General Outline
Article I General Provisions
Article II Membership
Article III Meetings
Article IV Officers and Duties
Article V Town-Ward Committees
Article VI Committees of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee
Article VII Miscellaneous
Article VIII Amendments to the By-laws
Article IX Code of Ethics (effective 1 January 1989)
Article I
General Provisions
Section 1. The organization of the Democratic Party in Tompkins County shall be known as the "Tompkins County Democratic Committee", hereafter referred to as "The County Committee "The Committee", whose membership shall be elected under the provisions of Article II herein.
Section 2. The purpose of these by-laws is to inspire and encourage the greatest number of Democrats to participate in the affairs of the Democratic Party of Tompkins County, to ensure the continuing success of the Democratic Party of Tompkins County, to provide an orderly and democratic way to carry on the business of the party and to provide the best possible government for the people of Tompkins County.
Section 3. The Tompkins County Democratic Party actively seeks committee members who are representative of their constituents with respect to sex, race, religion, ethnic background, and age.
Section 4. Except as limited by law or by these by-laws, the affairs of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee shall be vested in the County Committee.
Section 5. The officers of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee shall consist of a chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, who shall be elected as provided in Article VI, Section 1c of these by-laws.
Section 1. The Tompkins County Democratic Committee shall consist of those persons who are so elected biannually in odd-numbered years in the primaries for each election district. There shall be at least two, and not more than four, members of the County Committee elected by each Election District in the County, who shall be residents of Tompkins County and enrolled Democrats at the time of the election and throughout their term of office. Each member shall have one vote.
Section 2. The number of authorized members in each election district shall be computed according to the following formula. The total Democratic vote for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election shall be divided by the numer of election districts in the county to find "A", the average number of votes per election district. if the vote in an election district was less than half of "A", that district shall be authorized to have two members. If the vote in an election district is equal to or more than half of "A" and less than "A" that district shall be authorized to have three members. If the vote in an election district is equal to or greater than "A" that district shall be authorized to have four members. In case the boundries of such districts have been changed or a new district has been created since the last preceeding gubernatorial election, the above formula shall be applied to the Democratic vote cast for member of assembly. in case the boundries of such districts have been changed or a new district has been created since the last assembly election, the same formula shall be applied to the Democratic party enrollment in the last general election. In case the boundries of such districts have been changed or a new district has been created since the last general election, the same formula shall be applied to the Democratic party enrollment at the time of the change in boundries and/or creation of a new district.
Section 3. The officers of the County Committee shall be ex-officio members of the committee but shall have no vote unless they are also duly elected Committee members.
Section 4. Democratic public office holders of elected State, County, City, Town, and Village public offices shall be ex-officio members of the County Committee but shall have no vote unless they are also duly elected Committee members.
Section 5. Where a committeeperson removes his/her voting residence from the County, such removal constitutes a vacancy.
Section 6. All vacancies occurring in the Committee for cause(Article 8, Sections 2,3), by death, disqualification, removal from office or otherwise shall be filled by the County Committee as provided by the Election Law, upon the recommendation of the Town or Ward Committee in which the vacancy shall occur.
Section 1. Organization Meeting: the County Committee shall meet biannually within twenty (20) days following the Primary Election at which it was elected, at such time and place as may be designated by the outgoing County Chairperson, to organize, adopt rules and regulations, establish a schedule of quarterly meetings and for such other business as may come before it.
Section 2. Regular meetings of the County Committee shall be held quarterly. Special meetings may be called at any time by the Chairperson or shall be called within twenty (20) days upon the request of twenty(20) members, in writing, to the Chairperson or Secretary.
Section 3. Not less than five(5), nor more than twenty(20), days notice of all meetings shall be given by mail by the Secretary and such notice shall include a summary of the minutes of the preceeding meeting and an agenda of the proposed meeting. In addition, notice of the Organization Meeting shall include information as to how these by-laws may be obtained.
Section 4. The use of proxies at meetings of the County Committee shall be limited as follows:
Part a. A proxy holder must be a member of the County Committee. Part b. No individual may hold more than five(5) proxies at any meeting;proxies shall be non-transferable. Part c. All proxies, when submitted, must designate another committee member to vote, or must contain a specfic vote for a particular agenda item or items. Part d. Proxies shall be used to determine if a quorum is present. Part e. Proxies shall be used for voting purposes only in contested elections. In addition, proxies shall be used for specific agenda items, provided a simple majority of those present vote in favor of a seconded motion to include proxy voting on that particular issue. In all other cases voting shall be limited to those present.
Section 5. The presence and/or proxies of a simple majority of the stated membership of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. Less than a quorum must adjourn the meeting. The membership shall be informed of the lack of a quorum for a meeting in the notice of the following meeting.
Section 6. Until the meeting of the County Committee for organization, the officers of the outgoing Committee shall continue in office until the election of their respective successors.
Section 7. Order of business. At all meetings of the County Committee, the following shall be the order of business:(a) Calling of rolls (b) Filling of vacancies on County Committee (c) Election of officers (d) Unfinished business (e) Reports of officers (f) Reports of Committees (g) New business
Section 8. There shall be public notice of all meetings of the County Committee. Any Democrat registered in Tompkins County has the right to attend and speak at all meetings of the County Committee. Non-committee members may be seated separately from Committee members in order to facilitate voting.
Section 9. The Committee may choose, by a majority vote at any time, to go into executive session, at which point visitors will be requested to leave.
Section 10. At the start of each meeting, the Chairperson shall appoint an individual to serve as Parlimentarian for that meeting.
Section 1. The officers of the County Committee shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, who shall be elected for two-year terms by the County Committee at each biannual organization meeting in the manner specified in Article VI, Section 1c. The County may elect such other offices as may deem advisable.
Section 2. Officers of the County Committee shall be enrolled members of the Democratic Party, but need not be members of the County Committee, as provided by the election law.
Section 3. If a vacancy occurs in an office, it shall be filled by the County Committee in the manner specified in article VI, Section 1c.
Section 4. The County Chairperson, in addition to the duties conferred by law, shall coordinate all campaigns in the County for Federal, State, County, Town, Village and City offices and exercise any other powers and duties assigned by the County Committee. The County Chairperson presides at all meetings and possesses the general powers of the presiding officer.
Section 5.The vice-Chairperson shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the absence or disability of the Chairperson to act and perform other duties assigned to the office by the County Committee or the County Chairperson.
Section 6. The Secretary shall keep a full and accurate account of all procedings of the Committee and prepare summary minutes for distribution. The Secretary shall file and preserve all written reportsof the County Committee, be responsible for the preparation of all reports required by law, except those which have to do with finances, or which by law are required to be filed by some other officer and shall make and reports available for the inspection of any member of the County Committee. The Secretary shall attend to the preparation and distribution of all notices required by these by-laws and perform such other duties as the County Committee or the County Chairperson may require.
Section 7. The Treasurer shall be the chief financial officer of the County Committee and shall receive, hold in trust and disburse all funds of the County Committee according to proceedures established by the finance Committee. All checks drawn on, or withdrawals made from, accounts of the County Committee shall require two signatures, the Treasurer, County Chairperson and County Vice-Chairperson shall be the authorized signers. The Treasurer shall file all financial reports and statements required by law and, in cooperation with the Finance Committee, perform such other duties as the County Committee or the County Chairperson may require. All records and reports of the Treasurer shall be made available for inspection by any member of the County Committee.
Section 1. There shall be a Town and Ward Committee in each of the Towns of Tompkins County and in each of the Wards of the City of Ithaca.
Section 2. The basic membership of each Town or Ward committee shall be the members of the County Committee representing that Town or Ward. Within (20) days following the primary at which they are elected, these members shall meet to elect a Chairperson and such other officers as they desire.
Section 3. The elected membership of each Town or Ward Committee may add to it's membership as many registered Democrats who are resident in it's Town or Ward as it desires. All members will have one vote on each issue before the Town or Ward Committee except that only the elected members of the County Committee may vote on the addition of new members or serve as officers of Town or Ward Committees.
Section 4. Each Town or Ward Committee may adopt, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, its own by-laws. In the absence of such by-laws, the majority of the members, including proxies, shall constitute a quorum, but there shall be no proxy voting. Not less than five (5) days notice shall be given to each member in advance of any meeting.
Section 5. All members of the Ward Committees shall constitute the City Committee. The total votes cast by any Ward Committee on any decision within the City Committee shall not exceed the number of seated members of that Ward Committee on the County Committee. Within thirty (30) days following the primary at which the County Committee members are elected, the members of the City Committee shall meet to elect a Chairperson of the City Committee, who shall be an enrolled Democratic resident of the City. Subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, the City Committee may adopt its own by-laws.
Section 6. The Chairpersons of the Town Committees may form a Committee of the Towns and elect a Chairperson of the Towns, who shall be an enrolled Democratic resident of a Town in Tompkins County. Subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, the Committee of the Towns may adopt its own by-laws.
Section 7. Each Town and Ward Committee shall attempt to make known to the registered Democrats in its district the process by which membership in the County Committee may be obtained. When there is a vacancy on the County Committee from its jurisdiction, the Town or Ward Committee shall vote on the nomination of a candidate to the County Committee to fill the vacancy.
Section 8. The endorsement of Democratic candidatefor public office, including designation or nomination made to fill a vacancy in any elected public office, shall be the responsibility of those committee members who represent the population eligible to vote for that office.
Section 9. Party nomination for town offices shall be by caucus, except in the Town of Caroline, where they shall be by primary election. All such nominations of candidates for Village offices shall be made by Party Caucus and executed in accordance with State Election Law.
Section 1. The standing committees of the County Committee shall be the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee, the Elections Committee and the Issues and Platform Committee.
Part a. The Executive Committee shall consist of all the officers of the County Committee, the Chairpeerson of each Town and Ward Committee, the Chairperson of the City Committee and the Chairperson of the Towns. In addition, the members of the County Committee representing any County Representative District in which no Town Chairperson resides may elect from among themselves a member of the Executive Committee. All Democratic elected public office holders and the members of the State Committee in Tompkins County shall be ex-officio members, without vote unless already voting members. Any member of the County Committee may attend meetings of the Executive Committee. Each voting member shall have one vote. There shall be no proxies. A majority of the actual voting membership will constitute a quorum. The Executive Committee shall recommend actions to the County Committee and be empowered to take such actionsas are necessary to carry out the work of the County Committee between meetings of the County Committee. The record of actions taken at meetings of the Executive Committee shall be reported at the next meeting of the County Committee. The officers of the County Committee shall be the officers of the Executive Committee.
Part b. The Finance Committee shall consist of five (5) members designated by the County Chairpeerson, one of whom shall be the Treasurer. The terms of the members will expire at the bi-annual Organizational Meeting. The Committee shall elect its own chairperson from among its members. The Committee shall establish proceedures for disbursement of funds, prepare an annual budget and an annual financial report to the County Committee and shall perform such other functions as are delegated to it by the County Chairperson or the County Committee.
Part c. The Elections Committee shall preside over and conduct the election of officers of the County Committee at the Organization Meeting or when a vacancy occurs. The Committee shall consist of three (3) members elected by the outgoing Executive Committee, none of whom may be candidates for any of the officer positions. The Committee shall elect its own chairperson. The Executive Committee has the power to fill vacancies on the Elections Committee. The Committee shall inform each member of the County Committee of the procedures and time-table of the forthcoming election. The committee is encouraged to recruit at least two (2) candidates for each office and shall schedule a forum at which all potential candidates shall be offered the opportunity to speak and/or have others speak for them. There shall be opportunity for discussion but no votes shall be taken. The forum shall take place at least seven (7) days before the County Committee meeting at which the elections will take place. If only one candidate comes forward for each office, the forum will not take place, unless requested in writing by three (3) members of the committee. Following the forum all members of the County Committee shall be informed of the names of all those who were identified as candidates for any of the officer positions. At the election there shall be opportunity for nominations from the floor. The order of election shall be Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer. Any persons nominated for one office, but not elected to that office, shall be eligible for nomination for any remaining office.
Part d. The Platform and Issues Committee shall consist of seven (7) members designated by the County Chairperson. The terms of all members shall expire at the organizational meeting. The Committee shall prepare resolutions for presentation to the County Committee and perform such other duties as are delegated to it by the County Chairperson or the County Committee
Section 2. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Chairperson and all members of committees shall be designated by the County Chairperson, who shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
Section 3. The County Committee, the Executive Committee and/or the County Chairperson may create and terminate ad hoc committees. In the absence of specific instructions in the establishing motion, the County Chairperson shall designate committee members.
Section 4. The committees provided for in this article have the power to appoint subcommittees.
Section 1. A copy of the adopted by-laws shall be made available by the Secretary to any member of the County Committee requesting it.
Section 2. A member or officer of the County Committee will be removed, upon two-thirds (2/3) vote of the County Committee for corruption in office, or for publicly supporting the opponent of a duly nominated Democratic candidate for public office after notice and charges to be brought by the Executive Committee to be heard by the full County Committee.
Section 3. Roberts Rules of Order, as last revised, shall govern the proceedings of all meetings of the County Committee and it's standing committees in all cases to which they are applicable and where they are not inconsistent with the law, these by-laws or any special rules of order adopted by the County Committee.
Section 4. These rules shall become effective immediately upon their adoption.
Section 5. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, article or part thereof of these rules shall be adjudged by any court or body of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in it's operation to the part directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
Section 6. When changes to the platform are proposed by the Issues and Platform Committee all members of the County Committee shall be given an opportunity to see and study them at least seven(7) days prior to their being taken up by the County Committee for action.
Section 1. These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of those present at any meeting of the County Committee provided that a quorum as herein defined is present at the meeting and provided that notice of consideration of such amendments, together with a copy of the current and proposed sections concerned, is mailed to each member of the Committee not less than five (5) and not more than fifteen (15) days before the said meeting.
Section 2. Any member of the County Committee may propose an amendment to these by-laws by presenting said amendment, in writing, signed by at least ten (10) members of the County Committee to the County Chairperson or Secretary of the County Committee at least twenty (20) days before any scheduled meeting of the County Committee, in order to meet the requirements of Article VIII, Section 1.
The Tompkins County Democratic Committee adopts the following Code of Ethics, based on the Model Code of Ethics passed by the Executive Committee of the New York State Democratic Party: Conflict of Interest: An officer of the County Committee, i.e., Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, City Chair or Towns Chair (who serves as liaison among the Towns), or a firm or corporation controlled by an officer, shall not receive any compensation for services relating to matters before a legislative body or a state or local agency in connection with the purchase, sale or lease of goods, property and services, licensing, rate-making, and the adoption or repeal of rules and regulations having the force of law; however, an officer may render services in a matter before a legislative body or agency if the identity of the officer and the source of compensation is disclosed to the Ethics Commission in writing; the compensation must not be contingent on the success of any proceeding and the proceeding must be subject to public notice and competitive bidding where applicable. An officer cannot sell or contract to provide any goods or services with a value greater than $25 to any state or local agency, unless such goods or services are provided after public notice and competitive bidding. However, an officer may sell or contract to provide goods or services to any state or local agency, if the officer makes full disclosure of the same to the Ethics Commission prior thereto. An officer cannot accept directly or indirectly for personal gain anything of value greater than $100 from any entity having a financial interest in the outcome of any pending county committee decision and an officer cannot use his or her position to obtain any benefits or privileges not generally available to members of the public. Dual Office Holding: No party leader, i.e., County Chair, City Chair or Towns Chair (who serves as liaison among the Towns), while in office shall simultaneously hold any appointive office of a policy making nature in the executive branch of the state or federal government, seek or hold statewide elective public office, or seek or hold office as state senator, member of the Assembly, county administrator, county comptroller, member of the county Board of Representatives, member of City Council, mayor or Town Supervisor, or serve as judge of any court of record, attorney general, assistant attorney general, district attorney, or assistant district attorney, or serve as election commissioner. County Committee Ethics Commission: The Chair of the County Committee, with the approval of the County committee or its Executive committee, shall appoint an Ethics Commission of five (5) enrolled Democrats; no party leader and no more than one voting member of the Executive Committee shall serve as a member of the Commission. The County Chair will designate a Commission Chair, and will act promptly to fill any vacancies. Members may be removed from the Commission by the County Chair for neglect, misconduct or violation of this code, after written notice and opportunity to reply.
Complaints: Any enrolled Democrat may submit to the Ethics Commission a written complaint of a specific violation of this code or the Commission may independently institute a complaint. Procedure: When a complaint is received the Commission will give a copy to the individual complained of (to be referred to as "the respondent"), who may reply in writing within fifteen (15) days. Within thirty (30) days after the expiration of the fifteen (15) day period, the Commission may, by majority vote, dismiss the complaint, reprimand the respondent, or schedule a hearing on the complaint. If the respondent requests, the Commission must schedule a hearing. The complainant and the respondent must be notified of the time, date and place of the hearing fifteen (15) days in advance and a quorum of four Commission members must be present, The hearing will be private unless the respondent requests otherwise; however, all reprimands or penalties shall be made public. The Commission and the respondent are entitled to have counsel present at the hearing. Any decision of the Commission may be appealed to the County Committee or to the Executive Committee by the respondent. The Commission shall review the Code of Ethics and may recommend to the County committee any changes it considers desirable.
Penalties: If a party leader or officer is charged with a criminal offense, the Commission shall hold a hearing to determine whether the offense comes under the scope of the Code of Ethics; if so, the party leader or officer is automatically suspended from party office pending final judgment of the case. A party office automatically becomes vacant if the party leader or officer is convicted of a felony. If the Commission determines that a party leader or officer has violated the Code of Ethics, the party leader or officer may be reprimanded, suspended or removed from party office. A party leader or officer who is removed from office for violation of this Code may not hold party office for five (5) years after removal or--if later--from the date of expiration of his or her sentence. Certification: When a party leader or officer is elected or appointed, the Ethics Commission shall provide him or her with a copy of the Code of Ethics and any other relevant materials. Within ten (10) days the party leader or officer must file with the Commission a certificate stating that he of she has received the materials, has read them and agrees to abide by them.