RPA Goals:

The goals of the Richmond Progressive Alliance are to:
Restore Democratic Health
Develop Financial Health
Regain Environmental Health and Safety
Strengthen Social Justice
Bring Joy and Pride to Richmond

Our Motto: "A Better Richmond is Possible!"

Membership: Two types of memberships will exist in the RPA:
Individual membership and
Organizational membership.
Individual membership will be any person representing her/himself and joining the RPA
Organizational membership will be the membership of an organization joining the RPA

Active members are those who at any particular point in time have fulfilled the membership requirements listed below.
Non-active members are those who at one point in time were active members but who lost active status by not complying with one of the membership requirements listed below.
Aspiring members are those who have never been members and who are working on the
fulfillment of the membership requirements listed below.

Membership requirements:

To be an active member of the RPA an individual must pay a membership fee of $12 per calendar year, and attend at least 3 meetings in a calendar year.

To be an active member of the RPA an organization must pay a membership fee of $60 per calendar year, and have representative attend at least 3 meetings in a calendar year.

Attendance to RPA Committee meetings will be accepted and counted towards the fulfillment of the meeting attendance requirements for membership.

Members must be present to represent themselves and/or the one member organization they represent. No person can represent himself/herself and another individual member in the meetings. A person can represent himself/herself and one member organization in the meetings. A person can represent himself/herself and only one member organization per meeting.

Members must be present to vote.

At the beginning of each meeting the chairperson of the meeting will read aloud the most current list of active individual and organizational members. The minutes taker will also observe and record attendance.

Supporters:

Individuals and organizations who are supporters at large and interested in the activities and proposals of the RPA but opt to not become active members of the RPA, or who for whatever reasons do not comply with one of the basic requirements for membership will be considered “supporters", but not active members of the RPA. Supporters do not vote.

Meetings:

The power to make decisions resides in the General Membership meetings. General Membership meetings will be held monthly, unless otherwise voted by the general membership. All members, supporters and potential members are invited to attend General Membership meetings and to discuss and decide on issues of local, regional, national, and/or global concern. Only members will participate in the final decision making process (consensus/vote)

The meetings will be advertised to both members and supporters. Member individuals and organizations are encouraged to invite worthwhile progressive individuals and organizations to join the RPA and to attend RPA meetings. Potential participants to RPA meetings are encouraged to have an RPA member sponsor their participation and introduce them to the RPA.

Membership and Voting:

The Richmond Progressive Alliance will always strive for consensus on issues, but if consensus is not reached after a reasonable period of time, the Richmond Progressive Alliance may make a decision by a vote of those members present at a General Membership meeting. To accept a decision without consensus an 80% approval is needed. Each individual active member will have one vote (or an equal number of votes). Each of the active organization members will also have one vote (or an equal number of votes). In addition to voting as an individual active member, a person may vote on behalf of an active member organization that he/she represents,. Only one individual can represent each active organization and vote on behalf of the organization during a particular vote. Individual active members must be present to vote and cannot vote by proxy.

From time to time, the RPA will take stands on local or regional issues and/or make endorsements in local or regional elections. Only active members (both individuals and organizations), as of the date of the vote, may cast a vote on these matters

A basic quorum of ten active RPA members is required for approval of any decision.

Criteria for Endorsing Candidates:

The RPA encourages progressive candidates to run for office. The mater in which each progressive candidate chooses to run is his/her choice. However, the RPA believes that the inclusion of corporate donations into electoral campaigns so profoundly undermines the concept of democracy that we must oppose this practice and encourage progressive candidates to refuse all corporate contributions.

Therefore, the RPA will only consider for endorsement candidates for public office willing to pledge taking no contributions from “big business" (defined as any corporation with more than 50 employees).

Steps for Endorsing a Candidate:

To be endorsed by the RPA a progressive candidate for public office must
a) Agree with the platform of the RPA as it is at the time of candidacy
b) Sign the pledge of no money from “Big Business" (<50 employees)
c) Answer in writing a candidate’s questionnaire
d) Be interviewed and approved for endorsement by active members present and voting; the vote will come by consensus or by a minimum of an 80% affirmation vote of the active members present at the endorsement meeting. A meeting for an endorsement vote must be announced with at least a week notice and requires a quorum of at least 10 active members present and voting.

Steering Committee Election:

The Richmond Progressive Alliance will elect a five-member Steering Committee (SC) to oversee the day-to-day operations of the RPA and make urgent decisions that cannot reasonably wait for the next general meeting.

Steering Committee members will serve for a period of one year. Elections will be held at the January General Membership meeting. Only RPA members will vote for SC.
RPA membership is also required to be a candidate for the SC.

Election Process:

Each individual member and each organization member attending the January General Membership meeting may cast up to five votes by paper ballot for the Steering Committee.

Members may not cast more than one vote for a single candidate.

Members can cast a vote for themselves if they are candidates.

Members may cast fewer than five votes.

Only RPA members can be candidates to the Steering Committee (core RPA members
In the first [2006] election).

Candidates must be present for the election and agree to be candidates.

The five candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the RPA Steering Committee.

In case of a tie vote, a run-off election will be held to break the tie.

The first RPA Steering Committee will be elected during the January 2006 Core meeting.

All 2004-2005 RPA Core members who choose to pay the $12 for membership into the RPA will be able to cast a vote for the SC.

In subsequent elections of the Steering Committee, participation in at least three general membership meetings in the 12 month period preceding the SC election will be required for candidacy to the Steering Committee. Candidates don’t have to be present at the meeting in which the SC is elected, but presence at such meeting is required for anyone wishing to cast votes to elect the SC.

Powers:

The Steering Committee is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the RPA, including RPA meeting planning, RPA endorsements of community events, press releases, community outreach, and finance decisions.

The Steering Committee may appoint general members of the RPA to help with activities. The steering committee has the power to take stands on issues or make endorsements of events, (but NOT candidates) only when urgent circumstances do not permit delaying the matter until the next General Assembly meeting. All actions of the steering committee require either consensus or at least four votes (80 percent) and the SC may choose its own way of voting (by a meeting, phone, e-mail, etc.).

RPA Treasurer:

The General Assembly will appoint one member of the RPA to function as the RPA treasurer and to learn and navigate the group financial aspects within all the requirements of federal, state and local laws. The treasurer will be appointed for a year and the appointment can be renewed without term limits.

Meetings Coordinator:

The General Assembly will appoint one member of the RPA to the function of RPA Meetings Coordinator and to help prepare the RPA monthly general membership meetings both in format and content. The meeting coordinator will also arrange for minutes of each General Assembly to be taken and distributed to members before the next meeting. Each meeting will include a review, correction and approval of the past meeting’s minutes.

Resignation:

If a Steering Committee member resigns mid-term, an election will be scheduled for an upcoming General Membership meeting. The person elected will serve out the remainder of that one-year term. If a Steering Committee member fails to attend three consecutive unexcused General Membership meetings, that person is assumed to have resigned from the Steering Committee and an election will be held to fill that vacancy.

Committees:

The RPA will divide and assign the tasks of the organization to different committees
including but not limited to the Finances Committee, the Events Committee, the Communications Committee, the Membership Committee and a Grievances Committee. Ideally a member of the SC will be a member of each of these committees. The committees report to the general assembly and coordinate efforts through the SC.

Grievances:

When a member of the RPA has a grievance with any other member of the RPA he/she may request a hearing of the Grievance Committee and present the case to this committee. The Grievances Committee will invite the involved parties to work with and collaborate with the Grievances Committee in order to arrive to a resolution. The GC may make recommendations to the General Membership on how to proceed and what to request from the parties involved.

Representation:

Every member of the RPA can proudly and publicly state that he or she is a member of the RPA. That does not imply that he or she is officially speaking on behalf of the RPA. The RPA will be publicly represented only by members assigned to speak “on behalf of the RPA", but individual members and/or organization members can introduce themselves as “member of the RPA" when speaking. Membership does not mean that one speaks in an official capacity representing the RPA.

The process of designation of "RPA spokespersons" (speaking with official capacity on behalf of the RPA) will be worked out by the SC and approved by the general assembly meeting . The SC may decide to designate a particular person or persons to speak on behalf of the RPA for a period of time or for a single event.

Bylaws Revision:

In general, the review and changes of the RPA bylaws will be accepted by the Steering Committee and presented for discussion and vote once a year, in the first three months after the January General Membership meeting. These bylaws will only be revised by consensus or a vote of 80 percent or more of those members present at a General Membership meeting which has at least 10 members present. Any proposed revision of the bylaws will have a first reading with no further discussion during a first meeting and a second reading at the General Assembly meeting that follows. The second reading will be accompanied by discussion and a vote.

On occasion, under special circumstances, a petition to revise the bylaws which is endorsed by five members of the RPA and brought to the SC will be considered on an urgency bases and introduced at the next General Meeting. Specific bylaws changes are to be first introduced at the next General Membership meeting, and subsequently adopted or not adopted during the following General Membership meeting. If any modifications are made to the proposed bylaw changes at the second meeting, final adoption must be held over to the next subsequent meeting.