Would you please give me, and anyone else interested, an update on the progress towards making E-Democracy a truly democratic organization?
This is a good question and has prompted me to try and follow-thru with some of the final steps that we need to take in establishing our chapter. I'm going to try and tackle this in four parts:
#1) Summary of our goals (history) #2) Where we are today #3) Highlights of constitution #4) How can you help?
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Summary of our goals (history)
-------------------------------------------------The St. Paul Issues Forum is currently a project of E-Democracy.Org. It is run and managed by a list manager, myself, who volunteers and serves at the discretion of the E-Democracy board. The list manager is subject to rules and processes established by the E-Democracy board, but as a matter of practice - is given a great deal of leeway to manage the forum with the input and participation of participants.
Attempts to establish E-Democracy projects in cities such as Chicago, have demonstrated that one weakness in our model - is that as they currently exist, most E-Democracy projects lack any FORMAL structure for local community input and guidance.
St. Paul has been working for at least the last 9 months at establishing a truly local chapter of E-Democracy that will be responsible for E-Democracy activities in our city. This will give local participants a much greater say in the direction of this list and the organization as a whole.
-------------------------------------------------
Where we are today
-------------------------------------------------We have actually made a great deal of progress towards the establishment of a local E-Democracy chapter. We have a draft constitution and by-laws ready (95%) for public discussion. Over the summer, the project stalled for scheduling reasons and personal distractions of my own. BUT, we should now be ready to carry this initiative through to its conclusion (timeline = 30-60 days).
What needs to happen:
1) Our steering committee needs to meet to approve
our DRAFT constitution and by-laws. 2) We need to give participants an opportunity to
comment on and make suggestions on how to improve
our DRAFT constitution and by-laws. 3) We need to hold a public meeting in which the
by-laws and constitution are formally approved
and our organization officially launched - AND
at which our executive committee is elected.-------------------------------------------------
Highlights of (DRAFT) constitution
-------------------------------------------------#1) It will create a 7 member Executive Committee of the local chapter, of which a majority of the "directors" will be elected by members of the St. Paul E-Democracy chapter.
#2) Individuals may become members of St. Paul E-Democracy by paying annual dues OR by volunteering for the organization.
#3) Projects like the St. Paul Issues Forum will remain open to anyone (public forums) regardless of their membership status in St. Paul E-Democracy.
------------------------------------------------- How Can You Help? -------------------------------------------------
#1) Don't hesitate to ask questions or give me a call to find out whats happening. Sometimes a question or comment from a participant can be instrumental. Bob's inquiry this morning has prompted me to refocus some of my attention on this effort.
#2) Watch for our public discussion of the draft Constitution and Bylaws and PLEASE, offer your suggestions and input.
#3) If you would like to be more involved in this process (and are not already), please contact me at: 651-643-0722 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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-- Tim Erickson List Manager St. Paul Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ Hamline Midway Resident 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
St. Paul Links - http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/links.html
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