Commentary by Steven J. Clark

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

       Until 1994 our party operated completely without a Constitution or By-laws.  There were no rules, guidelines or standards by which to operate.  Then a couple of forward-looking party members decided to undertake the task of getting the Party organized.  So far as I know, neither had any legal education or training. But they were smart, their hearts were in the right place and their intentions were completely honorable as they set about the difficult task of writing the legal instruments that would form the foundation of Party operations from then until now.

      These good folks cut and pasted from their sources, including the State Party Constitution.  I’m sure they had a lot of advise and input from other people, and, based upon my fairly extensive firsthand experience in writing Articles of Incorporation and Corporate By-laws, I know that they they put a lot of hours and effort into their enterprise.  At the end of the process, the Party finally had a Constitution and By-laws upon which it could hang its hat.

       With all due respect and heartfelt thanks to these original framers of our Constitution and By-laws for their foresight and hard work, a review of both documents quickly reveals that there are significant structural, technical, legal and philosophical problems that need to be addressed. It is now time to revisit these important documents and consider giving them a major overhaul.

       There is one overriding, transcendent problem that needs to be immediately and effectively addressed.  The problem is both a philosophical and technical one that can be summed up in one word:  “POWER”!  The philosophical issue is, ” where should it come from?” The technical question is “how is it supposed to be used?” 

In our current constitution all power in our party is vested in the Party leadership and flows downward in accordance with how leadership thinks it should be doled out. It’s what I call a “Top-Down” power philosophy.  It was (I hope and pray ) unintentionally and inadvertently created by the language used by the good people who originally wrote our Constitution and By-laws.  I believe the power philosophy of our Party should be just the opposite.  It should be what I call a “Bottom Up” philosophy.

       For the purposes of this discussion, “Power” is defined as determining who it is that makes the rules.  In any game, if you can make the rules, you control all the power.  In this case, the rules are the language of our Party’s Constitution and By-laws.  Control them and you control the Party. 

At Mass Meeting Caucuses held every two years, we elect County and State Delegates and send them off to the various Party Conventions to represent us.  At state conventions our Delegates can propose, debate and vote on resolutions that set Party policy including proposing amendments to either the Party Constitution or the By-laws. But our County Delegates have no such right? 

As our County Party Constitution is currently written, County Delegates have no right to propose anything that will eventually be brought to the floor of a convention for debate. That right is reserved exclusively to Party leadership. The only issues a County Delegate will ever see or be given the opportunity to vote on will be just those issues leadership determines, in its infinite wisdom, they want the Delegates to see. Remember the discussion on power and rules? Under the current language of our Party Constitution, the only rules that will ever be made will be those rules leadership wants to be made.

In defence of our current leadership, they did not originate these constitutional provisions, they inherited them. But that fact makes the provisions no less wrong. Our Constitution provides a perfect formula for abuse and misuse of Party power.  If these provisions existed in the U.S. Constitution, it would be like saying that only the President of the United States can propose laws, and congress can only vote yes or no on just those laws the President wants them to see.  That sounds unimaginable, but that’s exactly the type of power structure that’s created in the language of our Party Constitution and By-laws.

        We need to amend both our Constitution and our By-laws to turn that top-down power structure on its head.  Our County Delegates need to be empowered to propose, debate and vote on the rules of the Party without having them first  “vetted” for prior approval by Party leadership.  We need to place the power of the Party in the hands of Party Membership, not just Party Leadership.

Some other Constitutional problems that need to be addressed are:

* The Constitution fails to establish the official name of the Party.

* The Constitution as currently written institutionalizes sex discrimination on the basis of a gender preference for certain offices.  This is a provision that would never pass legal muster if challenged in court.  It’s ok to state a non-binding preference, but not ok to institutionalize discrimination by a rule. 

* The Constitution does not clearly set out the duties and means of election of all the various offices.

* The Constitution does not recognize the Delegates as being the parliamentary body of the Party.

* The Constitution establishes no ethical duty of elected officers to support Sanpete County Candidates in preference over candidates from other counties.

* The Constitution establishes no requirement that persons voting in a Party election even be members of the Party.

* The Constitution fails to establish rules concerning the formation of Voting District or Administrative Area boundaries.

* The Constitution fails to recognize the Delegates as a permanent committee of the Party.

* The Constitution fails to make provision for election of the County Representative.

* The Constitution fails to make provision for the removal of officers for cause.

* The Constitution fails to clearly set forth the dates of Conventions and methods of conduct of the Conventions.

* The Constitution fails to make provision for Mass Meeting Caucuses.

* The Constitution fails to establish Roberts Rules of Order as the procedural basis for the conduct of meetings.

In regard to the By-laws, they fail to define officers’ duties, powers and limitations, fail to set forth meeting conduct rules, fail to establish cause for removal of officers, and contain many other oversights and errors that need correction.

       This website contains both a proposed amended Constitution and amended By-laws.  I invite you to review both and would welcome your comments and suggestions.  I can be reached at 436-9707.