Thanks to Pat Tucker, who has served as our Chair since 2020. We’re excited that she’s moving on to the next chapter of her life, attending law school. This means that we need a partial reorganization, as our Vice Chair, Karen Lansing, will also be resigning. We will need to fill these slots.
If you want a chance to influence the local party, you can run for an open officer position. At this time, we expect those positions to be:
- Chair
- Vice Chair
If you want to be an officer, you DON’T need to be a precinct captain. You do, however, need to be a registered Democrat.
That’s right: anyone can be an officer — as long as they’re registered as a Democrat. This is a STATE LAW. The County Elections office will notify us if you aren’t registered as a Democrat.
In order to run as an officer, you must be nominated and seconded by precinct captains or current county committee officers. Come prepared with a statement as to why you want to run as an officer and your qualifications. Contact a Precinct Captain or officer to ask if they are willing to nominate you, and contact another to ask if they are willing to second you. You can see the list of current officers and precinct captains onlinne.
Bonneville County Democrats Officer Positions: Description and Roles
If you’re interested in running for a position, here’s what you need to know about each role. Officers are voting members of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee (see more in our bylaws) and are expected to attend as many Central Committee meetings and Executive Committee meetings as possible.
Duties of the Chair
The Chair represents the “face” of the Bonneville Democrats. They should be willing to make alliances, raise the visibility of the Dems, speak to the press, coordinate with the IDP, and appoint committee chairs and members. The chair also:
- Serves as presiding officer at Central Committee meetings, and provides for a replacement (usually the Vice Chair) if they are absent.
- Submits the budget, as proposed by the Budget and Finance Committee.
- Does not vote in committee meetings, except to break a tie (the one exception is as a member of the Campaign committee).
- Ensure that a financial audit is completed.
Duties of the Vice Chair
Basically, the Vice Chair comes to meetings and acts as presiding officer in the absence of the Chair. If the Chair steps down or is otherwise unable to perform the duties, the Vice Chair serves as Acting Chair until a new Chair is chosen. The Vice Chair provides help and support to the Chair.
Duties of the Treasurer
The Treasurer acts as custodian of funds and property acquired by the Central Committee and maintains financial accounts and records. The Treasurer also:
- Prepares monthly budget reports.
- Submits the required Sunshine Reports.
- Leads the budget process.
Duties of the Secretary
The Secretary attends the Central and Executive Committee meetings and keeps notes and minutes. The Secretary should provide for a replacement when they aren’t there. Additionally, the Secretary is in charge of the preparation and distribution of previous meeting minutes and of meeting agendas.
State Committeeman and State Committeewoman
These two positions are to serve as liaisons between the County Central Committee and the State Central Committee. They are expected to attend State Central Committee meetings (or send proxies) and work to help strengthen the organization at the county level and the state level.
Legislative District Chairs
Serve as liaisons between the legislative districts and County Central committee. Because a leg district might be in more than one county, the chair should be prepared to help strengthen cross-county alliances and help support the counties involved.
Interested in Becoming a Precinct Captain?
Even if you weren’t elected as a Precinct Captain in 2020, you can be appointed as one. If you’re interested, contact an officer to find out whether there’s a vacancy in your precinct. It requires the vote of the Central Committee to install a Precinct Captain, but we will likely begin appointing Precinct Captains again following our September meeting.