Minutes – General Body Meeting, Jan 14, 2018
3:30pm, Friends Meeting of Washington DC
Chair: Marge M. & Walker G.
Acting Secretary: Walker G.
The regular meeting of the General Body of Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA) was held on Sunday, January 14, 2018, at 3:30pm in the Friends Meeting of Washington meeting room, with Marge M. being Chair and Walker G. being Acting Secretary.
Marge M. called the meeting to order and turned the chair over to Walker G. for the Electoral Endorsement proceedings of the meeting.
Electoral Endorsements
The Chair moved the Resolution to Create the Montgomery County Election Working Group and to Hold Endorsement Votes for County Council and Executive Candidates (see 18-01-R04). The resolution was adopted by unanimous consent. The body authorized the Montgomery Council Election Working Group to be created.
Marc Elrich sought MDCDSA’s endorsement for his campaign for Montgomery County Executive.
Brandy Brooks, Danielle Meitiv, and Chris Wilhelm sought MDCDSA’s endorsement for their separate campaigns for Montgomery County Council, At-Large.
After all the candidates were escorted out of the room, the Chair opened debate on all the candidates as a whole.
The Chair closed debate and proceeded to take a separate endorsement vote for each candidate. Each candidate needed to receive a two-thirds vote in the affirmative to be endorsed by MDCDSA and be included under the operational scope of the Montgomery County Council and County Executive Elections Working Group.
- Marc Elrich received 127 votes in the affirmative and 13 votes in the negative. The motion that MDCDSA endorse Marc Elrich’s campaign for Montgomery County Executive was adopted.
- Danielle Meitiv received 128 in the affirmative and 1 vote in the negative. The motion that MDCDSA endorse Danielle Meitiv’s campaign for Montgomery County Council, At-Large, was adopted.
- Chris Wilhelm received 134 votes in the affirmative and 1 vote in the negative. The motion that MDCDSA endorse Chris Wilhelm’s campaign for Montgomery County Council, At-Large, was adopted.
- Brandy Brooks received 139 votes in the affirmative and 1 vote in the negative. The motion that MDCDSA endorse Brandy Brooks’ campaign for Montgomery County Council, At-Large, was adopted.
Walker G. turned the chair over to Marge M.
MDCDSA Officer Special Election
Marge M. turned the chair over to Walker G. for the MDCDSA Officer Special Election.
Elenore W., Eric S., James M., Leslie B., and Natarajan S. ran for Steering Committee, At-Large.
Natarajan S. ran for Secretary.
Aaron F. ran for Treasurer.
Marti G., John G., and Garrett S. ran for Internal Organizing Committee Co-Chairs.
The Temporary Election Working Group conducted the election proceedings and collected the ballots, to be counted under their purview.
Walker G. turned the chair over to Marge M.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
(signed) Walker G., acting secretary
Adopted without amendments by General Body Meeting, 2/11/18
[resolution attached]
Resolution to Create the Montgomery County Election Working Group and to Hold Endorsement Votes for County Council and Executive Candidates
18-01-R04
Adopted by unanimous consent.
Added to minutes 1/21/18
Resolution
Therefore, be it resolved that the general body of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America:
Authorizes creation of the Montgomery County Council and County Executive Elections Working Group, which will:
Elect a leadership team consisting of two chairs, one advocate (who is not a member of any candidate’s campaign staff) for each endorsed candidate, and one campaign finance compliance officer; and
Be limited in scope to organizing on behalf of chapter-endorsed candidates in the Montgomery County, Maryland council and executive races for the 2018 election cycle.
Will immediately hold separate endorsement votes of the following candidates, who, if they receive a two-thirds majority, will be included under the operational scope of the working group mentioned in item 1 of this resolution. The candidates for vote are listed below:
Marc Elrich for County Executive
Danielle Meitiv for County Council, at-large
Chris Wilhelm for County Council, at-large
Brandy Brooks for County Council, at-large
Background
The Democratic primary election for all nine Montgomery County, Maryland county council seats and the county executive will occur on June 26, 2018. This will be the first Montgomery County election in which newly enacted term-limit laws prevent incumbents from seeking reelection. As a result, three of four at-large county council seats will have no incumbent running (one incumbent is not term-limited and is seeking reelection). The county executive seat is also open. Due to the lack of incumbents, almost 30 candidates have entered the at-large council races. There were six candidates in 2014.
The absence of incumbents and the high number of candidates in these races means that the number of votes required to win will be far lower than in previous years. These conditions dictate that candidates who reach a high number of voters and who have strong campaign field operations will have a better chance of victory. In previous elections, members of Metro DC DSA have shown that we can deliver the level of campaign field support necessary to help endorsed candidates win in Montgomery County. Therefore, with a Metro DC DSA endorsement, our chapter’s support could be the difference between victory and defeat for candidates in the Montgomery County Council elections.
By chartering the working group as structured above, our goal is to ensure that this campaign is led by one comprehensive, coordinated, and inclusive body. We want to prevent a situation in which candidates and DSA members are competing with each other for volunteers or other chapter resources. Forming a working group with representation from all interested parties will allow DSA to ensure that volunteer time and resources are used to maximize the benefit of all endorsed candidates.
Adopted, General Body, 1/14/18