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Welcome
to the
Warren County
Democrats web
page.
Warren County Convention
March 20, 2010
Place: Warren County Administration Building- 301 North Buxton Street, Indianola
Time: 8:00 Registration for delegates begins
9:00 Convention Convenes
10:00 Registration Closes
10:30 Seating of Alternates
11:00 Final Credentials Committee Report
Fee: $10.00 Donation per Delegate (includes lunch)
Coffee, juice and rolls will be available for purchase
Committee Meetings:
7:30 Arrangements
7:30 Credentials
8:30 Platform
8:30 Rules and Nominations
Lunch Costs
Pricing will be posted for visitors, alternates and others who may wish to purchase a meal.
Below is the convention
packet for the convention. Starting with the packet cover sheet.
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P.O. Box 477
Indianola, IA 50125 |
2010
Warren County
Democratic
Convention
March 20, 2010
Warren County Administration Building
301 N. Buxton
Indianola, IA
Table of Contents
Arrangements Committee Report Page 3
Rules and Nominations Committee Report Page 4
Credentials Committee Report Page 13
2010 Platform for the Warren County Iowa
Democratic Party Page 15
Arrangements Committee Report
The information contained in the booklet is a necessity for you to be an informed delegate.
Read the information carefully and bring this packet with you to the convention. If you have questions regarding any information or procedures, please contact one of the Committees Chairs listed on the first page.
If you cannot attend the convention, please give this packet to an alternate and complete the form inside the back cover or give this packet to your precinct chairperson!
There will not be additional copies of this packet available.
Important Information about the Convention
Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Place: Warren County Administration Building- 301 North Buxton Street, Indianola
Time: 8:00 Registration for delegates begins
9:00 Convention Convenes
10:00 Registration Closes
10:30 Seating of Alternates
11:00 Final Credentials Committee Report
Fee: $10.00 Donation per Delegate (includes lunch)
Coffee, juice and rolls will be available for purchase
Committee Meetings:
7:30 Arrangements
7:30 Credentials
8:30 Platform
8:30 Rules and Nominations
Lunch Costs
Pricing will be posted for visitors, alternates and others who may wish to purchase a meal.
Arrangements Committee Members
Marianne Lester
Joyce Hendrix
Ann Montgomery
Report of the Rules and Nominations Committee
I. General
A. This committee is charged with the responsibility of drafting such rules and regulations as are necessary to conduct the business of the Convention including, but not limited to, the adoption of the platform, the adoption and ratification of such resolutions as the Convention may wish to consider, the selection and accreditation of delegates to the District and State Conventions, and such other business as the Convention may wish to consider.
B. The Rules and Nominations Committee is also charged with the responsibility of counting all ballots taken during the convention process and conducting all elections that take place.
II. The Purpose of Rules
A. Convention rules have evolved over many years as a result of practical experience in how best to run a convention of many people. Rules serve the following purposes:
1. Provide a way of making sure that only legitimately elected
delegates participate;
2. Provide for fair and able leadership;
3. Define the items of business to be conducted, and the best
order to be followed in action upon them;
4. Provide practical procedures by which many citizens can
have input into the making of the necessary decisions;
5. Protect the minorities from the insensitivity/indifference
of the majority;
6. Protect the majority from the zeal and excesses of the
minorities;
7. Facilitate election of proportional representation to
higher levels of the convention process;
8. Provide ways to deal with unusual and/or unanticipated
situations.
III. Preamble
A. Conventions shall be called to order no later than fifteen minutes after the time announced in the official call. If the Temporary Chair does not call the Convention to order within this time limit, any delegate may call the convention to order and the order of business shall begin.
B. Convention speakers shall be strictly limited to five minutes speaking time. The Chair shall enforce these time limits with the assistance of an official timekeeper where appropriate. If the Chair falls to do so, any delegate may call upon the Chair to enforce the time limit. The Rules and Nominations Committee and Chair will determine whether an individual shall have the right to speak.
IV. Order of Business
A. The report of the Credentials Committee shall be acted upon before the consideration of other official business. The Temporary Convention Chair shall recognize the Chair of the Credentials Committee to present the Committee's report. The Chair of the Committee may present Committee amendments, may yield to others, and may yield for the presentation and disposition of minority reports without losing the right to the floor.
B. The Nominations and Delegate Selection and Seating process shall be in accordance with the Delegate Selection procedure approved by the State Central Committee, with supplementary recommendations of the Rules and Nominations Committee as adopted by the convention.
C. In the case of a delegate challenge, the Credentials Committee shall include in its report the name of the delegate or alternate whom it believes is entitled to participate in the Convention. A minority of 10% of the Credentials Committee may present a minority report on any challenge to the Convention. When a number of challenges are to be resolved, the Credentials Committee shall report on each in alphabetical order by precinct in which the delegates or alternates being challenged reside.
D. The consideration of the Platform Committee's report shall be taken at the discretion of the Chair at appropriate times during the normal Party business in order to save time. Rules found herein on debate and voting shall apply to consideration of the Platform Committee's report.
V. Agenda
A. The County Chairperson will call the Convention to order by 9 A.M. and call for the Chair of the Rules and Nominations Committee to appoint a temporary Chairperson(s) for the Convention.
B. The Temporary Chairperson(s) appointed by the Rules and Nominations Committee shall convene the Convention.
C. The Temporary Chair shall announce the temporary secretaries, and a temporary Sergeant-at-Arms. The Rules and Nominations Committee will provide a parliamentarian and select the vote tellers for the Convention.
D. The Temporary Chair shall ask for a motion on the temporary rules. They will be the rules as printed in the delegate packet.
E. The Temporary Chair shall call for a motion to make the delegates, as certified by the Chairperson of the Credentials Committee, the temporary delegates to the Convention.
F. The Chair of the Committee on Committees shall announce the Chairs of all Convention Committees (Arrangements, Credentials, Platform, and Rules and Nominations).
G. The Temporary Chair shall indicate committee meeting rooms, introduce speakers and special guests, and make announcements. Committees may retire to meeting rooms as needed.
H. The report of the Credentials Committee and adoption of the Credentials Committee report by the Convention shall be no later than 11:00 A.M. or sooner if the committee identifies a quorum. Official business may begin when a legal quorum been established.
I. The Chair of the Rules and Nominations Committee shall nominate the permanent Chair(s) of the Convention from among the accredited delegates. Nominations from the floor may then be received for the position. These nominations must also be from among the accredited delegates. Election of the permanent Chair(s) will follow.
J. Report of the Rules and Nominations Committee. The Chair of the Rules and Nominations Committee moves the adoption of the committee’s report (it will include the permanent rules). Voting follows.
K. First realignment of delegates into preference groups (if needed). Convention business will suspend in case of call for caucus, except for youth caucus.
1. Youth Delegate attendees shall caucus separately for the purpose
of electing District and State Youth Delegates and Alternates.
2. Youth Delegate attendees may also caucus to formulate
viewpoints and develop a youth platform.
L. The Chair of the Rules and Nominations Committee shall announce the procedure for:
1. apportioning delegates;
2. electing District/State Convention Delegates;
3. electing a District Affirmative Action person;
4. electing District Convention Committee members.
M. The convention will proceed with these elections. The elections may alternate with platform consideration.
N. The Chair of the Platform Committee will report the Platform. The Platform Chair moves the adoption of the Platform. The Convention votes on the Platform.
0. Ratification of the Convention Proceedings.
P. Any remaining business to come before the Convention.
Q. Adjournment.
VI. Special Orders of Business
It shall be in order at any time for the Rules and Nominations Committee to report to the Convention a resolution on providing a special order of business for debate of any resolution, motion, committee report, or minority report or amendment to a committee report, or for the consideration of any matter for which provision is not made in these rules.
VII. Powers and Duties of the Chair
A. The Permanent Chair or Co-Chair (one male and one female) shall be elected by the Convention. It is the responsibility of those elected (hereinafter referred to as "the Chair") to conduct and expedite the business of the Convention and to preserve order and decorum in its proceedings.
B. The Chair is authorized to:
1. Appoint a secretary and such other officers as may be required
to assist in the conduct of the business of the convention,
to be composed equally of men and women.
2. Appoint any delegate temporarily to perform the duties of
the Chair in the absence of the Chair.
3. Take such lawful action as may be appropriate and necessary to
preserve order throughout the Convention facility.
VIII. Seating of Delegates
A. Duly elected delegates shall have first seating at the beginning of the Convention.
B. A delegate who cannot attend the Convention shall have first right to designate a duly elected alternate in writing using the preferred alternate form provided in this Convention Booklet.
C. When no alternate is selected in writing by a delegate, the appropriate precinct delegation present will select an alternate from the same preference group and precinct.
D. If an alternate delegate of the same preference group cannot be found, the seat shall not be filled.
E. After 10:00 AM, a delegate who has not selected an alternate shall forfeit their right to be seated as a delegate to the Convention, unless the Delegate’s seat is not yet filled. No seated alternate will be bumped by an elected delegate after this time.
F. The Credentials Committee may, after 10:00 A.M., select and seat accredited alternates who meet the above requirements as delegates.
IX. Voting
A. Except as otherwise required, voting shall be by official card and, in case of doubt, by standing division. A roll call (or non-secret ballot) vote may be ordered only after a standing division, upon a motion which is seconded and supported by a standing vote of 20% of the authorized delegate body present. The determination as to whether a ballot or roll call vote shall be used will be made by the Chair under the criteria of the Rules and Nominations Committee report as adopted.
B. When a roll call vote is ordered, the roll shall be called by precinct. The Chair of each delegation or his designee shall report the vote of the delegation. If any member of an individual delegation challenges an announced vote of his/her delegation, the Chair shall poll that delegation.
C. All questions, except as otherwise specified in the adopted rules, shall be determined by majority vote of the authorized delegates present and voting.
D. When a question on a motion has been put to the vote, the vote thereon may not be interrupted for any purpose other than to move for a roll call (or ballot) vote, or a point of order directed to the conduct of the vote.
E. During the counting of the ballots on any issue, the Chair of the Convention may place a new main motion on the floor and return to the previous motion after the counting is completed, unless a pending vote will influence the outcome of a vote on a subsequent issue.
F. No secret, proxy, or absentee voting is allowed under our party Constitution.
G. If, as determined by the Rules and Nominations Committee, the total number of votes cast exceed the total number of delegates present and voting on the convention floor, the ballot will be declared invalid by the Rules Committee and will be recast.
H. Delegates leaving the Convention early and not designating an alternate (from the accredited alternates in the delegate’s respective precinct) with the Credentials Committee must turn in their delegate packet, including the voting card, and all unused ballots to the Credentials Committee.
I. Bullet voting and plunking are prohibited.
1. Bullet voting is defined as a delegate casting a vote for someone
other than a duly nominated candidate during a given round of voting
for a delegate seat or committee position. Delegates may only vote
for candidates nominated in accordance with Convention rules.
2. Plunking is defined as a delegate casting multiple votes for a
single candidate during a given round of balloting in which more than
one delegate seats or committee positions are to be filled. Delegates
may NOT attempt to vote one candidate into two or more delegate seats
or committee positions during a single round of balloting.
The ballots of a delegate who commits either bullet voting or plunking will be invalidated for that round of balloting.
J. All votes at the convention shall be cast by those individuals named on the credentials, as issued by the Credentials Committee.
1. Alternate delegates, assigned another individual’s credentials by the Credentials Committee, shall not be deemed to have violated this rule by voting the credentials issed to them by the Credentials Committee.
2. No individual shall cast a proxy vote on behalf of a delegate in their absense, unless that individual has been duly appointed as the alternate for said delegate, and credentialed as such by the Credentials Committee.
3. Any delegate, or alternate assigned credentials by the Credentials Committee, who surrenders their credentials to anyone other than a member of the Credentials Committee, shall be deemed as violating this rule, and be subject to the same penalties, as listed below.
4. Any delegate who observes a violation of this rule shall report said violation to a member of the Credentials Committee or the Chair.
5. Violations of this section carry all of the folloing penalties:
a. Loss of all credentials in individual’s possession, credentials issued in individual’s name, or credentials issued to the individual by the Credentials Committee.
b. Removal from the convention premises by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
c. Ineligability to be nominated for or serve as a delegate at the District and/or State Convention on behalf of any preference group in Warren County. If the violation occurs after delegates have been selected by a preference group, said group will be allowed 15 minutes to elect a replacement delegate.
d. Ineligability to be nominated for or to serve on any committee for district or state convention on behalf of Warren County.
X. Appeals
A. The Chair shall decide all questions of order subject to appeal to the body by any delegate. An appeal will be debated for not more than ten minutes. This time shall be equally divided between the delegate appealing and the Chair.
B. An appeal shall not be in order:
1. while another appeal is pending;
2. from decisions of dilatoriness of motions or other attempts to
delay the process of the Convention;
3. during a roll call vote;
4. on questions on which an appeal has just been decided;
5. when in the opinion of the Chair such an appeal is clearly dilatory
in its attempt to slow down or delay the process of the Convention;
6. on questions of debate time after a standing vote.
C. The decision of the body shall be final.
XI. Motion to Suspend the Rules
A. The Chair may entertain a motion to suspend the rules only for a stated purpose. If seconded, the motion may be debated for not more than ten minutes. This time shall be equally divided between proponents and opponents of the motion to suspend.
B.Passage of a motion to suspend shall require a 2/3rds majority vote of the delegates present and voting in favor of the motion, provided that a quorum as defined in section XVI of these rules is present.
XII. Motions
A. No question of privilege nor any motion other than those provided for under these rules shall be entertained except the motion to recess, to a time certain or at the call of the Chair, which shall be privileged.
B. Motions to recess shall be in order at any time except when a question has been put, or a vote is in progress, and shall be decided without debate. The Chair shall not entertain motions to recess when such motion closely follows another such motion if in the opinion of the Chair such motion is dilatory.
C. A motion to recess shall be for a time period of not more than one half hour, with the exception of a designated lunch break which shall not exceed one hour.
D. A motion to adjourn shall not be in order until all statutory and constitutional duties have been completed.
XIII. Amendments
A. No amendments to resolutions or motions before the Convention shall be permitted except amendments to Committee reports offered at the direction of the Committee or in a minority report of the Committee, provided that no motion or proposition on a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment.
B. The maker of the amendment shall provide the Convention Chair with a legible written copy of the amendment before it is introduced, supported by 20 delegate signatures.
XIV. Minority Reports
A. Minority reports of Committees shall not be considered by the Convention unless adopted by at least 10% of the members of a Committee present and voting at a Committee meeting.
B. The minority shall provide the Chair with a written copy of their minority report before it is introduced, signed by members of the minority.
C. Minority reports shall be disposed of prior to action on majority reports.
XV. Debate
A. Initial debate on any question shall be limited to 12 minutes total and shall be equally divided between alternating proponents and opponents in speeches which shall not exceed two minutes each.
B. At the end of the initial debate time, the Convention, by a standing vote, may extend the debate for an additional 6 minutes and shall be divided between alternating proponents and opponents in speeches which shall not exceed one minute each.
C. Debate may be closed sooner by unanimous consent, or by 2/3 standing division vote in support of closing debate. Debate may be extended beyond a total of 18 minutes only by 2/3rds standing division vote in support of extension for a specified additional amount of time.
D. On motions relating to debate time, the ruling of the Chair on standing votes shall be final. Appeals to roll call or ballot votes on motions relating to debate time shall be out of order.
XVI. Quorum
A. In accordance with §43.95 of the Code of Iowa, a quorum for this convention shall be determined as follows:
1. A quorum shall consist of accredited delegates representing a
simple majority of the precincts at the convention; or
2. A simple majority of the accredited delegates shall constitute
a quorum.
B. No motion questioning a quorum shall be in order after the delegates have indicated their preference for a candidate during the nomination and delegate selection procedure.
XVII. General Rules
A. When a point of order is not covered by these rules, the approved Delegate Selection Procedure, the Rules and Nominations Committee Report, the Iowa Democratic Party Constitution, or the Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States, Robert's Rules of Order as most recently revised shall be used as the authority.
B. The registration of delegates and alternates shall remain open for at least one hour after the convention is scheduled to convene. However, as soon as the Credentials Committee reports to the Convention that a quorum of authorized delegates has been seated, the Convention may transact official and binding business. A determination of preference groups and the strength of preference groups shall not be determined until all delegates have been received and approved by the convention.
C. Accredited delegates must be registered by 10:00 A.M. or an alternate may be seated.
D. For the purpose of determining the relative strength of any preference groups within the convention, delegates to the County Convention shall align with a presidential preference (in presidential election years), other preference, or uncommitted group when they are registered for the convention. A delegate shall be required to designate his/her preference group at the time of his/her registration, and a delegate who refuses to designate a presidential preference group shall be registered by the Credentials Committee as uncommitted. Delegates are not required to align with the same preference group which selected them at the caucuses.
E. The Credentials Committee shall have the responsibility of determining the number of delegates within each presidential preference, other preference, or uncommitted group and shall, upon completion of registration and the presentation of its report, inform the convention of the relative strength of preference groups and the existence or absence of viable preference groups. For purposes of this section, any presidential preference, other preference, or uncommitted group which fails to obtain fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of registered delegates by the time the Credentials Committee presents its final report shall be declared non-viable.
F. The first realignment of delegates into preference groups shall take place following the report of the Credentials Committee. At this time, all delegates will be afforded a one hour period to realign with other groups if they so desire. The Arrangements Committee shall provide delegates with proper facilities to complete this realignment process. During this period, the Convention may proceed with other business.
G. Upon completion of the one (1) hour preference group alignment period, the Credentials Committee shall report to the convention the viable and nonviable groups’ status within the convention. Members of nonviable groups shall have a reasonable time not to exceed thirty (30) minutes in which to realign.
H. The number of district/state delegates to which each presidential preference, other preference, or uncommitted group is entitled to elect shall be determined by multiplying the total number of delegates to be elected by the percentage of the total convention vote that each preference group represents. When a situation occurs where there are more viable preference groups than there are delegates to be elected, the preference group(s) with the largest fraction shall be awarded the delegates in question.
I. The Chair of the Rules and Nominations Committee shall announce the number of delegates each preference group is entitled to elect to the District and State Conventions. The convention will then divide into its respective preference groups--each seated delegate going to the preference group to which he or she is aligned.
J. Each preference group shall elect a chair.
K. The first formal action of the preference group chairs shall be to read the following statement:
"All caucuses, convention committees, and Democratic Party officials
shall take such practical steps as may be within their legitimate
power to assure that all caucuses, conventions, and committees shall
include men, women, various age groups, and representatives of
identifiable geographically defined populations--all in reasonable
relationship to the proportions in which these groups are found in the
populations of the respective constituencies."
L. The procedure to be used within the presidential preference, other preference, or uncommitted groups to elect district/state delegates is as follows:
1. All delegates and party members who desire to run for district/state
delegate positions shall inform the caucus chair of the appropriate
preference group. This business must be done prior to the delegate
election procedure. Candidates for the delegate positions shall be
listed on a ballot in alphabetical order and numbered. Additional names
may be submitted for nomination. They shall be placed at the end of the
list and given a number. Persons need not be present to be elected but
delegates must be present to vote.
2. Each delegate who is an authorized member of a preference group,
empowered to vote on the election of the candidate or candidates, shall
do so by casting a vote or votes necessary to elect a simple majority of
the positions being sought by the candidates. Delegates shall cast
ballots for all positions to be elected on any given ballot. For
example, in the event that thirteen (13) individuals are each seeking
one of seven positions, the delegate shall vote seven (7) ballots, not
more than one (1) of which shall be cast for any one (1) candidate.
Counties are permitted to institute a system whereby preference groups
can vote for less than the simple majority of delegates to be selected
on any given ballot.
3. The ballots shall be collected and counted under the authority of the
Rules and Nominations Committee. If the number of positions to fill is
less than five (5), each elector shall vote for the number of candidates
equal to the number of positions to be filled.
4. No more than a simple majority of the delegate positions may be
determined by the result of the first balloting.
5. No candidate may be elected with less than five (5) votes. All
candidates receiving the same number of votes must, without violation of
any other rules, either be defeated as a group or else elected as a
group.
6.When the votes have been tabulated, the results of the election shall
be announced to the group.
7.Balloting shall continue until all delegate positions have been
filled.
8. The Rules and Nominations Committee Chair shall take possession of
the ballots. The ballots shall be preserved for one year.
9. Each preference group shall then proceed to elect its alternates.
Any number of alternates may be elected. Careful record should be kept
of the alternates elected, so as to avoid any confusion in seating the
alternates at either the District or State Conventions.
10. The convention as a whole shall ratify the selection of the entire
slate of delegates and alternates to the District/State Conventions.
Ratification shall mean only that it is the sense of the Convention that
the procedures used by the various preference groups were in conformity
with required procedures under the constitution of the Iowa Democratic
Party, and applicable convention rules as adopted by the Convention.
The ratified slate of delegates shall be presented to the District
Affirmative Action Committee and the District Convention Credentials
Committee.
M. All mobile telephones and pocket pagers must be set to silent notification (such as vibrate or visual notification) or must be turned off. Each delegate who wishes to use a mobile telephone must leave the convention room while using their telephone. The Chair is authorized to use any appropriate means to enforce this rule, including ejection from the convention.
XVIII. Election of District Convention Committee Members
A. At least ten (10) days prior to the County Convention, the Chair of each County Convention Committee shall notify the chair of the Committee on Committees of their nominations to corresponding committees at the District Convention. Failure to do this in a timely manner will require all nominations for the specific committee in violation to be made from the floor of the Convention without the Committee's endorsement.
B. Additional nominations may be made from the floor.
C. When there are no further nominations or upon adoption of a motion to cease nominations, the Convention Chair shall, after giving any nominee the opportunity to decline nomination, conduct a vote for each position to be filled.
D. A simple majority vote of the delegates present and voting shall be required to elect District Convention Committee members.
Rules and Nominations Committee Members:
Marvin Grace
Linda Beatty
Gary Patterson
Credentials Committee Report
A. The registration of delegates shall remain open for at least hour after the convention is scheduled to convene. However, as soon as the Credentials Committee reports to the Convention that a quorum of accredited delegates has been seated, the Convention may transact official and binding business. A quorum for purposes of convening the convention shall mean forty percent (40%) of the total accredited delegates to the convention. A WHITE sheet of paper has been provided in your convention packet to indicate your preference group, including uncommitted, at the time of registration. If no preference group has been designated, “uncommitted” will be the designated preference group.
Delegates must be registered by 10:00 AM or an alternate will be seated at 10:30 AM.
B. If a delegate is unable to attend all or part of the convention, the delegate may select an alternate by designating the name of the alternate in writing to the Credentials Committee. Information about obtaining the necessary forms for an alternate was provided on the Credentials Postcard. The alternate shall be of the same preference group as the delegate he or she is to replace and consideration shall be given to alternates of the same precinct. An alternate so designated shall serve only until the originally elected delegate shall appear at the convention and request of the appropriate preference group chair his/her right to be seated. At that time, the alternate shall then turn over his/her credentials and balloting material. If the absent delegate fails to designate an alternate then the appropriate preference group shall designate the name of the alternate in writing to the Credentials Committee. An alternate so designated shall have the right to retain his/her position as a delegate EVEN in the presence of the duly elected delegate. ALTERNATES NOT SO SELECTED AS ABOVE WILL NOT BE SEATED.
C. If the convention decides to break into preference groups the first realignment of delegates in preference groups shall take place following the report of the Credentials Committee. At this time all delegates will be afforded a one (1) hour period to realign with others if they so desire. A red card will be provided in your convention packet for this purpose.
D. Upon completion of the one (1) hour preference group alignment period, the Credentials Committee shall report to the convention the viable and nonviable groups’ status within the convention. Members of nonviable groups shall have one-half (1/2) hour in which to realign. A BLUE card will be provided in your convention packet for this purpose.
E. The number of district/state delegates to which each preference or uncommitted group is entitled to elect shall be determined by multiplying the total number of delegates to be elected by the percentage of the total convention vote that each preference group represents. When a situation occurs where there are more viable preference groups than there are delegates to be elected, the preference group(s) with the largest fraction shall be awarded the delegate(s) in question.
F. The procedure for credential challenges is provided in depth by the Iowa Democratic Constitution. The Constitution provides as follows:
Section 1. Initiation: Any Democrat may challenge any delegate or alternate certified to any convention by notifying the County Chair and the State Chair in writing at least 10 days before the date of the Convention. At the same time, a copy of the challenge shall be sent by the challenger to the delegate or alternate who is challenged.
Section 2. Contents: A challenge shall include the name and address to the Chair of the Committee on Credentials of the Convention in question and to the delegates or alternates who are challenged as soon as possible after they are received.
Section 3. Call of meeting: The Chairperson of the Committee on Credentials shall convene the committee at a publicized location at least one hour before the time when the Convention is to meet.
Section 4. Committee Consideration: The Committee on Credentials shall consider any statement from the challenger, from the delegate or alternate being challenged, and from any other person who wishes to testify on the challenge. In hearing the challenge, the Committee on Credentials may allot a period of time within which the challenger and the challenged shall be granted equal time to make their statement.
Section 5. Report to Convention: In case of a challenge, the Committee on Credentials shall report to the Convention the name of the delegate or alternate who it believes is entitled to participate in the Convention. A minority of the Committee on Credentials may present a minority report on the challenge to the Convention. When a number of challenges are to be resolved, the Committee on Credentials shall report on each in alphabetic/numerical order by county or by precinct in which the delegates or alternates being challenged reside.
Section 6: Convention Action: The convention shall vote on the report of the Committee on Credentials on each challenge made. The report of the Committee on Credentials on each challenge must be approved by a majority vote of the Convention before a delegate or alternate may participate in the Convention. No challenged delegate or alternate may vote on the report of the Committee on Credentials which involves the delegate’s challenge.
G. If a delegate must leave the convention, the delegate must turn his/her credentials, voting ballots, and convention packet over to the Credentials Committee.
Credentials Committee Members
Leslie Merriman, Temporary Chair
Bev Dickerson
Paula Martinez
Delpha Middleswart
The 2010 Platform for the Warren County, Iowa Democratic Party
Preamble
The Democratic Party is America’s oldest political party. We are justly proud of our Democratic Party’s belief in the inclusion of all and commitment to the rights and worth of each individual, regardless of race, disability, sexual orientation, gender (male, female, and transgender), age, socio-economic status, and other labels which are used to separate and discriminate.
The infrastructure of our community, our state, our nation, and our world is an investment in our future. Basic is a strong educational system. We must provide accessible, affordable, and quality education from early childhood to post-secondary in order to maintain leadership in economic development and technology.
All Americans have a stake in local, national, and global economic systems that provide first and foremost for the basic human needs: nourishment, shelter, health, employment, and education. The answer to governmental fiscal problems lies in a strong economy founded upon broadly based prosperity. An equitable and wide distribution of wealth and a free and fairly compensated unionized labor force expands our economy and creates a healthier society.
As temporary stewards of our natural resources, we demand that our governing bodies develop policies and laws permanently protecting our environment from wasteful and indiscriminate use. We support alternative renewable energy, such as wind, solar, and hydro power.
As Democrats, we affirm those individual rights as expressed in the Iowa and United States Constitutions. We believe it is the government’s duty to protect those rights. Whenever the rights of any of our citizens are threatened or abridged, the rights of all are endangered. We insist that our government consistently and fairly serves ALL people.
Warren County Democrats, as a unified party, commit ourselves to lead the way to a fair, just, and progressive social, economic, and political system.
Agriculture & Environment
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Environmental Planning & Zoning (PZ)
Resolved: We believe farmers should have “cost-sharing” funding or loan resources that assist in fully implementing every conservation plan. We support a long-term approach to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres. We support a permanent easement on the most environmentally fragile lands. Iowa’s CRP needs to be regularly renewed and modified for maximum effectiveness. Finally, soil needs legal protection as a finite resource such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act does in these two areas.
Resolved: Since Iowa has fewer natural areas than most states, we support policies and practices that acknowledge the value of wetlands, wildlife habitat, and all natural places. We should seek to minimize the effect of development pressure on sensitive and unique natural areas. We mention the Loess Hills for special attention.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Watershed Management (WM)
Resolved: The classification of Iowa’s surface waters needs to be completed to allow full protection and enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Economic benefits for polluters must be removed by assessing penalties, revoking permits for repeat violators, and implementing pollution prevention initiatives. Citizens need legal standing to bring citizen suits for past and present violations. The publics right-to-know should be increased concerning: permit compliances, the Toxic Release Inventory program, and chemical-use reports. Finally, the federal government should be encouraged to re-introduce and pass the Clean Water Restoration Act.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Livestock Management (LM)
Resolved: We support local and state programs designed to help expand the livestock industry in Iowa for farmers. We support fair livestock market access by the elimination of discrimination in prices paid for livestock, and that payment for livestock be based on carcass quality and that premiums be awarded equally to all producers. We support required manure management plans to protect land, air, and water quality and support our citizen’s property rights with an odor nuisance lawsuit option. We support granting counties siting and enforcement responsibilities.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Environmental Enhancement & Regulation (ER)
Resolved: The use of irradiation and genetic engineered plant and animal products need to be further researched. We are concerned about stress on animals, genetic integrity and diversity, human health, long term and unforeseen results, and an economy of monopolies through patents, special legislation and sheer power. We favor labels on food items that clearly identify country of origin, genetically modified organism (GMO) products, and irradiated products.
Resolved: We support strict control of foreign ownership of Iowa agricultural lands.
Resolved: We resolve that all Iowa lands under the control of the Department of Natural Resources shall be environmentally protected to preserve the integrity of natural habitats and ecological processes. We especially want to register our opposition to any commercial harvesting of trees on state lands.
Resolved: We support keeping our National Forests, Wilderness Areas, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands free of commercial exploitation. Oil and gas exploration and commercial logging on these natural resources are particularly harmful and must be prohibited.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Environmental Safe Energy (SE)
Resolved: Global climate change is a problem of major proportions. An adequate response must include conservation, developing and perfecting renewal, sustainable resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, and doing all of this in ways that are economically and socially beneficial as possible. Worldwide mandatory agreements are required. We support a significant governmental investment in renewable and efficient energy technologies. Such support will include a state and national renewable portfolio with benchmark goals. We believe the United States must sever the relationship between our foreign policy and our energy policy. That separation cannot be realized until we break the yoke of foreign petroleum dependence and achieve energy independence through the development of alternative and renewable energy such as solar, wind, ethanol, biomass, geo-thermal, fuel cells, and clean non-carbon based hydrogen fuels. The post-oil world will reward those nations that pioneer into an unknown but unavoidable future with the most creativity, sustainability, and success.
Resolved: We support continued research into appropriate disposal of nuclear, radioactive and biologically hazardous waste. We deplore the forcing on, or the dumping of, our waste in vulnerable places where peoples are powerless, whether nationally or worldwide. We suggest caution to the Obama Administration’s recent costly proposals for new nuclear facilities in Georgia. Even France with 80% of their power nuclear generated is questioning their programs. We should err on the side of caution, rather than risk-taking.
Resolved: Since the pricing and selling of surplus energy generated by small operations is not possible in many areas, difficult everywhere, we support universal electric grid access, and regulated procedures to insure fair market prices.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Sustainable Rural Development (SD)
Resolved: We support a rural policy at both the state and federal level that will ensure funding for rural economic development programs. Further, we call on the Iowa Legislature to support legislation and other efforts that give urban and rural Iowans the opportunity to have local input in business development. We encourage pioneering efforts in development and re-development in existing dying communities utilizing existing building and organizational structures.
Resolved: We support policies, practices and organizations designed to protect prime farmland from urban sprawl, encroachment by highways and other types of development. Every county should have zoning with a mandatory permits process. Absent this, every county and major sub-division should provide for monitoring of all development with mandatory reports required to appropriate governing bodies.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: Structure of Agriculture (SA)
Resolved: We support family farms through banning packer ownership of livestock, strict enforcement of anti-trust laws, price reporting by all purchasers, voluntary rather than mandatory check-off, farmers’ seed saving, and by helping farmers sell through local/farmer’s markets. We support defining and strictly enforcing packer and stockyard standards of conduct.
Resolved: We believe the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) and Iowa’s beginning farmer programs must continue to play an aggressive role in enabling young farmers to stay in agriculture.
Resolved: We urge Iowa’s legislators and state-level officials to work with other states to adopt multi-state agreements for the enhancement of family farm agriculture and to prevent economic blackmail where “corporate farmers” and other big businesses play one state against the other for development rights and concessions.
Category: Agriculture & Environment
Subcategory: U.S. Agricultural Policy (US)
Resolved: We support a program of cost-of production loan rates, rather than Loan Deficiency Payments, and with a farmer-owned reserve. We endorse lowering payment limits to $50,000, with benefits only to those farmers who observe conservation practices, directly provide labor and management, and are unable to externalize financial risk. For such family farmers, we support programs that provide a real safety net and promote economically and environmentally sustainable practices.
Resolved: Trade agreements such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) must be renegotiated to foster and sustain domestic farm programs, ensure food security, and create shared responsibility for sustainable and profitable world food production systems with world food reserves. We encourage an end to export dumping (the sale of commodities at less than the cost of production and below world food prices).
Resolved: We call for every effort possible to achieve and maintain Competitive Markets, and call on government at all levels to put in place regulations that will advantage family farms.
Resolved: Present farming practices not only contribute in totally unacceptable ways to the causes of flooding, perhaps more costly long-term are totally unsustainable levels of erosion and pollution whose costs cannot be calculated. We call for the launching of a massive effort to involve all those who have, or should have, responsibilities for changing agriculture policy to achieve maximum sustainability.
Resolved: We call on our citizens, in all their endeavors, but especially our use of air, water, land and waste disposal, to be scrupulously responsible and attempt even more sustainability.
Economy, Commerce & Labor
Category: Economy, Commerce & Labor
Subcategory: Worker’s Rights & Safety (WR)
Resolved: We support the passage of fair share legislation.
Resolved: We support expanding the scope of public sector collective bargaining.
Resolved: We support an Employees’ Choice of Doctor in Workers’ Compensation
Category: Economy, Commerce & Labor
Subcategory: Pension and Insurance (PI)
Resolved: We support the protection of pension funds from diversion or diminishment by employers or administrators. Laws must assure that the sources of funding for Pensions Benefit Insurance cannot be misappropriated or misrepresented.
Resolved: We support the protection of Social Security
Category: Economy, Commerce & Labor
Subcategory: Job Security (JS)
Resolved: We believe the outsourcing of jobs from industry and business to other countries must be discouraged.
Category: Economy, Commerce & Labor
Subcategory: Trade Regulations (TR)
Resolved: We support the investigation and strong regulation of financial institutions and energy industries and the enforcement of existing anti-trust laws.
Category: Economy, Commerce & Labor
Subcategory: Budget and Taxation (BT)
Resolved: We support restructuring the national budget to give adequate funding to infrastructure, social programs, research and development of alternative energy and deficit reduction.
Resolved: We support the Tax Credit Review Panel’s recommendations, excluding the sixth recommendation for which we suggest further review by appropriate bodies. The following have been endorsed by the Governor.
1) The Revenue Estimating Conference shall list the types and amount of tax credits claims included in tax receipts calculations for each meeting.
2) The Department of Revenue, the Department of Economic Development, and other departments serving on the panel should develop a process for calculating a return on investment for each tax credit.
3) Eliminate the ability to transfer all state tax credits.
4) Require a five-year sunset for each tax credit.
5) Move all business-related tax credits under the $185 million cap created last legislative session.
6) Eliminate 8 tax credits, most notably the film tax credits. Most of the other credits are either not being used or the panel has determined they are not necessary because of changing economic conditions.
7) Eliminate research activities credit refunds of companies with gross receipts in excess of $20 million per year, and allow these companies to receive a five-year carry forward of their research credits.
Education
Category: Education
Subcategory: Student Aid (SA)
Resolved: The federal/state government must increase tuition support for all forms of post-secondary education, such as through tax credits, tuition aid grants, and increased funding for Pell Grants.
Category: Education
Subcategory: Public School Programming (SP)
Resolved: Communities, in partnership with their schools, provide physical and nutritional education to all school age children and remove unhealthy food choices from school vending machines.
Category: Education
Subcategory: School Funding (SF)
Resolved: The Iowa State Legislature must increase teacher pay to a level which attracts and retains high-quality teachers, regardless of where Iowa’s teacher pay ranks nationally.
Resolved: To increase funding behind the School Aid Formula and adjust that funding in order to compensate for economic disparities between school districts.
Category: Education
Subcategory: Standards (ST)
Resolved: The No Child Left Behind Act must be repealed and replaced with legislation which gives clear mandates and offers sufficient funding for the act’s implementation.
Government & Law
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Campaign and Elections (CE)
Resolved: All voting machines in the United States shall produce a verified paper trail.
Resolved: A “Truth in Advertising” law should be enacted imposing significant civil penalties on political candidates and organizations responsible for verbal or written assertions that are knowingly false or cannot be substantiated.
Resolved: Iowa should follow the lead of other states, like Arizona, Maine and Connecticut, and enact a Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections (VOICE) law providing full public financing for primary and general campaigns to candidates who pledge to run “clean campaigns.”
Resolved: Iowa congresspersons and senators are urged to support legislation limiting the scope of the recent U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision granting corporations the right to contribute to political candidates and organizations.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Civil Rights (CR)
Resolved: Congress should support President Obama’s directive to replace the current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy with a nondiscriminatory military code that allows patriotic and qualified men and women to serve their country regardless of sexual orientation.
Resolved: We reaffirm our support of the constitutional right of citizens to make their own choice of religious belief.
Resolved: Congress should enact comprehensive immigration reform that will: secure our borders, provide a rational and humane approach to the undocumented population, protect U.S. and immigrant workers, allocate sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels, keep families together, promote immigrant integration and protect fundamental rights.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Taxes and Social Security (TS)
Resolved: Social Security must continue without privatization or reduction in benefits.
Resolved: Involuntary annexation shall freeze the city property taxes of owner-occupied residents until the owner vacates the property or all the city services are provided.
Resolved: City property taxes shall not be reduced for agricultural land annexed by a city.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Government Services (GS)
Resolved: Financial oversight and accountability of the county assessor’s office should be vested in the County Board of Supervisors.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Reproductive Rights (RR)
Resolved: A woman’s constitutional right to reproductive health and freedom, as provided in Roe v. Wade, shall be upheld.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Criminal Justice (CJ)
Resolved: We reaffirm our opposition to the death penalty, abolished in Iowa in the 1960s.
Resolved: Lawmakers at the state and national levels should modify or limit mandatory sentencing laws, especially for drug possession and other nonviolent crimes, and give judges greater discretion to impose criminal sentences on a case by case basis.
Resolved: For nonviolent offenders, community corrections and the use of electronic monitors should be encouraged; incarceration in prison should be reserved primarily for felons and violent offenders.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Consumer Protection (CP)
Resolved: Copyright law should support the fair use rights of consumers and researchers for valid scientific research into technological, cryptographic, and protection measures; copyright laws should not expand intellectual property rights at the expense of consumers by lengthening the duration of copyrights, prohibiting free and open source software to play Digital Rights Management (DRM)-protected media, and stripping subscriber privacy by permitting investigations and searches without probable cause.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Marriage (MA)
Resolved: Lawmakers shall oppose any effort to insert a discriminatory provision in Iowa’s Constitution to prohibit same sex marriage and nullify the unanimous opinion of the Iowa Supreme Court based on equal protection of the laws.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Veterans (VE)
Resolved: All veterans deserve a fully-funded General Issue (GI) Bill.
Category: Government & Law
Subcategory: Participation in Government (PG)
Resolved: Involuntary annexation shall require an affirmative vote of both the citizens of the city annexing and the citizens of the area being annexed.
Resolved: A moratorium on property annexation shall be placed on cities until fair and equitable services have been provided throughout the municipality.
Health & Human Services
Category: Health and Human Services
Subcategory: Universal Health Coverage (UH)
Resolved: We demand a public option of insurance to provide universally affordable quality health insurance for everyone while preserving choice of doctor and sharing cost between employees, individuals and the government.
Category: Health and Human Services
Subcategory: Health Care Costs (CI)
Resolved: We must refocus our health care system toward keeping people healthier through disease prevention, care management and targeted incentives to encourage wellness and disease prevention.
Category: Health and Human Services
Subcategory: Standard of Quality (SQ)
Resolved: We must improve the quality of care for those with chronic diseases by encouraging innovation in the treatment of diseases at both the research and practice levels.
International Affairs
Category: International Affairs
Subcategory: The Rule of Law (RL)
Resolved: One of the chief purposes of the United Nations (UN) at its founding was to get rid of war. The world will never even begin to do this until a huge and different effort is made to find alternatives to war and stop and easy use of the war option. Since many in our country have always sought to weaken if not destroy the UN, we believe we either work to bring the world under law or continue to perpetuate our lawless, warring world. We believe there is no better time than now to learn anew the stories about the creation of the UN, the original intention for it, the history that details its near destruction in substance and purpose, and to begin to do all that is required to make it a strong, vital and evolving institution for peace, justice, and the common good for all earth’s citizens and the whole creation. We pledge to work everywhere and always for the reforming and restructuring of the UN to make it all it was intended to be.
Resolved: We call on our Executive and Legislative bodies to reject the preemption war option.
Category: International Affairs
Subcategory: Treaty Negotiation (TN)
Resolved: We support ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by the Senate at the earliest possible time.
Resolved: We continue to support a global and verifiable ban of all nuclear weapons. We oppose any funding leading to the development of new nuclear weapons system.
Category: International Affairs
Subcategory: Peace in the Middle East (ME)
Resolved: This continuing conflict now has a life of its own. Time has hardened positions and hearts, and frozen agendas that surely contain camouflaged intentions and goals, and have probably permanently closed doors. Further, the conflict continues to destabilize the whole Middle East region. The United States (U.S.) is not perceived to be an honest broker because of its enormous aid to Israel, its UN votes – often Israel and the U.S. voting against the rest of its world, its support of Israel in its violation of UN resolutions [Israel has violated more UN resolutions than any other nation in the world], accepting Israel as a nuclear power while rejecting the nuclear option for other nations, Israel’s violence in war which is disproportionate to what is required or to the weaponry of the Palestinians, and Israel’s continual seizure of Palestinian lands by force, deception and theft. Soon consequences may reach a breaking point. Tomorrow may bring the ultimate catastrophe – an Islamic take over in a nuclear nation and a quick destruction of Israel with nuclear weapons. The United States needs to find a new policy widely supported by the nations of the world and then put pressure on Israel as it has never done before.
Category: International Affairs
Subcategory: Response to Terrorism (RT)
Resolved: We call for a nation-wide effort at new understandings of everything related to terrorism, with robust discussions, commitments to learning, expanding citizen
participation, all culminating in new national policies, and smarter, more sustainable and more effective actions involving the world’s nations and peoples.
Resolved: We support the defense of our nation and the need to protect it from terrorist attacks; however, we deplore our unilateral action. We believe America’s unilateral actions violate family obligations in the “Family of Nations,” easily leads into violating basic human rights, preempt needed diplomacy, squander scarce resources, give license to the war option for others, and militarize our nation. An international response through the United Nations with police actions and conflict resolution teams are the preferred response. We encourage our government to reengage a reformed UN to foster new and sustainable approaches to the current challenges of terrorism, and all future challenges where war has been the easier response.
Category: International Affairs
Subcategory: Against Training Terrorists (TT)
Resolved: We call for the closing of the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation” at Fort Benning, Georgia.
