CONSTITUTION of the GREATER NEW ORLEANS GREEN PARTY

ARTICLE I: PURPOSE & VALUES

The Greater New Orleans Green Party is an alliance of citizens of the greater New Orleans area working to put into practice the basic values of the Green movement at the local, regional and global level.

We support the Ten Key Values of the Green movement: community-based economics, decentralization, ecological wisdom, feminism, future focus, global responsibility, grassroots democracy, nonviolence, respect for diversity (anti-racism), and social justice.

We wholeheartedly commit ourselves to using our time, our energy, and our resources to create a world that is just, free, democratic and ecologically sustainable.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

The Party enthusiastically welcomes all people from every race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social and economic status, religious and spiritual tradition, and having whatever particular abilities and disabilities.

Membership in the Greater New Orleans Green Party is open to those who support the Ten Key Values of the Green movement. Members may not be registered (to vote) with any other political party in the state of Louisiana. Additional membership requirements, as well as procedures for registration, deactivation or revocation of membership, may be specified in the Party's bylaws.

ARTICLE III: GENERAL MEETINGS

The Party shall establish a regular time and place for general meetings, which shall not be less frequent than four times per year. General meetings are open to all members, who are entitled to both voice and vote. General meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Party bylaws.

ARTICLE IV: DECISIONS

The Party membership has final authority on all decisions.

The Party's constitution may only be changed through a majority vote of the entire Party membership, which may be conducted via mail referenda or at any meeting where a sufficient number of members are present.

Certain decisions shall be made only at general meetings or through mail referenda of the Party membership. These include the election of Party officers, the endorsement of candidates for public office, the revocation or reinstatement of membership in the Party, and changes to the Party's bylaws. Proposed changes to the Party's bylaws must be read at two consecutive general meetings before they are adopted or rejected. The Party's bylaws may further define decision-making powers and limitations, but may not abridge the powers and limitations defined in this constitution.

ARTICLE V: DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES

Section 1: Simple Majority

Unless otherwise noted, all decisions are to be made by simple majority, that is, by vote of more than half of the eligible voters present.

Section 2: Freedom of Information

Meetings and records of finances, membership, and minutes of the Party shall be open to inspection by any member of the Party. Any Party meeting may be closed to non-members on a majority vote.

Section 3: Immediate Recall

The recall of any Party officer, coordinator or representative may be proposed at any general meeting. If the motion to consider the recall passes, a vote on whether or not to effect the recall will be taken at the next general meeting.

Section 4: Imperative Mandate

Official representatives and delegates of the Party may express personal opinions, but must act and vote within the guidelines established by the Party.

Section 5: Affirmative Action

The Party is committed to encouraging participation by all residents of the greater New Orleans area but in particular members of those groups which tend to be underrepresented in the dominant political and economic system: women, racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, and minorities of sexual orientation.

Section 6: Ends and Means

The Party shall employ a diverse array of nonviolent means in pursuing Green social change, such as rallies, demonstrations, boycotts, citizens' initiatives, civil disobedience, direct action, the building of alternative institutions, and electoral politics. We believe that the means that we use must reflect the values of compassion, cooperation, justice, respect and nonviolence that we seek to embody in the future Green society.

Done by the unanimous consent of the members present
the tenth day of March in the year two thousand and two,
in witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names,

Bart Everson
John Kearney
Drew D. Mc Gloth
Jason Basset
Antoinette Harrell-Miller
Joshua Scalf
John Clark
Heather Morgan
Evelyn Marie Goss
Steven Godfrey