At the Snohomish County Reorg. meeting, the 'Order of the day' was amended so that lawfully required agenda items were handled first. That left, for one thing, the longest potential item to attend later.....the Bylaws. Actually, that was a good thing when you think about it. Bylaws can be amended anytime by the PCO (Central Committee).
Go to your county bylaws and Consider how the CENTRAL COMMITTEE, and the EXECUTIVE BOARD is made up. Then consider the powers (Duties) of each as detailed. The Central Committee is organized under provisions of the RCW, the State Party Bylaws, and finally under the County bylaws when approved. Next, understand that the PCOs are the voting public assembled by the general public elections. Personally, I view the PCOs being entrusted with a responsibility for considering, debating and voting up or down on the Bylaws and any notable function desired subsequent establishing their Bylaws.
Think of the Central Committee, with it PCO voting responsibility, relatable to the Legislature or Congress. And think of the Executive Board equivalent to the Executive Branch in all of our government from City to County and finally to federal. The Executive Branch is not Constitutionally empowered to create law without Congress: The Judicial Branch the same.
Your Bylaws should not allow the Executive Board to assume powers of creation without benefit of the PCO Central Committee consideration and vote in the absence of the PCOs. Your Bylaws may do just that. Instead, your Bylaws should do the same thing the Constitution does for the POTUS (Executive Branch). To answer that requirement go to Article 2, Section 3 of the US Constitution. It reads concerning the Powers and responsibility of the President the following:
"...He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed...."
If you study that phrase it means, that if he creates law without the legislative process, he does not "faithfully" create the law with his signature alone. If he affixes his signature to legislation from Congress with unConsitutional provisions, he is fails to execute the law "faithfully" as assigned by the Constitution requirement of the job.
The same applies, or should apply, to the Central Committee and the Executive Board.
An amendment(s) to the County Bylaws outlining the "Duties" of the Executive Board should not allow the Board to usurp the PCOs on an excuse that the PCOs are absent. Perhaps, the first Amendment should read something like this:
"Take care that the Programs, Functions, and Rules approved by the Central Committee are Faithfully Executed."
If no other amendment is made, this should offer convincing debate that consideration of any proposal need be submitted to the PCOs for debate and vote.
Here is my suggestion and sales offering to the PCOs.
Mr Chairman, I make this proposal to amend the Bylaws because mankind is most often a creature of pattern. Once a pattern is set, others follow along until the numbers become quite large without regard of its good or bad.
Our governments are set with patterns found in the Constitution. Among them is a pattern of Legislatures and Congress where law and rules are created by proposal, debated, and voted upon. Legislation approved is passed on to the Executive where it receives its required signature. And that is the process pattern where rules are Faithfully created and Faithfully followed. (Article 2, Section 3).
We are much like that pattern in the county Republican organization where the Central Committee could be compared with the congress or legislature; and the Executive Board is much like the Executive in our governments.
But we can find the Executive replacing the Central Committee, and Bylaws set to allow it when the PCOs are not present. Yet, the PCOs are present spread through only one county. All that need be done is to contact them, and organize a meeting and/or vote. It is this proposed amendment that will insure we follow the same pattern we expect of government to follow, where debate is found and a vote of direct representatives is made.
Thank you.
Well, there you go. A study of the Bylaws may show more corrections are needed. If we expect our city, state and federal government to abide by the patterns of the Constitution, maybe it's time to set the Constitutional pattern at local level.
Dave
