[mobglob-discuss] New Nomination Rules are unconstitutional

[Alan Ward]

THE NEW NOMINATION RULES
ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

THE JULY PROVINCIAL COUNCIL MEETING
SHOULD REFER THEM
TO THE NEXT BC NDP CONVENTION.

POWER IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE CONSTITUENCIES
TO GIVE WAY TO TOP-DOWN CONTROL
OF THE NOMINATION PROCESS:

An eight-page document, “Moving our Election Strategy Forward: 2005
Nomination Meetings” [MESF], AND A SHORTER VERSION WRITTEN MORE RECENTLY,
entitled “2005 Nomination Meeting Procedures” [2005 NMP], establish an
individual nomination freeze for each constituency and give the table
officers the power to control the timing – and potentially also the
handling - of each constituency nomination meeting.

This transfer of power from the constituencies to the provincial executive
significantly affects internal party democracy and goes against the BC NDP
constitution.


THE NEW RULES IMPOSE
AN INDIVIDUAL NOMINATION FREEZE
ON EACH CONSTITUENCY:

The nomination freeze was not truly lifted on May 1st 2004.

Constituencies have been able to apply for permission to hold nomination
meetings since May 1st.  However, according to both the MESF and the 2005NMP
document, after May 1st each constituency must individually go through an
additional nomination freeze period:   the provincial executive will not
grant a constituency permission to schedule its nomination meeting until the
constituency has

(1)                 fulfilled a set of conditions (membership-growth, money,
affirmative-action conditions [MESF, pp 3-5; 2005NMP, p.2]), and

(2)                 until the provincial executive has evaluated a number of
other aspects.  The table officers may time a nomination meeting:

·   to suit “geographic and regional factors” [MESF, p.3; 2005NMP, p.1]
·   in accordance with their assessment of “the constituencies’ [sic]
ability to support a candidate and mount an effective campaign” [MESF, p.3;
2005NMP, p.1]
·   in accordance with their view of “the overall strategic interests of the
provincial NDP” [MESF, p.3; 2005NMP, p.1]
·   to suit a candidate “with specific timing challenges (i.e. not all
potential candidate’s [sic] jobs, personal situation or finances may allow a
10 or 8 month candidacy)” [p. 3 of MESF; p.1 of 2005NMP.  It is not clear
whether the word “candidacy” here refers to a “candidacy for the nomination”
or to “the election campaign.”]

After all these delays, a constituency must wait at least 90 days to hold
the meeting once permission from the provincial executive to do so has been
received [MESF, p.4; 2005NMP, p.2].


THE NEW RULES GIVE THE PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE
CONTROL NOT ONLY OF THE TIMING
BUT ALSO OF THE HANDLING OF NOMINATION MEETINGS:

Considered in the approval process of nomination meetings are a number of
“general considerations.”  A nomination meeting may be timed to provide

·   the provincial executive with the “ability to assess and ‘level out’ the
requirements for political and administrative support required for
successful meetings” [MESF, p.3; 2005NMP, p.1].

This provision gives the provincial executive a primary role in the running
of nomination meetings.  The provision is not made to ensure that there is
provincial office support if a constituency requests it.  It establishes
that it is not the constituency but the provincial executive who is to
decide whether its support is needed or not and how much of it there should
be.

In addition, a nomination meeting may be timed to provide

·   “opportunities for media profile (i.e. a Sunday afternoon meeting on a
summer weekend would not generally be effective for media coverage)” [MESF,
p.3; 2005NMP, p.1], and/or
·   “other strategic considerations that would allow the meeting to increase
profile and momentum” [MESF, p.3; 2005NMP, p.1].

These considerations seem to prescribe nomination meetings that are more
orchestrated gatherings with electoral fanfare and media fuzz, than a
serious exercise in internal democracy.


THE NEW RULES VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION

Article XIII of the BC NDP constitution gives the provincial executive only
administrative powers, so neither the table officers nor the executive may
unilaterally change the nomination rules.

   13.12 confines the duties and responsibilities of the table officers to
administrative matters:  “The Table Officers shall deal with administrative
matters and matters of clear emergency.”

   13.13 gives the provincial executive, not the power to make new policy,
but to simply “administer” matters of importance to the party.  And in
performing these administrative duties, the clause makes the provincial
executive responsible to Provincial Council.

There was an attempt to change Article XIII at the last BC NDP convention,
but the resolution in question never came to the floor.  This resolution
[“C2003-25 Table Officers: Responsibilities”] aimed at expanding the powers
of the table officers from merely administrative to political.

Where the constitution involves the Provincial Executive in the nomination
process, it does so in a narrow manner.  Sub-section 9.06 allows the
provincial executive to make, not policy or rules, but “regulations”
governing the nomination of candidates.  Regulations are not rules.  They
are merely procedures for the implementation of rules.

The BC NDP constitution defines our party, not as a top-down organization,
but as a party “controlled and financed by its membership” [Article I].
Fittingly, the constitution makes the constituencies, not the provincial
executive, responsible for the nomination of candidates [Article 9.01].


OUR JOB AS PROVINCIAL COUNCIL DELEGATES
IS TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION:

The provincial executive has no power, under the constitution, to condition
a constituency’s right to hold a nomination meeting to economic or
membership factors or to intrude in the holding of a constituency’s
nomination meeting to impose particular political or administrative
preferences.  If the table officers wish to have this power, they must
re-send their resolution to that effect to the next convention

The rules for nomination meetings are those contained in the constitution.
Article IX [“Public Office”] tells us who runs nomination meetings, who can
be a candidate; who can vote; and who can resolve disputes over the conduct
of nominating conventions.  Any additional rules must be treated as
constitutional changes and be debated and voted at convention.

It is our duty, as Provincial Council delegates “to oversee implementation
of party policy by the provincial executive” [13.14], and we must discharge
this duty by making sure that the new nomination rules are not allowed to
proceed unless and until our whole membership has discussed them and
approved them.  One way to do this is supporting the resolutions that
Vancouver-Kingsway has submitted for discussion and vote at the upcoming
Provincial Council meeting.

             The Vancouver-Kingsway NDP Constituency Executive


--------------------------------------------------------------
For further discussion or clarification, please call Alicia Barsallo at
604-879-3246, Arlene Schimmelpfennig at 604-219-9243, or Andrew Adler at
604-224-1249, or email us at arward at interchange.ubc.ca
Jun 04 / Revised Jul 04
--------------------------------------------------------------
- Produced by volunteer labour –



Vancouver-Kingsway resolutions:

CHANGES TO NATURE OF NOMINATION MEETINGS
AND NEW NOMINATION RULES SHOULD BE REFERRED TO NEXT CONVENTION:

         WHEREAS in the document entitled “Moving our Election Strategy
Forward: 2005 Nomination Meetings,” the table officers make political and
policy decisions that significantly change and affect the nature of BC NDP
nomination meetings and the way in which the BC NDP conducts nomination
meetings;
         WHEREAS under the BC NDP constitution the provincial executive does
not have the power to change or create party policy but only to take
decisions of an administrative nature [Article XIII];
         WHEREAS, consistent with Article XIII,  sub-article 9.06 only
allows the Provincial Executive to put together, not policy or rules, but
“regulations” – that is procedures for the implementation of already
determined rules.
         WHEREAS the BC NDP constitution in Article I defines the NDP as a
party run by its members, and Article IX, section 9.01, gives the
constituencies control over the nomination process;
         WHEREAS the attempt made at the last convention, to change clause
13.12 of Article XIII of the BC NDP constitution, in order to give the table
officers political rather than only administrative power (“C2003-25 Table
Officers: Reponsibilities”) did not succeed;
         WHEREAS we have a working set of nomination regulations that have
been ratified by convention and are appended to the Constitution, and this
set has recently been successfully used to nominate candidates to the
upcoming federal election.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the contents of the document entitled “Moving
our Election Strategy Forward: 2005 Nomination Meetings,” be referred to the
next BC NDP convention for discussion and vote.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the regulations that are to guide constituency
nomination meetings are those in appendices A and B of the BC NDP
constitution as these appendices were as of the March 2004 meeting of
Provincial Council.


CANDIDATE FEES DISCRIMINATE AGAINST LOW-INCOME CANDIDATES:

     WHEREAS the BC NDP aims at including and empowering all members of the
party;
     WHEREAS charging administrative candidate fees and fees for membership
lists discriminates against low-income candidates to the nomination;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that no fees are to be charged to those running for
BC NDP candidate nominations either for the filing of their papers or for
membership lists.


CANDIDATES’ MEMBERSHIP LIST ENTITLEMENT SHOULD BE
COMMENSURATE WITH THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH
LISTS OF MEMBERSHIP CHANGE DURING A NOMINATION PERIOD:


         WHEREAS candidates to BC NDP nominations must be privy to
membership records so that they may have the time to contact all
constituency members before the nomination meeting;
         WHEREAS during a nomination period, constituency membership records
may change dramatically from one week to the next;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that in addition to being entitled to receive one
full set of membership list print-outs per month, every candidate to a BC
NDP nomination is entitled to receive once every two weeks a printed
membership update containing the membership records not included in the
monthly list, or an electronic file of the entire list.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that candidate requests for membership lists go
either to the president of the provincial constituency or to the person in
charge of membership records at Provincial Office.


ALL NOMINATION CANDIDATES MUST HAVE
TIMELY ACCESS TO MEMBERSHIP RECORDS:

         WHEREAS if  the BC NDP nomination process is to be fair to all
candidates, all candidates must have access to new member data and renewals
shortly after these have been submitted so as to have time to canvass them;
         WHEREAS late notification of new memberships or renewals can
prevent constituency executives and candidates from properly vetting those
memberships for meeting residency requirements;
         WHEREAS provincial office has been falling behind in its processing
of memberships for a long time now, and this delay affects both our
efficient operation at the constituency level and the right of candidates to
have access to membership records as soon as these are submitted to
provincial office;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Provincial Office distribute its clerical load
among all its staff in such a way that memberships are processed within two
weeks after it receives them.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that where it is foreseen that the two-week deadline
might not be met, copies of the memberships received are to be made
immediately available to the contituency executive and to each of the
candidates to the nomination.


FOR A PROPER IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE RESIDENCY RULE:

         WHEREAS NDP nomination meetings should be proof of a fair and
transparent process;
         WHEREAS clause 9.02 of Article IX of the BC NDP constitution
mandates that only those members who reside within the electoral boundaries
of the constituency association – and have done so for a minimum of 90 days
before the nominating meeting – be given a vote at a nomination meeting.
         WHEREAS anything less than the rigorous application of the
residency rule will reward informality and punish honesty;
         WHEREAS Article IX, section 9.01, of the BC NDP Constitution,
entrusts constituency associations with the responsibility for the
nomination of candidates;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that constituency executives be encouraged to make
sure that the residency rule is strictly enforced at nomination meetings in
accordance with the BC NDP constitution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that our proof-of-residency requirement be
standardized to be two current pieces of i.d., as required for provincial
elections by Elections BC.  One of the pieces of i.d. must be a photo i.d.,
and at least one of the pieces of i.d. must bear the member’s address.

[The above resolutions were submitted in May 2004.]