[NV Greens] Green Party of Nevada Convention Minutes

[Charles Imboden]

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|*| GREEN PARTY OF NEVADA NOMINATING CONVENTION |*|
|*|               DAY 1 MINUTES                 |*|
|*|               March 25, 2006                |*|
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ATTENDANCE THROUGHOUT CONVENTION - EIGHTEEN:
*Shawn
*Genelle Baltutis
*Dan Beesley
*Craig Bergland
*Gerald Cummings
*David Curtis
*Kimberley French
*Bob Giaquinta
*Jason Halprin
*Charles Imboden
*Dana Mason-Strong
*Kathy Rusco
*Joe Sacco
*Gina Sully
*Dr. Joel Tierno
*Bonnie Smith
*2 Guests

INTRODUCTIONS
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Volunteers for hosting fundraising events and proofreading were identified.

MOTION
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*Kimberley motioned to move Craig Bergland's presentation to beginning.
**Result: Approved by Consensus

PRESENTATION
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CRAIG BERGLAND
*Potential nominee Craig Bergland presented as Green Party of Nevada candidate for Governor. Craig introduced himself, talked about multiple issues, and took questions.

BREAK

GENERAL DISCUSSION
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*General discussion, strategy, and breakout sessions.

BREAK

DISCUSSION
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After the second break, talk turned to the disappointing turnout. How do we achieve higher turnout? Discussed were the problems inherent with third parties, the possibilities of coalition building, the reality of never have a large number of "active" people.

It was warned not to end up like counties in other states, with a large bureacracy and little constituent support.

It was resolved that we need to get the bureaucracy out the way at this meeting (bylaw revisions, etc.), to free up future meetings for activities/events that would boost attendance. Some expressed concern that the small number of Greens present could not institute bylaw and other revisions that truly reflect the opinions of the majority of Greens in Nevada.

It was pointed out that we may have come to an impasse - the foundational bureaucracy was needed to move forward and allow us to focus on outreach, but we needed more people to confidently implement the bylaw changes. It was resolved that in order to increase turnout in the future, we should hold more informal gatherings, which could be accomplished by getting the boring work out of the way now (bylaws, etc.).

Other outreach ideas included incorporating already active people into the Green Party of Nevada, fostering a hospitable climate for people to feel comfortable and use their gifts, along with general education.

It was also mentioned that talking sticks at meetings encourage people to participate and listen. Kathy made a talking stick for use for the rest of the meeting. Craig broke the talking stick (accidentally).

There was a call for more structure to the process - role assignment, and staying on track. It was also pointed out that the GPNV should not spread its limited resources too thin as far as outreach and other issues are concerned.

One member asked what it would take to get volunteers to the GPNV. It was asked of the member what it would take for them to volunteer their time. The response was... probably nothing. The member was not very interested in the Green Party/politics, but wanted to meet Craig and might be interested to help organize actions and interact with the media.

It was then discussed how the GPNV can shake up the system. Electoral reform: Ballot initiative for instant runoff voting, and the possibility of fusion voting were mentioned. Direct action was mentioned, as well.

It was also mentioned that all levels of the Green Party in Nevada should utilize a two-pronged approach to running candidates: small (typically non-partisan) offices are most electable, enabling Green change at the community level; large offices are crucial, as they give an opportunity to address the entire Nevada electorate, keep ballot access, and grow the Green voter registration.

VOTING TIME

PROPOSAL
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CONSENSUS PROCESS
*Formal consensus process was explained
**Result: Passed By Consensus

ROLE ASSIGNMENT
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Facilitator: Genelle
*Result: It was consented upon Genelle being facilitator for the decision-making portion of the meeting.

PROPOSAL
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CRAIG BERGLAND FOR GOVERNOR
A member asked who nominated Craig. Craig volunteered to run. The member asked if he was going to surround himself with people who have done campaigns before, and if he was planning to get help from the GPUS. Craig responded with asking everyone to help. Craig can't run the entire campaign himself, and will accept help wherever he finds it. He stated that he did plan to contact the GPUS for possible support.

It was pointed out that the GPUS has resources for candidates such as fund matching and volunteer lists. It was also pointed out that one of the strengths of the Green Party is that we are regular people, not bureaucrats, and are trying to participate in our electoral system not as career politicians, but real people wanting to improve their country and communities.
*Result: It was consented upon that Craig Bergland would be the GPNV Gubernatorial candidate for 2006. No blocks, no stand asides. WWW.BERGLAND4GOVERNOR.ORG

PROPOSAL
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BYLAW REVISIONS
Bylaw revisions were discussed at length, but were tabled for the next day for a final vote.

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|*|		END DAY 1 MINUTES  	  |*|
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|*| GREEN PARTY OF NEVADA NOMINATING CONVENTION |*|
|*|               DAY 2 MINUTES                 |*|
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PRESENTATION
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COMMITTEE TO REGULATE AND CONTROL MARIJUANA
A representative from the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana presented the group with details on the upcoming ballot question regarding the legalization of a small amount of marijuana for personal use. A question and answer session followed. There was a request for endorsement, which was tabled for the end of the day.

PROPOSAL
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EXECUTIVE COUNCIL VACANCIES
Make Craig Bergland an official, full-term At-Large member of the Green Party of Nevada Executive Council (currently interim At-Large Member).
*Result: Passed By Consensus

PROPOSAL
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CRCM BALLOT QUESTION ENDORSEMENT
Due to the complexities of the Marijuana initiative presented by CRCM, the GPNV recommends an endorsement at the local level first. The GPNV has put this proposal on the agenda for the next state meeting, to consider a statewide endorsement at that time, with feedback from the county groups.
*Result: Proposal sent to county groups - tabled until next state meeting.

PROPOSAL
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GREEN PARTY OF NEVADA BYLAW REVISIONS
*Result: Passed By Consensus. (See new GPNV bylaws for more details.)

PROPOSAL
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AGENDA FOR NEXT GPNV STATE MEETING
Discuss and draw up an addendum to our bylaws that accounts for the delegates to the national party. This article can be based on the article pertaining to delegates in Ohio's bylaws.

The general meeting felt it would be beneficial to have both delegates present for this discussion, and so did not move ahead with making any conclusions regarding delegates at this meeting.
*Result: Passed By Consensus

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|*|		END DAY 2 MINUTES  	  |*|
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