Saturday, May 14, 2011

Wouldn't it Help You if the Liberal Party Exec told You What Amendments You're Voting On

Like maybe a solid, deffered Leadership date instead of an open ended, "we'll decide for you" type of thing? And does voting by phone take away the spirit of "Secret Balloting"?


Statement by Robert Hamish Jamieson National Membership Secretary
Posted on May 14, 2011

The Liberal Party of Canada is setting a course to enable your voice to be heard and to have your actions direct our party as we move forward together.

Our party’s constitution, most recently amended by delegates to the 2009 Vancouver Convention, prescribes that your National Board must hold a Leadership Vote to select a new Liberal Leader. Adhering to the constitution, your Board will set this Leadership Vote to give the maximum time allowed (5 months) which is October 28 and 29, 2011. The Leadership Vote is a vote by all party members – One Member, One Vote.

However, so many members like yourself have called, written and emailed your Board members, asking that this Leadership Vote be delayed. According to your feedback, the overwhelming reason to delay the Leadership Vote is to allow for meetings throughout our ridings, regions and provinces in the upcoming months so we may together discuss and decide upon our future as a party and focus on serious policy and organizational rebuilding work before we turn our attention to our leadership choices. Your Board has heard almost unanimously that this is best done free of a Leadership selection process.

Therefore, we are calling for an extraordinary convention of our party to be held on June 18, 2011 by teleconference which will allow delegates to debate and vote on an amendment that would delay the Leadership Vote should it be accepted by the delegates. This is a procedure under our Constitution that enables the Party to deal with special situations like those we confront today. While the Board would prefer that all members be able to vote in this convention, the constitution specifies that only delegates chosen by members may vote at the convention.

Delegates to this extraordinary convention will also be asked to confirm January 13-15, 2012, as the dates of the next biennial convention – a vitally important step in our rebuilding process ahead.

Very shortly you and all members will receive a notification to submit your name as a delegate to this extraordinary convention of the party and you will be able to vote to select the delegates from your riding association and/or commission club.

Decisions that will affect the future of our party are literally in your hands. Your National Board of Directors will enact the judgment of the convention and follow the path you and the party membership choose.

Below is the schedule that we will use to ensure all party members have an opportunity to participate.

Please feel free to reply to this so that we may immediately know your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Robert Hamish Jamieson
National Membership Secretary

KEY DATES

Friday, May 20, 2011
Membership cut off. Only members in good standing are eligible to vote or stand for election as a delegate

Friday, June 3, 2011
Deadline to submit intention to stand as a delegate

Saturday June 11, 2011/Sunday June 12, 2011
Delegate Selection meeting date

Saturday June 18, 2011
Extraordinary Convention (by teleconference)

8 comments:

Craig Chamberlain said...

If there is a compromise in this it is that the Exec resigns as part of the "deal". Generally speaking, the President of a board of directors does if there has been a horrible outcome from the Board's direction.

Unknown said...

Give me one good reason to do anything.The entire Liberal Board needs to go and also the old boys net before anything can happen.

James Curran said...

By voting down these amendments you take control of our own future by birtue of the constitution that was written by the hard working grassroots members of the Liberal Party of Canada. That's the reason to vote. Thats the reason. To begin the renewal and the removal of the old boys. They don't even want us to vote on when leadership should be. just that it shouldn't be now. Which is what the constitution dictates.

Unknown said...

James ----The Liberal Party of Canada needs a good House Cleaning.Kick out the Old Boys Net and that crazy president they have.They screwed the grass-root Associations across Canada.
And for David Smith he should be taken out behind the Barn and kicked in the ass.He is the biggest idiot around.Looks good on him.I will never go back unless they do some serious ass kicking from the top down.And my friends will not send one cent till it's done.

Annie said...

How on earth can we get rid of the upper echelons. I read someplace that the last time the Liberal Party was in good shape was during Trudeau and then went downhill when Chretien and Martin came along.

Adrian Ludwin said...

Jim, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that constitutional amendments were never by secret ballot. When OMOV passed in Vancouver, everyone just held up their hands on the floor. Only the leadership vote and board elections were by secret ballot IIRC.

James Curran said...

That's an excellent Judi Longfield type response there Adrian. While the amendments are a show of hands, you don't see somebody walking around writing down names as to who voted how. So the spirit of secret balloting is maintained.

With this, your number will be affixed to how you voted. And what happens when two delegates live in the same house and have the same phone #?

Craig Chamberlain said...

Social media tools and such need to be explored for keeping the party current but the sooner the membership can meet in the flesh the better.

Green Halton, I have access to a barn.