United Democratic Campaign Enablement Act

Drafted and sponsored by Roger Wert, 2 May 1991.

Amended by ad-hoc committee, 9 July 1991, and presented to SCCDCC 11 July 1991 for further comments.

Revised by SCCDCC Executive Board, 15 July 1991, based on comments from SCCDCC 11 July 1991 meeting, and presented to SCCDCC 1 August 1991 for approval.

Substitute proposal made by Roger Wert and passed by the SCCDCC, 1 August 1991.

Revised by James Thurber, et al., 12 July 1993, for presentation to SCCDCC 2 September 1993.

Amended and adopted by the SCCDCC, 2 September 1993.

Amended by SCCDCC, 3 August 1995.

I. Name and Purpose

I.A. This Act shall create, define, and regulate the Santa Clara County United Democratic Campaign (UDC).

I.B. The UDC shall be an on-going organization functioning as the official Democratic Party campaign arm of the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee (SCCDCC).

I.C. The UDC shall secure funding for and establish and conduct an extensive voter registration program and get-out-the-vote field operation for election campaigns. As funding and staff permit, the UDC shall operate campaign headquarters within the county, providing services to endorsed Democratic nominees.

I.D. The UDC shall coordinate its activities during election campaigns with the SCCDCC and the official organization(s) of the California Democratic Party (CDP), the National Democratic Party, and endorsed Democratic nominees for local, state-wide and national office.

I.E. The UDC shall coordinate its activities with local area Democratic clubs, affinity groups, and Assembly District Committees.

 II. Organization II.A. The UDC shall be organized no later than February  in even-numbered years; such organization shall remain in effect until the next organization.

II.B. The UDC Chair and UDC Treasurer shall be appointed by the County Chair and approved by the SCCDCC.

II.C. The Steering Committee of the UDC shall consist of the following five persons:

 
II.C.1. UDC Chair   II.C.2. UDC Treasurer.

II.C.3. One representative of the Central Labor Council of Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, AFL-CIO, nominated by the  Central  Labor  Council  and approved by the SCCDCC.

II.C.4. One member of SCCDCC, nominated by the County Chair after consultation with the Executive Board, and approved by the SCCDCC.

II.C.5. One at-large representative, nominated by the County Chair after consultation with the Executive Board, and approved by the SCCDCC.

  II.D. If, for any reason, one person holds more than one of the offices in the above section C, that person may hold only one seat on the UDC Steering Committee. The County Chair shall appoint replacement(s) for any additional seat(s), with approval of the SCCDCC Executive Board.

II.E. If, for any reason, any of the offices in the above section C are vacant, the County Chair shall appoint replacement(s) to the UDC Steering Committee for such offices with approval of the SCCDCC Executive Board.

II.F. The UDC Steering Committee shall be responsible for organizing and developing policy for all UDC activities.

II.G. Each UDC Steering Committee member serves  at  the pleasure of the respective appointing authority.

  II.H. The Executive Committee shall serve in the capacity of a personnel committee to hire, discipline, direct, supervise, and discharge staff to carry out UDC functions.

II.I. The UDC Chair shall submit copies of all minutes and the UDC Treasurer shall submit financial records to the SCCDCC Executive Board for review. The County Chair shall report monthly to the SCCDCC on all UDC activities.

 III. Finances III.A. The Finance Director of the SCCDCC, in cooperation with the UDC Treasurer, shall be responsible for raising funds to finance the planned activities of the UDC. However, it is understood that all members of the UDC will cooperate in this vital activity.

III.B. The UDC Treasurer shall establish bank accounts for UDC funds in accordance with FEC and FPPC regulations and shall deposit and pay out moneys from these accounts in accordance with State and Federal Regulations and the UDC Budget and other instructions from the Executive Committee. The Treasurer, Chair and one other member of the Executive Committee shall have check signing power with the Treasurer the primary signer. One signature will be required on checks under $5,000; two signatures on checks of $5,000 and higher.

III.C. Transfer of funds from the UDC to the SCCDCC to meet legitimate expenses that fall under this UDC Act, shall be requested by the Executive Board of the SCCDCC and approved by the Steering Committee of the UDC.

III.D. The UDC Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping proper financial records as required by the FEC and the FPPC and filing all required reports with these two bodies.

III.E. In the event of complete dissolution of the UDC, all excess funds shall revert to the SCCDCC.

 IV. Meetings IV.A. The Steering Committee shall convene as necessary to conduct business, and may hold closed meetings.

IV.B. A quorum of fifty percent plus one of the Steering Committee's actual membership is required to transact business.

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This page was last updated 27 April 1999.