North Tarrant Democrats Bylaws
Article I. Organizational Name
The formal name shall be known as the North Tarrant Democrats; herein, also referred to as “the Organization.” For brevity, “NTDems” may also be used interchangeably.
Article II. Purpose Or Mission
The purpose or mission of the Organization is:
• To inform Democratic/Progressive candidates and officeholders of important issues to the membership, of the Organization, and to support Democratic/Progressive Values and be a voice for all Democrats.
• To evaluate candidates for public office and actively support those candidates who best promote the Organization’s mission;
•To encourage the participation of members of the Organization in the campaigns of Democratic/Progressive candidates and at all levels of the Democratic Party;
•To facilitate the election of Democratic/Progressive candidates to public office by maximizing Democratic turnout in North Tarrant County.
• To build coalitions with other organizations and communities that supports the Organization’s mission and reach out to underrepresented and diverse groups within our community in order to bring about greater harmony and understanding; and increase the Organization’s visibility and influence through participation in community activities and events;
• To strive to make Tarrant County a better place for people to live, work, play and raise families.
Article III. Geographical Area
• Section 1. Area of Political activity will include municipalities of North Central Tarrant County; Communities of Keller, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Watauga, Haltom City, Saginaw, Alliance, North Tarrant area of Forth Worth, Texas. Of particular interest, the current House District of HD 91, Keller ISD and Birdville ISD.
Article IV. Members
Section 1. Anyone may make application for membership in the Organization. To be accepted as a member, a person must:
• Have a Democratic Party primary election voting history and/or must sign an oath of affiliation; subscribing to the purposes of the Organization, such a statement of allegiance to be submitted with their membership application; and non-compete.
Section 2. Members shall have the right to vote on the endorsements of the Organization in a Primary or General Election, to run for office in the Organization, to vote on election of the officers of the Organization, and to vote on amendments to the bylaws.
Section 3. The Executive Board shall set annual membership dues at $25.00 per person, per couple at $25.00 plus $12.50 = $37.50. The Membership Chair shall notify members when their dues are payable on the anniversary of their joining the Organization. Those whose dues are not paid within three months beyond calendar year (June 1) shall be automatically dropped from membership in the Organization.
Section 4. Let it be known that any member whose prior actions have been undermining, prejudicial, detrimental and not in the best interest of the Organization or are judged by a majority of the Executive Board to be prejudicial, not in good faith with the intent and purpose or detrimental to the Organization will be expelled from the Organization or by a two-thirds vote of those members present and voting at a called meeting of the Organization.
Section 5. Any member’s personal information will be kept confidential and shall not be rented, traded, sold, and data-mined for any purpose [public or private] or provided to any other club, candidate or other organization.
Article V. The Executive Board
Section 1. The four elected officers of the Organization, along with the elected committee chairs and Parliamentarian (*Bylaws, Fundraising, Membership, Nominating, Outreach, Precinct Chair Recruitment or Voter Registration), shall be members of the Executive Board. An elected officer of the Organization will have the option of Chairing a Committee(s).
Section 2. The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Organization between its business meetings; shall within geographical area shall fix the hour and place of meetings; shall make recommendations to the Organization; and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these bylaws.
Section 3. The quorum for meetings of the Executive Board shall be a simple majority of its members.
Section 4. The Executive Board shall meet at the discretion of the President or a simple majority of the Executive Board. Notice of all meetings of the Board shall be given to each member of the Executive Board by mail, e-mail or by telephone at least seven days prior to the meeting date.
Section 5. Each member of the Executive Board shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote. A member must be present to vote. No proxy voting is permitted.
Section 6. Any vacancy occurring on the Executive Board shall be filled by a nominee of the President and appointed by a vote of the Executive Board. Examples of succession are in the event of running for a local, city, state, national elected office, death, relocation or resignation the Vice-President will assume Presidential duties.
Section 7. Any Executive Board member may be removed for cause by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members of the Executive Board at a properly called meeting.
Section 8. An officer or Executive Board member may resign at any time. Such resignation shall be made in writing and shall take effect at the time specified therein, or if no time is specified, at the time of its receipt by either the President or the Executive Board. The acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective, unless expressly requested in the resignation.
Section 9. In the best interest of the Organization, to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest in safeguarding the Organization’s membership information, Executive Board officers of one Democratic Club will refrain from making voluntary application to another Democratic Club’s Executive Board during the same interim period. This good faith request will not impede serving as a Committee chair for the Tarrant County Democratic Party, the State of Texas Democratic Party, or on a National Democratic position.
Article VI. Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Organization shall be a President, Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer and Parliamentarian. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by Robert’s Rules of Order or a simple version of Roberts Rule of Order.
Section 2. At the regular meeting of the membership held in June, nominations shall be accepted for these offices. To be eligible for election, a candidate for office must be a current member in good standing of the Organization for not less than three months. The election shall be held at this meeting. The officers shall be elected by ballot to serve for two years or in the event the officer files to run for a local, city, state, or national elected position, or until their successors are elected, and their official duties will begin in the month of June of odd numbered years.
Section 3. The President shall preside at all meetings or designate a Chair for the meeting; shall be a Chair of the Executive Board; shall be a voting member of all committees; shall create special committees as deemed necessary; and shall be or designate the official spokesperson for the group. Former officers and members shall confer and support the agenda of the new elected Executive board.
Section 4. The Vice-President shall preside at all meetings designated by the President; shall be responsible for coordinating the Organization’s participation in special events consistent with the Organization’s stated purpose; shall be responsible for contacting guest speakers for the regular Organization meetings; shall serve at the discretion of the President as liaison to other Democratic Party clubs, non-partisan political groups, and community organizations in Tarrant County; and shall perform all duties as assigned by the President.
Section 5. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all prior meetings of the Organization and of the Executive Board Meetings; prepare the minutes for distribution at the next monthly meeting; shall maintain an updated record of all standing rules, resolutions and policies adopted by the Executive Board or the membership; shall handle the Organization’s official correspondence; shall update the calendars when necessary and shall perform all duties as assigned by the President.
Section 6. The Treasurer shall collect and disburse the funds of the Organization. All funds shall be kept in a financial institution(s) approved by the Executive Board.
• The Treasurer shall keep books of account for at least two years in accordance with Texas Ethics Commission rules and regulations in which there shall be recorded all receipts and disbursements of the Organization.
• The Treasurer shall have the authority to disburse funds as directed by the Executive Board. All checks or expenditures greater than $1,000.00 shall be approved by the Executive Board.
• The Treasurer shall appraise the Organization each month of debits, credits, in-kind donations and expenditures and shall make an annual report to the membership at the fiscal year meeting in June; and shall perform all other duties as assigned by the President.
• The Treasurer will be an active member of the Organization during fundraising events, elections, monthly meetings, board meetings.
• The treasurer shall present “the books” when any inquiry is in question for clarification.
Section 7. The Past President shall serve in an advisory capacity to the President; (shall chair the Nominating Committee); and shall perform all other duties as assigned by the President. All decisions will be made final by the presiding President.
Article VII. Meetings
Section 1. The regular meetings of the Organization shall be held monthly, at a time and place to be determined by the Organization.
Section 2. All members shall be notified of the time, date, and location of the membership meetings through the Organization’s calendar, mail, e-mail, Face book posts, Tarrant County Party Calendar, or telephone in advance of the date set for the meeting.
Section 3. The Formation Date Month of June shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers, receiving reports of officers and committees, and for any other business that may arise.
Section 4. Special meetings may be called by the President or by a majority of the Executive Board or at the request of 25% of the members of the Organization in good standing. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call.
Section 5. A quorum for meetings shall be those members present and in good standing at the time of the meeting and a simple majority of those is required to pass. Proxy voting shall not be permitted.
Article VIII. Committees
Section 1. The chair of the Membership Committee shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Organization. The chair of the Membership Committee shall have the authority to appoint two additional members of the committee.
• The Membership Committee will meet as needed. The Membership Committee may deny an applicant’s membership for just cause subject to review of the Executive Board. Members of the Organization endorsing or supporting Republican candidates may have their membership privileges revoked by the Membership Committee upon the complaint of any other member also subject to the review of the Executive Board.
• The Chair of the Membership Committee shall preside over all meetings of the Membership Committee; shall maintain all membership records; shall certify the standing of all members in the organization; shall confer with the Website Host of any changes, additions or deletions that may be required to maintain accurate records of on-line presence and shall perform all duties as assigned by the President.
• The Membership Committee shall promote membership in the organization; and shall coordinate organization outreach and recruitment activities for the pleasure and benefit for the growth of North Tarrant Democrats' Neighborhood Organization Groups. Personal information such as that of members illness, death, birth month recognition, sending flowers, presenting gift cards or cards to members, and special recognitions will include the Treasurer in any outlays of monetary expenditures. By the same token, will also encourage financial support beyond that of yearly Organizational membership dues to the Organization.
Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall be chaired by the immediate past president and shall consist of an even number of additional members of whom half shall be appointed by the Executive Board and the remaining half shall be elected at a general meeting from among members who do not sit on the Executive Board. In the event that the immediate past president is no longer a member in good standing of the organization or is otherwise unavailable to serve as chair of the Nominating Committee, the President shall appoint another organization member to serve as chair. The Nominating Committee shall be charged with the responsibility for identifying candidates for officers and elected committee chairs in advance of the annual meeting.
Section 3. The Fundraising Committee Chair shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Organization in June. The Fundraising Committee Chair shall have the authority to appoint ad-hoc members of the Fundraising Committee at their discretion. The Fundraising Committee shall organize periodic special events for the purpose of raising funds for the Organization; The Committee must have the Treasure as a member and the Website Host to maintain any changes, additions or deletions to the Organization’s on-line presence.
Article IX. Endorsements
Section 1. The Organization may endorse a candidate(s) or issue(s) in any election submitted to the electorate for a vote.
Section 2. Only members of the Democratic Party, and Democratic candidates in partisan or non-partisan elections, are eligible for endorsement by this Organization.
Section 3. The Organization will not endorse any interim County Chair but will leave it to the Precinct Chairs to vote their own ethics.
Section 4. The Organization will not endorse any Candidate(s) prior to a run-off election within the same precinct, state house or state senate.
Article X. Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Organization in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Organization may adopt. Upon agreement of the membership, the rules may be temporarily or partially waived if no Parliamentarian is present.
Article XI. Amendment of Bylaws
Amendments to these Bylaws may be made at any regular meeting of the Organization, provided that all such amendments shall have been submitted to the membership at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which said amendments are to be voted. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting at a properly called meeting of the membership shall be required for adoption of any amendments to these Bylaws.
Article XII. Anti-Discrimination Provisions
This Organization shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, no creed, sex, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, veteran status, social or economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other factor unrelated to membership and the mission of the Organization.
Bylaws revised, updated, and approved June 13, 2019.
Current Board Members of North Tarrant Democrats:
____________________(Parliamentarian)
Randel Bird _________________(Inactive)
Kristie Hanhardt_____________(Secretary)
Lee Williams _______________(President)
Martha Williams _ (Vice-President/Treasurer)
Martha Williams__________(Website Host)