At the last meeting of the Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee, the Bridgewater DTC voted to update the committee by-laws. Please find the updated by-laws below.
BRIDGEWATER DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE BY-LAWS
ARTICLE 1- Name
This Committee shall be known as the Bridgewater Democratic
Town Committee.
Article 2- Purposes
The Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee is organized and
constituted under authority of and in accordance with the provisions of the
General Laws of the Commonwealth and shall have as its purpose the following:
to foster and advance the ideals and aims of the Democratic Party; to work and
organize for the success of Democratic candidates in the Town of Bridgewater,
Plymouth County, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and across the country; to
do all things necessary and incidental to the building and strengthening of the
Democratic Party in Massachusetts and within the Town of Bridgewater.
Article 3- Membership
Section 1.A. The
Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee shall consist of thirty-five (35),
regular, voting registered Democrats residing in the Town of Bridgewater who
shall have been placed on the Presidential Primary ballot and elected for a
period of four (4) years together with those elected to membership by the
members of said Committee.
Section 1.B. Current
members of the Town Committee who served on the Committee for twenty years or
more shall be moved to Lifetime Membership status and will receive all
membership privileges, responsibilities and voting rights at Committee
meetings. Those with Lifetime Membership status do not count against the
aforementioned 35 positions on the Town Committee.
Section 2.A. Associate
Members shall be individually elected by majority vote of the Town Committee
present and voting at any meeting of the Town Committee upon recommendation by
any member of the Town Committee. Any Associate Member to the Committee shall
be a registered Democrat residing within the Town of Bridgewater.
Section 2.B. Associate
Members shall not have the right to vote at a Town Committee meeting but shall
otherwise have full participation privilege at meetings and may be appointed to
serve on any sub-committee.
Section 3.A. Town
Committee members shall be requested to contribute to the operating expenses of
the Town Committee vis-à-vis annual dues. Dues to the Bridgewater Democratic
Town Committee are $30 annually with $25 going toward the general fund and $5
being allocated to the Bridgewater DTC Memorial Scholarship.
Section 3.B. Associate
Members shall be requested to contribute to the operating expenses of the Town
Committee vis-à-vis annual dues. Dues to the Bridgewater Democratic Town
Committee for Associate members are $15 annually with $10 going toward the
general fund and $5 being allocated to the Bridgewater DTC Memorial
Scholarship.
Section 4.A. Honorary
Lifetime Membership may be granted by a majority vote of the Bridgewater
Democratic Town Committee present and voting to any past or present members:
1.
Who has twenty (20) years of active service on
the Town Committee, or
2.
Who has attained the age of sixty-five (65)
years, or
3.
Who is or becomes disabled due to illness or
injury with five (5) years of active service.
Honorary Lifetime Membership may
also be granted by a two-thirds vote of the Town Committee present and voting
to any past or present member deemed worthy who does not meet the requirements
set forth above.
Honorary Lifetime Members shall
have the right to vote, shall not be required to pay dues and may volunteer to
serve on committees.
Section 5.A. Members
of the Town Committee may be removed by procedures guaranteeing adequate notice
and due process and by a two thirds vote of the entire voting membership of the
Committee present for:
1.
Public support for or financial contribution to
an opponent of a nominee of the Democratic Party.
2.
Public support for or financial contribution to
a member of another party.
3.
Unauthorized use of the Party name or resources.
4.
Conviction of a criminal offense other than a
misdemeanor after appeals are exhausted.
A member must be given the
opportunity to resign before notice of the hearing on the question of removal
is given a hearing before the full Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee.
A member removed under this section
shall have thirty (30) days to appeal to the Officers of the Bridgewater
Democratic Town Committee and the vacancy may not be filled until the final
decision of the Officers has been rendered.
Article 4- Officers
Section 1: The
Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee shall have the following Officers:
1.
Chair
2.
Vice-Chair
3.
Secretary
4.
Treasurer
All Officers shall serve for two
years commencing with the Organizational Meeting held in April following the
Presidential Primary and two years hence that shall be in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter 52 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Section 2: In
the event of death, resignation or the permanent removal from the Town
Committee of any of the above named officers, their places shall be declared
vacant and be filled at the next regular meeting of the Town Committee upon due
notification to the members. A statement of such changes in the Officers of the
Committee shall be sent immediately to the Secretary of the Massachusetts
Democratic Party and to the Bridgewater Town Clerk.
Section 3: Officers
of the Town Committee may be removed with adequate notice and due process for
failing to perform the duties of the office by a two-thirds vote of the
Committee present and voting at a duly noticed meeting.
Article 5- Duties of Officers
Chairman
The Chairman shall be the principal executive officer of the
Town Committee with primary responsibility for enforcement of the Committee
By-Laws. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Committee and at
Caucuses set by it. He/She shall have the power to call Special Meetings and
regular meetings of the Town Committee as may seem to be advisable, subject
only to the vote of the Committee in fixing the number of regular meetings to
be held during the course of the year.
The Chairman shall be Ex-Officio member of all committees
except Nominating Committee.
Vice-Chairman
The Vice Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Town
Committee in the absence of the Chairman. He/She shall perform all the duties
and have all the powers of the Chairman in the case of his/her temporary
absence.
The Vice Chairman shall be an Ex-Officio member of all
committees except the Nominating Committee.
Secretary
The Secretary shall take the minutes of all regular and
special meetings and keep record of all the proceedings of the Town Committee.
The Secretary shall report the minutes to the membership.
The Secretary shall fulfill all correspondence duties and
perform all other secretarial duties appropriate and consistent with the
office.
In case of the necessary absence of the Secretary through
illness or otherwise, the Chairman shall designate a member to serve as
secretary until the secretary returns to his or her duties.
Treasurer
The Treasurer shall have custody of all funds belonging to
the Committee. The Treasurer shall keep and maintain records of all the
financial transactions of the Committee. The Treasurer shall deposit all funds
received for the Committee in the Committee’s bank account. He/She shall be
responsible for paying all authorized expenditures by check. No expenditure of
funds of the Committee shall be made by the Treasurer outside of the regular
activities or expense thereof except upon the approval of a majority of the
Committee at a regular or special meeting.
The Treasurer shall report at regular meetings of the
Committee and render an accounting of funds since the previous meeting, and
shall report at special meetings at the request of any member.
Article 6- Vacancies
Section 1: A
vacancy occurs in the office of, or the membership of, the Committee whenever
the holder of the position:
(a)
Dies or becomes permanently unable to serve
(b)
Resigns in a written communication received by
the Chairman or by personally announcing his/her resignation to the membership
at a regular or special meeting of the Committee
(c)
Ceases to be a resident of the Town of
Bridgewater
(d)
Ceases to be an enrolled Democratic voter
(e)
Is removed as provided herein
Section 2: Except in the case of
death or removal, the vacancy must be declared by a vote of the majority of the
members present and voting at a meeting.
Section 3: Immediately following the meeting at which the
vacancy is formally declared, the Committee shall be notified of said vacancy
and the meeting date for filling the vacancy.
Section 4: Officer vacancy shall be filled by a vote of the
Committee.
Section 5: Membership vacancy shall be filled by vote of the
Committee not less than two months following formal announcement. Associate
members shall be the candidates first considered for filling the vacancies
based on candidate’s seniority, attendance at meetings and participation in,
and contribution to, Committee and Party activities and objectives.
Article 7- Bridgewater DTC Memorial Scholarship
The Bridgewater DTC Memorial
Scholarship is an annual scholarship award presented on behalf of the
Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee to a graduating senior residing in
Bridgewater who will be pursuing collegiate-level education.
Annually, a Scholarship
Sub-Committee will meet to review applicants for the Bridgewater DTC Memorial
Scholarship and determination will be made as to the recipient by a majority
vote of the Sub-Committee.
Article 8- Meetings of the Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee
Section 1: Pursuant
to the Charter of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
the Town Committee shall meet at least four times each year, at least once each
quarter.
Section 2: Special
meetings and changes of meeting dates may be called by the Chairman upon due
notification to the membership.
Article 9- Order of Business
The order of business at meetings is recommended to be as
follows:
a.
Taking of attendance
b.
Introducing new members and/or guests
c.
Guest speaker
d.
Presentation of the minutes of the prior meeting
e.
Report of the Treasurer
f.
Old business
g.
New business
h.
Reading of correspondence
i.
Open discussion
j.
Adjournment
Meetings are held under Robert’s Rules of Order, most recent
edition.
Article 10- Quorum
Eight (8) of the voting members of the Committee shall
constitute quorum for the transaction of business.
Article 11- Nominations and Elections
Section 1: Nominations
for Officers shall be from the floor at the first regular meeting of the
Committee after the Presidential Primary and two years hence at the regular
meeting in April.
Section 2: The
Chairman will appoint an impartial committee of tellers to distribute, collect
and count the ballots and report thereon to the Committee.
Section 3:
Election of Officers shall be by majority vote of the members present and
voting.
Section 4:
In the event no candidate receives a majority vote on the first ballot, all
names except those having the highest votes shall be eliminated for further
ballots.
Section 5: Vacancies
in any elected office shall be filled by the Town Committee by election
pursuant to Article 4, Section 3 and in accordance with procedures in Sections
2 and 3 of this article.
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