Amended: February 20, 2008

Reaffirmed by Municipal Caucus: January 31, 2010

Statement of Purpose

The Brewer Democratic Municipal Committee shall promote the ideals, principles and welfare of the Democratic Party in the Municipality of Brewer, the County of Penobscot, the State of Maine, and the Nation by electing Democrats to office.

Article I, Membership

Residents of Brewer who are registered as Democrats may join the Municipal Committee at the biennial caucus, or by attending meetings of the Committee. There shall be no limit on the total number of Committee members. Removal from the list of enrolled Democrats in the Municipal of Brewer shall automatically disqualify a person from membership on the Municipal Committee. Members of the Committee may resign at any time in writing.

Article II, Meetings

Meetings of the Committee shall be held at least four times a year, and may be called at any time by the chair. Meetings shall also be called by the chair upon written request of four (4) or more members of the Committee. The chair shall have two (2) weeks to notify the membership and hold the meeting. A quorum shall consist of five (5) Committee members. No Committee member may vote in any election of officers or to fill a legislative vacancy unless he or she has attended at least one (1) of the previous four (4) meetings. Members of the Committee who are elected officials on the local, county, state and national levels are not exempt from this provision.

Article III, Officers

The officers of the Municipal Committee shall be the following: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and immediate past chair. The Chair shall be the executive officer of the Committee; shall preside at all Municipal Committee meetings; shall be an ex-officio member of all sub-committees; shall appoint the chairs and members of each sub-committee; and shall countersign all checks in excess of two hundred dollars ($200). The Vice-Chair shall serve as an ex-officio member of all sub-committees; and shall perform other duties assigned by the Chair. In addition, the Vice-Chair shall conduct meetings and otherwise assume the role of Chair in the Chair's absence. The Secretary shall serve as recorder at each Municipal Committee meeting; shall be responsible for keeping all Municipal Committee records and documents, which shall be made available, within a reasonable amount of time, upon request by any member of the Municipal Committee. The Treasurer shall keep the funds of the Municipal Committee on deposit in a bank; shall keep the record of these funds and their disbursement; shall sign all checks; shall keep all receipts for expenditures; and shall disburse no more than one hundred dollars ($100) without specific authority from the Municipal Committee.

Officers shall turn over all records, documents and other official papers to the Municipal Committee upon completion of their term of office. The Municipal Committee may remove an officer for inaction or impropriety. The removal requires a two-thirds vote at a meeting in accordance with the procedure in Article II. Such action requires a seven (7) day written notice. Should an officer be removed, the Municipal Committee shall fill the vacancy at the next regular meeting following the removal.

Article IV, Sub-Committee Representatives

The Executive Committee, on an as-needed basis, will determine the number of sub-committee representatives of the Brewer Democratic Municipal Committee. A sub-committee representative will be one person who will assume a leadership role for a particular project, activity, or program. Following are suggested areas for which a sub- committee representative may be appointed: Finance, Party Development, Campaign, Special Projects, Caucus and Communications.

A Finance committee representative shall be responsible for organizing all fundraising activity, and shall keep track of the financial situation of the Municipal Committee.

A Party Development committee representative shall be responsible for seeking ways to increase enrollment in the Democratic Party and expanded membership in the Municipal Committee.

A. Campaign committee representative shall be responsible for assessing ways in which to help elect Democrats to office by studying campaigning methods and strategies. This committee representative shall present a report of its recommendations at least three (3) months prior to each November election. The report shall be made available to Democratic candidates for their campaign.

A Special Projects committee representative shall recommend ways in which the Municipal Committee can provide service to the Brewer area. Such service may take the form of charitable activity or involvement in community projects.

A Caucus committee representative will handle the details of caucus arrangements and formulate caucus procedures within the party rules. The membership of the Caucus committee representative shall be responsive to the needs of the political campaigns and issues likely to come before the caucus. The caucus committee representative shall make recommendations to the Municipal Committee.

A Communications committee representative shall disseminate information from the full Committee to both internal and external audiences. The Communications committee representative shall recommend to the full Committee appropriate and comprehensive policies and procedures. These policies and procedures once adopted will then be implemented and monitored by the Communications committee representative.

Article V, Elections

The Brewer Democratic Municipal Committee shall elect its officers biennially at the regularly scheduled February meeting of even numbered years. All elections shall be conducted by a method determined by a majority of the caucus members present. Nominations will be accepted from the floor until no further nominations are made. In the event of a candidate replacement caucus and election, the rules in Attachment A shall be utilized.

Article VI, Biennial Caucuses

The Municipal Committee shall conduct its biennial caucus in accordance with established rules of the Democratic State Committee.

Article VII, Miscellaneous Provisions

Unless otherwise stated in these By-Laws, all meetings of the Municipal Committee and its biennial caucus shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order. A roll call vote may be called by one third of the members in attendance for those motions not requiring a roll call vote for passage. No officer or member of the Democratic Municipal Committee other than the Treasurer as outlined in Article II may contract financial obligations for the Committee without the specific directive of the Committee.

Article VIII, Amendments

Any member of the Brewer Democratic Municipal Committee may submit a written amendment to these Bylaws. It shall be read at two (2) separate meetings of the Municipal Committee, which shall be held at least seven (7) days apart. Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Committee members present and voting.


Attachment A

Candidate Replacement Caucus Rules:

1. Candidates names will be placed in nomination, with nominating statements (3 minutes for each.)

2. Each nominated candidate will have an opportunity to speak (5 minutes for each.)

3. Voting by the electors will be by secret, written ballot.

4. The Chair will appoint two non-voting Committee members to count the votes and provide the Chair, in writing, with the name of the candidate receiving the most elector votes. The Chair will announce the results. (Ballots will be available for inspection after the meeting has adjourned.)

5. Should the vote be tied, the Chair will select a Committee member to publicly toss a coin to determine the successful nominee.

Paul Davis, Chair
January 31, 2010