The Miami-Dade Democratic Party will hold it's Re-organizational Meeting (aka DEC elections) on Tuesday, December 6 at the AFL-CIO union hall located at 4349 NW 36 street, Miami Springs, FL 33166. The doors will open at 6pm for Registration and Mix/Mingle and the meeting will start promptly at 7pm.

Agenda

1. Invocation
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4. Credentials Report
   • Swearing-in DEC members
5. Election of Chair
6. Election of State Committeewoman
7. Election of State Committeeman
8. Election of First Vice Chair
9. Election of Secretary
10. Election of Treasurer
11. Election of Outreach Vice Chair
12. Election of Programs Vice Chair
13. Swearing-in of DEC Officers

Voting Members: Only members elected in the August 30, 2016 Democratic Primary (including precinct committeemembers who ran unopposed) may run for the offices to be elected at the Reorganizational Meeting. The list of 2016 DEC elected members can be found at the Supervisor of Elections website here. And only these elected members and Automatic Members (see below) may vote at this meeting. Please bring some form of identification to the meeting to facilitate the check-in process.

Voting Procedure: Each DEC member may cast only one vote. Voting shall be conducted by signed, written ballots (no secret ballot). A majority of votes (of valid ballots cast) is required to elect each officer. In the event that no candidate receives a majority of votes cast, an additional ballot (a run-off) will be conducted between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes. After the meeting has been called to order and quorum has been reached, members that cannot stay for the duration of the re-organizational meeting will be allowed to cast their ballots for the remaining elections.

Running for an Officer Position: The DEC Elections Committee is printing ballots in advance. If you intend to run for a DEC officer position please email [email protected] by Thursday, December 1 at Noon EST. If you miss this deadline, you can still be nominated from the floor (during the meeting) but your name will not be printed on the ballot. Once you submit your name, it will appear below.

Nominating Rules & Time Limits for Speeches: A member need not be recognized by the Chair to make a nomination, and a second is not required. A member may nominate himself or herself. Speeches for nominating and seconding will be limited to 1 minute each, and remarks by the candidate will be limited to 2 minutes. Please note, only voting members (elected and automatic) may make nominations.

Loyalty Oath Requirement: To be eligible to vote at the DEC Reorganizational Meeting, members are required to file a loyalty oath not later than prior to the time the DEC Reorganizational Meeting is called to order, ie 12/06 at 7pm. If a member's loyalty oath is on file with the DEC, it is not necessary to complete and file a new oath. The FDP does not require elected Democratic officials who serve as automatic members to file a loyalty oath. You can download a loyalty oath here. Please email your completed loyalty oath before 5pm on Monday, December 5th to [email protected]. Otherwise, you can fill out your loyalty oath in-person at the meeting.

If you cannot attend, you can complete a Proxy: A DEC member, who, for any reason, is unable to attend the county's Re-organizational Meeting, may execute a written proxy. A precinct committee member must designate a Democrat residing in their same precinct as their proxy. An automatic member must designate a Democrat residing in their same district (and county) as their proxy. The person holding the proxy may not already be a voting DEC member. A proxy must be sworn before a notary public or validated by two registered Democrats signing as witnesses. A proxy must be submitted in writing to the DEC Chair or DEC Elections Committee Chair prior to the time the meeting is called to order. You can download a proxy form here. Please email your completed proxy form before 5pm on Monday, December 5th to [email protected]. Otherwise, you can present a proxy form in-person at the meeting.

Description of Responsibilities of DEC Officers (DEC Bylaws: Article II, Section 2)

2.1 The Chair shall be the chief executive and presiding officer of the County Executive Committee and shall have all the authority to make decisions for the County Executive Committee between meetings of the Steering Committee and County Executive Committee that are not inconsistent with statute, established policy, or these Bylaws.

2.1.1 The Chair shall appoint a Parliamentarian, a General Counsel, and a Sergeant-at-Arms. These officers serve at the pleasure of the Chair, and enjoy all privileges and responsibilities of Appointed At-Large Membership, and need not otherwise be Elected Members.

2.1.2 The Chair shall appoint and has the authority to remove all committee chairs and members.

2.1.3 The Chair shall hire as many staff members as deemed necessary or as finances will allow, with the consent of the Steering Committee.

2.1.4 The Chair shall perform such other duties as prescribed by law, or which are usual to such office.

2.2 The First Vice Chair shall assist the Chair and shall have the duties and authority implied by that title, assigned by the Chair, or specified by these Bylaws. The First Vice Chair shall preside over the meetings of the County Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair.

2.3 The Program Vice Chair shall assist the Chair and the First Vice Chair in matters relating to programming and the other Committee activities that enhance the effectiveness of the Democratic Party.

2.4 The Outreach Vice Chair shall assist the Chair and the First Vice Chair in matters relating to outreach and other Committee activities that promote and improve the impact of the Democratic Party in the community, among elected officials, and within the Democratic Party.

2.5 The Secretary shall keep records of attendance at all meetings of the County Executive Committee and the Steering Committee, take minutes at these meetings, and transcribe such minutes for presentation to the Committees. The Secretary shall have the duties and authority implied by such title, assigned by the Chair, or specified by these Bylaws.

2.6 The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping accurate financial records of the County Executive Committee and the Steering Committee; shall keep an accurate, complete, and permanent record of all receipts and disbursements; shall issue all checks for the disbursing of funds; and shall prepare and file all financial reports required by law.

2.7 The State Committeewoman and State Committeeman shall serve as liaison between the State of Florida Democratic Party and the county DEC; liaison between the county DEC and the clubs; members of the State Executive Committee and county DEC Steering Committee; members of the county DEC Campaign Committee; and members of other committees as designated by the DEC Charter and Bylaws.

Automatic Members:
Please note: members can only cast one vote. If an elected precinct committee member is also an automatic member, they cannot cast two votes. They will only be casting a single vote.

1. All Democratic State Senators and Democratic State Representatives residing in Miami-Dade County.
   • State Senator Oscar Braynon
   • State Senator Daphne Campbell
   • State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez
   • State Representative Joe Geller
   • State Representative Sharon Pritchett
   • State Representative Barbara Watson
   • State Representative Cynthia Stafford
   • State Representative David Richardson
   • State Representative Kionne McGhee
   • State Representative Roy Hardemon
   • State Representative Nick Duran
   • State Representative Daisy Baez
   • State Representative Robert Asencio
2. Presidents of duly chartered Democratic Clubs, Presidents of chartered local Democratic caucus chapters, and the President of the Miami-Dade County Young Democrats all of whom must resident in Miami-Dade County.
   • Downtown Democrats President George Abbott
   • Democrats of South Dade Club President Bob Goldstein
   • Haitian-American Democratic Club President Jacques Despinosse
   • Liberty City Democratic Club President Roy Hardemon
   • Miami Beach Democratic Club President Christine Florez
   • Miami Gardens Democratic Club President Edith Owens
   • North Shore Democratic Club President Barbara Cohen
   • Democratic Club of Sunny Isles Beach President Lew Thaler
   • Dominican American Democratic Club President America Schroh
   • Venezuelan American Democratic Club President Carlos Pereira
   • Democratic Disability Caucus of Miami-Dade President Ron Fulton
   • Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Miami-Dade President Leonarda Buike Duran
   • Miami-Dade Young Democrats President Aaron McKinney
   • Freedom Democrats (LGBT caucus) President William Wells
   • South Dade Democratic Black Caucus Ron Brown Chapter President Chester Fair
   • Democratic Woman's Club President Winnie Tang
   • Cuban American Democratic Club President Hector Caraballo

Resources:

• The complete "Reorganizational Meeting Guidelines and Procedures" handbook can be found here.
• The bylaws of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party can be found here.
• The bylaws of the Florida Democratic Party can be found here.
• DEC Elections Committee Chair is Christine Florez and can be contacted at [email protected]
• Questions can also be emailed to [email protected]

Candidates for the 2016 DEC Elections
The following members have formally submitted their names as candidates. If your name is not below, your name will not be printed on the ballot. Please email [email protected] with the position(s) you will run for and it will be added below. 

Election of Chair

• Dr. Mae Christian
• Juan Cuba
• Dr. Leonarda Duran
• Tony Diaz
• Ernesto Fernandez
• Fred Frost
• Millie Herrera
• Rafael Velasquez
• Elizabeth Washington-Wells

Election of State Committeewoman

• Dr. Mae Christian
• Francesca Menes
• Elizabeth Judd
• Bess McElroy
• Elizabeth Rodriguez
• Elizabeth Washington-Wells

Election of State Committeeman

• Bret Berlin

Election of First Vice Chair (female, if Chair is male)

• Dr. Mae Christian
• Elizabeth Washington-Wells
• Dotie Joseph

Election of First Vice Chair (male, if Chair is female)

• Dwight Bullard
• Rubin Young

Election of Secretary

• Anaruth Solache
• Zenia Perez

Election of Treasurer

• Carlos Condarco
• Arthur Costa

Election of Outreach Vice Chair

• Alex Flores
• Erika Grohoski Peralta
• America Schroh
• Asriele Stubbs

Election of Programs Vice Chair

• Chris Riker
• Jonathan Fernandez