| From: | "Bruce Eggum" <bruceeggum(at)gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date: | Wed, 1 Aug 2007 06:34:25 -0500 |
| Subject: | Point of Order re referendum / initiative process |
August 1, 2007
WDDM Point of Order:
Bruce:
The Initiative was not posted to the general members for consideration, it was posted as an initiative for the WDDM Board. Thus only Board members could approve it. This was never submitted as an Initiative to the members on Forum.
Under present rules, if the WDDM Board approves it, than it would go to the general membership where they could consider and discuss it before they approved the Boards decision(s) . Obviously this could not go directly into referendum, because the membership did not know what the Board had decided. I do not know what the WDDM Board decided. Are the WDDM Minutes posted somewhere? Oh, I forgot, no secretary. Nobody is responsible. The people would than need time to consider these matters.
Mr. Mantel stated he would post the initiative to the General folder. I do not find it there. Thus it was never an Initiative before the general WDDM Membership.
Further, the matter on the Ballot does not resemble the Initiative which was supposedly passed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was the original Initiative:
WDDM Proposal - Endorse Gravel for President
Posted by: mantell (70.108.164.236)
Date: June 15, 2007 01:37PM
You're receiving this as a participant in the WDDM Executive Board listserve.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
propose WDDM endorse Mike Gravel in his bid for the US Presidency.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce: The above sentence is the whole initiative. How did it get changed? Why? Who?
Mr Mantel continues:
Here's what Wikipedia says about his
campaign:
"His campaign is based primarily on his ardent support
for direct democracy (the National Initiative)...."
While no one but Mike has taken on direct democracy, I note
that Dennis Kucinich has an electoral reform campaign plank called
Instant-runoff voting (IRV). IRV is:
"a voting system used for single winner elections in
which voters rank candidates in order of preference. In an IRV
election, if no candidate receives an overall majority of first
preferences, the candidates with fewest votes are eliminated one by
one, and their votes transferred according to their second and third
preferences (and so on) and all votes retallied, until one candidate
achieves a majority. The term 'instant runoff voting' is used because
this process resembles a series of run-off elections."
I'd like to take this endorsement proposal to the membership
as an initiative. The process under the charter for business
initiatives is:
1. This posting which is really just a heads up
and an opportunity for WDDM leadership to add your 'two cents' early
on.
2. Based on your opinion and suggestions I'll post a
proposal on the general discussion board. If it receives a few
seconds I'll post it as a motion for a vote.
3. Or perhaps rather
than doing most of this work on the WDDM board, I'd be delighted to
'try out' the Enitiatives board for deliberation and decision on this
question. Nico, what do you say?
Mark
Bruce: Now on Aug 1 the Referendum ballots stated:
AlternativeYour vote
I approve the WDDM engagement in the US Presidential race
I am against the WDDM engagement in the US Presidential race
NONE OF THE ABOVE
Bruce: The above is vastly different than the Initiative! Is WDDM running for President of the USA? Engaging the election?
This was in a drop down window. I had to type it out with another computer.
Anything on a ballot should be hard copy first. We cannot have invisible items on an election ballot which disappear later.
(the drop down below)
WDDM should engage in the US Presidential race by publicly scoring the candidate according to the following scheme.
Level 2 – supports initiative at the National Level
Level 1 – Supports electoral improvements including one of the following: election day registration, return of voting rights to felons after their term of imprisonment, non-partisan redistricting, and enhanced vote by mail.
Level 0 – no positions on initiative or electoral improvements
Level minus 1 – Opposed to electoral improvements
Candidate scoring shall be performed using information available on candidate web sites and Wikipedia. The executive board (subject as always to membership review) shall approve the scores to be posted on the WDDM Board.
Passage requires that the "APPROVE' position receive more votes than the sum of the 'AGAINST' and 'NONE' OF the ABOVE' votes.
Bruce: The above is contrary to out Charter requirement of 66% which Mr. Mantel wrote. What is this scoring? None of this was discussed and surly was not on the Initiative which was seconded. None of this was on the approved initiative.
I move this Referendum is ILLEAL and
should be stopped immediately and marked condemned. I further ask
the WDDM Board to investigate this matter and identify those
violating the WDDM Charter and appropriately discipline the
violators. These matters not only violate the WDDM Charter, they violate all established democratic procedures of Referendum.
Regards Bruce Eggum WDDM Member.