Mark
Your Calendars! Organize Car Pools! Tell All Your
Friends! Don't Miss This One!!!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Labor Education Center,
New Brunswick, N.J.
2005 GPNJ Convention Pictures
The Green Party of New Jersey
("GPNJ") will hold its annual state convention on Saturday, April 23, 2005
at the Labor Ed Center in New Brunswick. We will be electing officers and
members of national committees, as well as considering changes to the
bylaws. There will also be several speakers from the GPNJ Speakers Bureau
and a discussion of the 2005 Electoral Strategy for the party.
If you plan to attend, please bring food, as
it is traditional to have a "working lunch". We place dishes to be shared –
vegetarian only – in the lobby area.
Convention Credentials: You must be a
paid-up GPNJ member in order to vote at the convention. Annual dues are $25
for regular dues, $10 for students and low income. New membership dues must
be sent in by March 23 in order to have a vote at the convention. Renewals
may be paid at the door.
The following is the agenda as it stands at
press time:
8:45am - 9:15am Registration
9:15am - 9:30am Opening remarks
9:30am - 10:30am Speakers
10:30am - 11:15am Elections to national committees
11:15am - 12:00pm Reports from Standing Committees
12:00pm - 1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm - 1:30pm Speakers
1:30pm - 2:00pm Election of state officers
2:00pm - 3:00pm Bylaws changes - see elsewhere in this publication for
the text of proposed changes to the GPNJ bylaws
3:00pm - 3:15pm Results of election of state officers
3:15pm - 4:00pm Politics! Including 2005 electoral strategy
4:00pm Closing remarks by the new chair
Be sure to check this page for
last-minute changes to Convention plans. See you there!
- - - - - - - - - -
Directions to the convention:
The Rutgers Labor Education Center is located at the corner of Ryders Lane
and Labor Center Way in New Brunswick, near the Cook College and Douglass
College campuses.
If driving, take the NJ Turnpike to exit 9; then Route 18 North (less than a
mile) to Route 1 South. Proceed slowly as you get onto Route 1 South,
because you want to make an IMMEDIATE right turn into the Sears parking lot.
At the very back-left corner of the Sears parking lot there is an outlet
road that leads directly toward the Labor Education Center parking lot (make
a quick left after exiting the Sears parking lot).
If you happen to miss the turn-off for Sears, stay in the righthand lane of
Route 1 and proceed to the first exit (less than 1 mile), which is: Ryders
Lane/New Brunswick. Proceed on Ryders Lane to the first intersection that
has a traffic light (about a half mile) and make a right turn. You will see
the Labor Education Center on your right.
From the south via the Garden State Parkway ("GSP"):
The easiest, although not totally direct, way to get from the GSP is to take
the GSP to I-287N / 440 (just after the big Driscoll Bridge at Perth
Amboy--stay right as you cross the bridge); take I-287N to the NJ Turnpike
south (watch for turnpike and I-95 signs)--it comes up pretty quickly after
you get on 287. Take the turnpike south to the New Brunswick (route 18) exit
and go north/west on route 18 briefly until you see the signs for Route 1
south. The Sears described in the directions above will be on your right,
followed shortly by the Ryders Lane exit--either will get you to the Labor
Ed center.
Via mass transit: Amtrak and NJ Transit trains stop in New Brunswick. The
New Brunswick train station is located at the corner of Albany Street and
Easton Avenue. From there take the "EE" Campus Bus, which runs every 10
minutes 9:10am-8:15pm, every 12 minutes 7am-9am, and every 20 minutes after
8:15pm. Cab service is available from the train station. Rutgers bus
schedules and maps available at http://gobble.rutgers.edu/newpats/bsched.htm
------------------------------------------
PROPOSED BYLAWS CHANGES
The following change to the bylaws comes from George DeCarlo,
Union County. It will be voted on at the GPNJ State Convention on April 23,
2005.
Rule for Succession Bylaws Amendment:
Under Section 5 Executive Committee –
Composition (e) the following statement shall replace the current language:
Succession shall proceed in the following manner for
Officers in the case of vacancy with the next lower position filling the a
vacancy above, or in the case of an officer or standing committee chair
choosing not to move up in the rank determined by this clause, moving to the
next position and so on. Officers succeeding positions shall perform all
the duties of and act in the full capacity of the position for the duration
of that vacancy. After the ranking list is exhausted, remaining vacancies
shall be filled by the Executive Committee by appointing a replacement to
serve for the unexpired remainder of that Officer’s term. Order of ranking
list: (1) Chair, (2) Vice Chair, (3) Second Vice Chair, (4) Secretary, (5)
Treasurer, (6) Membership Committee Chair, (7) Policy Committee Chair, (8)
Finance Committee Chair, (9) Communications Committee Chair
Further the following deletions will be
made:
Under Section 5.3 -- Vice Chair
and, in the event of
a vacancy in the office of Chair, perform all the duties of and act in the
full capacity of the Chair for the duration of that vacancy.
Under Section 5.4 – Second Vice Chair
and shall, in the
event of a vacancy in the office of Vice Chair, perform all the duties of
and act in the full capacity of the Vice Chair for the duration of that
vacancy.
The annual Convention of the Green Party of New Jersey is the one time each year Greens
from all over the state get together. Elections for officers for the upcoming year
are held at the convention, as are votes for amendments to the bylaws which establish the
procedures for how we do things. That's the serious business!
