West Sacramento Democrats, River City Democratic Club
Standing Rule 2021-1
Endorsement Process
ADOPTED November 8, 2021, REVISED September 27, 2023
1) The Campaign/Legislative Affairs Committee chair or their designee shall convene and Chair an Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee each election cycle to consider endorsements in partisan and non-partisan races that cover our area.
2) The full committee shall consist of no less than five members and may be up to fifteen members. When a candidate declares they are running for office, they cannot serve in this committee while running. Declare is defined as publicly stating an intent and/or pulling papers to run for office.
3) Members shall be named as soon as is practicable to meet the endorsement schedules.
4) The Chair shall submit to the River City Democratic Club of West Sacramento President a timeline which will include the date(s) of the meeting(s) where the endorsement will be considered by the full membership. This timeline will be shared with the membership.
a. Endorsement vote shall only take place no more than fourteen (14) days prior to final filing deadline for the office to be endorsed.
5) All known viable Democratic candidates in the elections included in the adopted timeline will be invited to participate in the endorsement process.
6) A motion for immediate action that waives the adopted timeline shall require advance notice of the full membership of at least four (4) days before the club meeting where this motion will be considered.
a. If there is less than four (4) days notice, a vote of two-thirds of the full membership would be required to waive the timeline.
7) Eligible candidates, including those being considered for immediate action, must submit a written questionnaire to the Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee prior to any interview or full committee action. These questionnaires will be for internal purposes only and will not be made public beyond the members of the West Sacramento Democrats, River City Democratic Club.
8) All candidates will be vetted by the Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee to ensure they are viable candidates that will support the goals and values of the Democratic Party. Candidate viability will be assessed following verification that they were registered under the Democratic Party prior to the most recent previous election.
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9) The Committee shall operate on a consensus basis where possible.
a. If there is not a consensus, only candidates who are deemed viable by at least 65% of Committee members present and voting shall be forwarded for consideration by the full membership.
b. Only Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee members who were present for all meetings conducted for a given race may vote on candidate viability in that race.
10) The Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee will report its recommendation(s) to the E-Board at the conclusion of the candidate viability selection process and/or interviews.
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a. Endorsements for local non-partisan offices shall be made and communicated to the Yolo Central Committee Chair as soon as practicable.
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b. The designated club representative to the Central Committee shall vote to reflect the Club’s endorsements.
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11) The Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee may recommend that no candidates are viable, or that multiple candidates are qualified to be presented to the River City Democratic Club. The Committee may also put forward more candidates than there are available seats.
12) Notice will be sent via email to all members of the full membership at least seven (7) days prior to the regularly scheduled full membership meeting at which the candidate(s) will be considered.
13) All candidates under consideration shall be presented at a club meeting following the vetting of all candidates for each office. Additional special club meetings shall be called as needed to ensure the endorsement process occurs in a timely manner.
14) The candidate interviews will proceed as follows:
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The Chair of the Endorsement and Candidate Development Committee or designated committee member will be responsible for conducting the interview.
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Each candidate will have 5 minutes to speak
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Three (3) interview questions will be solicited from the membership
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Each candidate for each office shall have the same number of questions and the same amount of time for introductory and closing remarks.
15) The club will then vote as follows:
a. All endorsements must be passed by a supermajority (2/3) of the members voting if there are ten (10) or fewer members present. Endorsements must be passed by a sixty percent (60%) majority for eleven or greater members present. Voting is defined as members in good standing that cast a Yes or No vote. Abstentions will not count towards the vote total.
b. A motion may be made to endorse one candidate, no candidates, or multiple candidates for any given office.
c. Endorsement of one candidate for an office does not preclude endorsement of an additional candidate for the same office.
d. All voting will be by roll call if called for by any voting member. There shall be no secret balloting. When video conferencing is used for a vote, voting members must have their camera turned on in order for their vote to be counted. Votes with cameras turned off will be deemed abstentions.
17) For candidates being considered for immediate action, the Executive Committee has discretion to determine whether a full candidate interview will occur or whether to use the questionnaire submitted to previous candidate(s) for the same office.
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18) No officer of the club may support any candidate not endorsed by the club in their official capacity.