 hours for campaigning
- We will then have a 72 hour election for Chairman
- The elected Chairman will then have the ability to appoint other party members to positions he or she wishes to create 

Role of the Politburo
-Chairman:
   o The official leader of the party, unless there is a Labor Party President
   o Is in charge of the convention process and all of the actives that take place
   o Giving the Vice Chairman and the General Secretary goals and objectives for their given jobs
   o Is allowed to create appoint other party officials as he or she sees fit
   o In charge of creating and updating the by-laws at the party convention with the assistance of a personally appointed committee
- Vice Chairman:
   o Takes over for the Chairman if the Chairman requests a leave of absence or has been absent for 24 during the convention
   o Is in charge of party political strategy
   o Responsible for keeping up with business on the Federal and Regional levels and making sure that the Labor Party has an official stance on the issue, this will be done in collaboration with the rest of the Politburo and the advise of the members
   o In charge of creating and updating the platform at the party convention with the assistance of a personally appointed committee
-General Secretary
   o Takes over for the Chairman and Vice Chairman if the Chairman and Vice Chairman both  have requested a leave of absence or has been absent for 24 during the convention
   o Deals with logistics and personnel
   o Responsible for getting party members out to vote for the right candidates in elections, that party members vote the right way in the legislatures and governors approve/veto the correct bills
   o In charge of party recruitment with the goal of growing the party
   o In also in charge of candidate requirement for all levels of government

Endorsement and primary procedure
- All Labor party members are automatically endorsed by the party, except for the following situations in which there will be a Labor Party Primary:
   o There are more Labor party members running then open spots in a given election, then we have a primary
   o A Labor party member is a party of a cross party ticket for President or Governor, then we will also have a primary
   o A Labor party member lost a primary and proceeded to run as a independent
- Primaries
   o Primaries will take place 3 weeks before the respective election
   o Voting will last for 72 hours 
   o The loser is strongly encouraged not to run as an independent, as doing so will result in losing a position in the politburo, not being allowed to run in primaries or receive the party’s endorsement subsequent 3 Federal elections
- Non Endorsements
   o If there are not enough Labor Party members running for a given election, we will then endorse candidates from other parties, in order for our party to have endorsed the same number of candidates as openings
   o Endorsement elections will take place 3 weeks before the respective election
   o In order to receive the endorsement of the Labor Party, the candidate from the other party has declare that he or she wishes to receive or party’s endorsement at least 24 hours before the endorsement election takes place 
   o Voting will last for 72 hours
- Convention Endorsements
   o Will follow the same procedures as regular endorsements, except it takes place during the convention
   o Only deals with the upcoming Federal Elections for President and Senate

[Gass3268]

Anybody eles have any thoughts on what I posted?

[Gass3268]

I'll make some changes later tonight. I would really like to think what the current leadership and elected officals think of these rules.

[Gass3268]

Three points:

1) Whoever is elected Vice-Chair will given the task of creating our Platform, so that could be a good campaign issue 
2) We need someone to run for Secretary General
3) Chair and Vice-Chair candidates should think about who they'd appoint to their by-laws and platform committee's