Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Texas Republican Party Precinct Chair 2013

Texas Republican Party Precinct Chair 2013

Coming shortly ...

 

Texas Statutes

The rules for the precinct, township, and ward committeeman are dictated by the Texas Election Code. Project City Hall has put together the relevant Texas Election Code, Article 7 - The Making of Nominations by Political Parties (Condensed) for your convenience, but don't be afraid to read the complete Article 7, Texas Election Code -- it's educational.

Winning the Election

Winning a precinct, township, or ward committeeman election is a little challenging, unless no one is running against you. While there are many precincts without candidates, most townships and ward committeeman elections are competitive because they encompass many precincts. Nevertheless, you can win if you prepare in advance and have a plan. Many people are looking for leaders and will accept almost anyone who simply steps up to lead. Just look at your current set of elected officials for proof of that.

In general, assume a positive attitude and you're very likely to have a say in the party process. Only the people who get elected get to vote on party matters. In the smaller counties and outside of large (over 200,000) cities, your goal is to get elected as a precinct committeeman. In Chicago and large cities, you're in a ward which consists of many (sometimes over 100) precincts. In Cook county outside of Chicago, you're in a township which also consists of many precints. If you don't have election as your goal, then you should help elect like-minded people.

How the Republican Party Works in Texas

For the Republican Party, Texas has a three-level process.

  1. Direct election of precinct, township, or ward committeeman at primary election.
  2. Election of county chairman and state central committee member at county convention.
  3. Election of state chairman at state central committee meeting.

State Central Committee (SCC)

The SCC is defined as one member for each of Texas' eighteen (18) congressional districts. (See 10 ILCS 5/7-8.) The SCC is elected once every four years (2014 is next election) at county conventions. Withing forty-one days of being elected, the SCC must hold an organization meeting to elect officers and perform other basic. While the Democratic Party SCC must elect state chairman from the SCC members, the Republican SCC can elect anyone, in other words, someone who did not have to be elected to the SCC. Neither party requires any other SCC officer to be a SCC member. All the other powers and duties of the SCC are granted to it in the Texas Republican Party Bylaws.

It's important to note that the statute requires a complicated voting scheme for SCC business. Basically, each member has a weighted vote based on the total number of ballots voted at the most recent Republican primary election. The negative side of this scheme is that a minority of members can control the entire committee, which is tiny (Texas has the smallest SCC of any state) to begin with. The anti-fairness aspect, in my opinion, of the SCC is that elected officials are permitted to be members. States like Texas prohibit a public offical from being a member of the party organization at all levels. In a similar vein, Pennsylvania prohibits many public employees from holding party positions. In general, it's a conflict of interest issue, when the people with official power also have party power.

County Central Committee (CCC)

The county conventions are convened twenty-nine (29) days after the primary election in each of the 102 counties in Texas. At the county conventions, the first order of business is to elect a chairman of the CCC. The chairman must have been elected to his precinct, township, or ward at the preceding primary election. The other officers, same as the SCC level, need not be members of the county committee. Similarly to the SCC, the CCC members have weighted votes for all CCC business based on the number of ballots cast in their election unit (precinct, township, or ward) at the preceding biennial primary election.

The CCC chairman is, therefore, a vulnerable position. For example, the current Cook County chairman, Aaron Del Mar, his Palatine Township committeeman position by a scant 1% margin in 2010. If he had lost, he would not have been eligible for the powerful Cook County chairmanship.

Precinct, Township, and Ward Committeeman (PC, TC, and WC)

Each PC must get elected at the primary election in the spring of every even-numbered year. PCs serve two-year terms. In order to get on the ballot, a PC must submit a nominating petition with at least ten (10) valid signatures from electors (registered voters) who live in his precinct. There are some other documents needed as well. Write-in candidates must also file documents and must get at least as many votes as the nominating petition requires in order to be elected. Write-in campaigns are dificult to wage, unless there is no challenger, so why not just get on the ballot?

In Cook County, WCs are elected in presidental primary election years and TCs are elected in the non-presidential primary election. Unlike PCs, TCs and WCs serve four-year terms. TCs (30 in Cook County) are up for election in 2014.

The larger the election district, the more weight a committeeman's vote has. If you are going to run for a committeeman position in 2014, it's in your own best interest to get the highest voter turnout in your party that you can. The more votes cast on your party's ballot, the more power you have in the county and state committees. I should note that the weighting is based on the number of party ballots cast, not the number of votes you get or the number of votes that any indivudal candidate on the ballot gets.

Once elected as a committeeman, besides becoming a member of the CCC, you are also automatically on several other committees that are defined in the statute. Those committees are rather specialized, so just read the statute to find out what they are.

County Party Information

If you have corrections or additions to this information, please let us know.

 

Precinct / County Meeting Information

If you have corrections or additions to this information, please let us know.

 

You've Got A Friend

If this is your first meeting, it helps to get together with others who may be a little more organized. The party insiders already know the other insiders, so incumbents, as usual, always have an advantage. Here are a list of contacts, by county, who are willing to take you under their wing, so to speak. You may not agree with them on everything, but they are not insiders, so they, like you, are probably in the minority.

All politics is local. We cannot reach the goal alone. We need your help. These people are actively recruiting precinct committeemen in their county. If you'd like to recruit for your county, add your comment to this article and a way to contact you.

 

County Rules Analysis

Below you will find an analysis of county organization rules that differ from the norm.

 

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© Copyright 2013, Project City Hall. All rights reserved.

Vermont Republican Party Reorganization 2013

Vermont Republican Party Reorganization 2013

Beginning in September, Republican voters will start the process of reorganizing the party in Vermont. It's a bottom-up process and the first step is the 200 or so town meetings across the state.

The designated town meeting date, state-wide, is Thursday, September 19, 2013. While most towns will have their meetings in the evening on that day, some towns are having their meetings up to 9 days earlier and an even smaller number will have them later. IMPORTANT: To make sure you don't miss your town meeting, check your Town / County Meeting Information.

If you wish to be among the power-wielders at any level of the party, this is where you start. Those who show up at the town meetings have the potential to attain key party positions at the town and county level.

For a heads up on the entire process and to get your questions answered, join the teleconference.

What:Vermont Republican Party Reorganization Teleconference
When:Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 9:00 pm (Eastern)
Where:Your home or mobile telephone
Details:To receive teleconference call details, Sign up or text Vermont PC, {your name}, {your e-mail address} to (973)498-8066

To get the teleconference details, text 'Vermont PC' with your name and e-mail address to (973)498-8066 or sign up at Project City Hall ( http://projectcityhall.blogspot.com/p/sign-up.html ).

Can you help yourself out?

Each of you has family, friends, and neighbors. Share this post with them so that they can learn how to attain their share of power in the party.

To learn more about what committeemen are, if you don't already know, take a minute and read Precinct Committeeman - A Center of Power (http://projectcityhall.blogspot.com/2011/10/precinct-committeeman-center-of-power.html ).

Teleconference

To answer questions and plan to install like-minded people in the Republican Party organization, Project City Hall will produce a live teleconference to discuss strategy and answer your questions.

Who Should Attend

  • Anyone who wants to take effective action.
  • Anyone who wants to take their country back.
  • Anyone who values freedom and liberty.
  • If you're already a town, city, or county committee member, attend to encourage others and to relate your own experience.

What You'll Learn

  • The power of the committee member.
  • What happens at a meeting.
  • Why you need to connect with like-minded individuals before the meeting.
  • Why you should bring your posse.
  • How to win in a competitive election.

How to Determine Your Meeting Location

Vermont Statutes

The rules for the town, city, and county committees are dictated by Vermont statutes and state party bylaws. Project City Hall has put together the relevant Vermont Election Code, Chapter 45 Political Parties (Condensed) for your convenience, but don't be afraid to read the complete Vermont Statutes, Title 17, Chapter 45 -- it's educational.

While most counties follow the state bylaws and rules, a few may have their own special rules. For those, you'll need to get your local county party rules. Contact your county party to get it's bylaws and rules. (Project City Hall is building a library of State and County bylaws and rules, so if you are able to get or create an electronic copy, please share it.)

Robert's Rules of Order

On the teleconference, I will discuss Robert's Rules of Order. Here is a link to the Motion Chart which will be the reference for the discussion.

I won't be going over the whole motion chart, but you should print it out and bring it with you to any meeting that you attend. The teleconference will take the view of the minority and show you how to get your officers elected or at least make sure that you don't get run over. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

If you intend to take a leadership role in the party, and we would hope you do, your investment in the complete edition Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RRONR), 11th Edition will pay off many times over. Robert's Rules is revised only once every ten years, so it's got a long shelf life. The paperback edition is widely available for under $15 at most book outlets. There is no electronic edition.

Preparing for the Meeting

When you have a plan, you don't have to guess what to do next. Written plans are always better than winging it. With that in mind, we've put together the Precinct Committee Candidate Checklist to give you a starting point for your plan.

  1. Call your county central committee and ask how many officer and delegates your town, city, or county can elect.
  2. Ask for the names of each of the current officers and delegates and their contact information (e-mail address and telephone number).
  3. Ask how many people from the county attended at the previous meeting (two or four years ago), and how many votes were cast for each nominated officer and delegate on the ballot.
  4. Join other Vermonters on the live teleconference call (see above) where you can ask questions.
  5. Prepare printed information about yourself so that you can quickly communicate the information to everyone you meet from your town, city, and county.
  6. Prepare printed information about any party platform ideas that you have.

If you're not currently registered, or your registration does not match your current home address, you may still have time to get your registration in order. Contact your Town or City Clerk.

Winning the Election

Winning a town or city committeeman election can be a little challenging, unless no one is running against you. Often you'll find that the same people have been holding these positions over a long period of time. Incumbency is, generally, not a sufficient reason to re-elect someone. Nevertheless, you can win if you prepare in advance and have a plan. Many people are looking for leaders and will accept almost anyone who simply steps up to lead. Just look at your current set of elected officials for proof of that.

In general, assume a positive attitude and you're very likely to have a say in the party process. Only the people who get elected get to vote on party matters. Your goal is to get elected as a town committeeman or a county delegate or both. If you don't have election as your goal, then you should help elect like-minded people.

Election to the town and county positions are achievable even by newcomers. If you aspire to a state-level position, you're now in a different ballpark. Contact us directly, if you're in this category.

After the Election

  1. Get a current copy of your state party central committee by-laws and of your county party central committee by-laws along with the rules of the committee you are elected to.
  2. Keep in touch, because we'll be producing training teleconferences about all the aspects of being an effective meeting participant.

How the Republican Party Works in Vermont

For the Republican Party, Vermont has a four-level process.

  1. Direct election of town or city committeemen at town caucuses.
  2. Election of town or city officers and county delegates at town committee meetings.
  3. Election of county officers and state delegates at county committee meetings.
  4. Election of state officers at state committee meeting.

County Party Information

If you have corrections or additions to this information, please let us know.

 

Town / County Meeting Information

On September 12, 2013, the state party site posted a town meeting list. Our independent research produced a few more meetings and one or two discrepancies. You should always check with a local person to verify the information so that you show up at the right place on the right day and time.

There are over 100 towns that do not have meetings scheduled. If you are in one of those towns, we urge you to contact your county chair to get an instruction packet to hold a meeting in your town. These meetings must be completed before October 1, 2013.

Not all the meeting information is publicly available. For the towns that have a town chair, the chair's name and contact information is listed to the right. The dates of meetings that have conclude are in red, those happening today are in yellow. If your town is not listed, contact the county chair, whose contact information is listed for each county.

If you have corrections or additions to this information, please let us know.

 

You've Got A Friend

If this is your first meeting, it helps to get together with others who may be a little more organized. The party insiders already know the other insiders, so incumbents, as usual, always have an advantage. Here are a list of contacts, by county, who are willing to take you under their wing, so to speak. You may not agree with them on everything, but they are not insiders, so they, like you, are probably in the minority.

All politics is local. We cannot reach the goal alone. We need your help. These people are actively recruiting town and county committeemen in their county. If you'd like to recruit for your county, add your comment to this article and a way to contact you.

 

County Rules Analysis

Below you will find an analysis of county organization rules that differ from the norm.

 


 

© Copyright 2013, Project City Hall. All rights reserved.