Green Party of Connecticut

State Central Committee Meeting

November 13, 2019 • Durham Public Library, Maple Ave, Durham, CT

Minutes, approved on January 15, 2020

In attendance: Fairfield County: David Bedell; Hartford County: Paul Gobell, Peter Goselin (GPCT Co-Chair, facilitator), Chris Reilly; New London: Sharmaine Gregor, Bud McAllister, Bob Stuller (GPCT Treasurer), Ronna Stuller (GPCT Secretary, recorder); Shoreline: Tania Abbatello, Eric Bergman, Lynne Charles, Owen Charles, Keith Foster; Waterford: not represented; Windham: Doug Lary, Jean De Smet, Amy Vas Nunes. At Large: Michelle L Bicking (GPCT Go-Chair), Tina Campbell, Tom Grant, Vic Lancia, Tim McKee, Eugene Woloszyn. 

Start time 6:52pm; quorum was met.

1. Minutes

a. Owen moved to approve minutes of meetings through June 21 (including January 9, March 6, March 27, May 18 Annual Meeting, and June 21); 2nd by Lynne. There was no discussion; motion passed 10 in favor, 0 opposed, 5 abstentions.

b. Minutes of the July 31 meeting were not available for review and were deferred until our next SCC meeting.

c. Doug moved to approve minutes of the August 21 and September 25 SCC meetings. There was a lengthy discussion about how a quorum is established – whether at the start of a meeting only or required for every vote). When the discussion exceeded its allotted time, Jean moved to close the stack, 2nd by Owen; passed 15 in favor, 0 opposed, 3 abstentions. Returning to the main motion, approval of the minutes passed 12 in favor, 6 opposed, 5 abstentions.

2. Treasurer’s report: The only activity this month was $6.70 for the toll-free number; current balance is $785.76.There was no discussion. Bud moved to accept the report, 2nd by Tim; passed 19 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention.

3. Chapter reports

Fairfield County: The chapter has been hosting film screenings, including “Colonization Is Extinction” last month and “Alt-Right: Days of Rage” last night; attendance has been quite good, and the films are recommended for a wider audience.

Hartford County: Mary Sanders garnered 488 votes in her run for Hartford City Council.

New London: Municipal elections have been the focus; no seats were won, however. Frida received 10.6% of the vote for Mayor. Sharms spoke about her experience running for the first time for Board of Education.

Shoreline: Clinton ran a full slate of 9 candidates, and two of them – Eric Bergman for Town Council and Rob Derry for Police Commission – were elected. They have been building membership and plan to form a town committee.

Waterford: No report.

Windham: It was a good election but only Enevia Baidoo won a seat on Board of Finance, as minority votes were divided among a large field of candidates. The chapter has been working with the NAACP and LWV and continuing to gain respect and recognition in town.

General Chapter request for recognition: Bylaws as well as approved minutes from 3 telephonic meetings have been submitted. David moved that the SCC approve recognition of the General (AKA At-Large) Chapter, 2nd by Bob; passed unanimously.

Other chapter organizing: Peter reported on meetings he’s had in Enfield, Hamden and Manchester, where Greens are interested in forming chapters and have started the process.

4. Old business

    a. GPUS National Committee representatives: Ronna brought the sealed can containing paper ballots that were cast at the September 25 meeting for our two newly-allocated representatives. Doug and Chris tallied the votes; Eric Bergman and David Younng were elected to the positions.

    b. Proposed policy on SCC Voting: Peter provided background on GPCT bylaws and procedures related to voting at State Central Committee meetings. Concerns about potential disenfranchisement were voiced, and old minutes (from before 2005) were shared as examples of how representative voting was implemented in the past. Suggestions were shared for how chapters can determine criteria for membership, including participation in meetings or other Green Party activities. Peter made a motion that the SCC direct the secretary to contact all chapter to request information on how they determine membership, 2nd by Michelle; passed by consensus. 

  Per our bylaws, each chapter may have 1 representative per 5 members. Starting in January the State Central Committee will return to the practice of representative voting at meetings.

5. New Business

    a. Bob spoke briefly on the transition from the past practice of the GPCT holding chapter funds to the current individualized PAC and Town Committee accounts. As the transition predated Chris Reilly’s term as treasurer, it is not clear how those funds were disbursed to the chapters; review of past minutes may shed light on the process.

6. Green Party of the US

a. Committee Reports 

   i. Vic reported on the importance and activities of the Direct Action Committee.

   ii. Tim reported on a planned National Committee vote on including non-binary gender representation; he and Owen agreed that it would be helpful to have the added guidance of allowing time for discussion of the issue at the state level. After some discussion of the best wording for a request that the National Committee postpone the vote, Ronna moved that the State Central Committee of GPCT request that the National Committee delay its vote in order to allow for further consultation on the issue, 2nd by Bob; the motion passed unanimously.
 

7. The date of the next meeting will be determined by a Doodle poll, which Ronna will create and send out.

Ronna moved to adjourn, 2nd by Eric; adjourned at 8:54pm.

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