Operation of the State Party: Pretty Much Stay the Course

May 22, 2024

Delegates to the State Central Committee and to the State Convention were asked to consider changes to the Party Constitution and Bylaws. When all of the proposed changes were debated and the votes had been counted, little really changed.

Efforts to streamline the platform and refocus the resolution process were defeated. Changes intended to provide some discipline enforcement provisions, to resolve some overlapping jurisdictional issues, and to adjust financial and contractual restrictions to take inflation into account were rejected.

The 3^rd Congressional District would like to thank the following volunteers for their work on registration during the Convention: Zavier Bicott, Kimlinh Bui, Mark Dillon, Scott Graham, Loras Holmberg, Svetlana Jones, Elliott Loutsch, Michael Moesenthin, and Bill Swaim.

The delegates approved changes that:

 •  Clarify how State Central Committee meetings may be called

 •  Require criminal background checks be obtained on all candidates for State Party Chair and State Party Deputy Chair. All criminal convictions disclosed in their background checks must be disclosed to the State Central Committee Delegates and Alternates.

 •  Prohibit any State Party Officer from simultaneously holding the office of Congressional District Party Officer, Congressional District Representative on the State Executive Committee, or BPOU Chair.

Proposals were defeated to

•  Simplify the party platform, to move from a universal platform to a hierarchy of actions targeted to the legislative office that should work them.

•  Clarify how conventions are called and at what level endorsing conventions are called when endorsing district boundaries cross BPOU lines.

•  Provide means of disciplining member(s) of any MNGOP delegation if they act in an immoral or illegal manner, commit physical violence against another of seriously threaten another.

•  Reduce the number of mandatory State Central Committee meetings per year.

•  Enforce the restriction that the party’s date (including personal contact data) be used only for the specific purpose for which it was given.

•  Increase the value of contract obligation to $9,000 from $5,000 that can be undertaken by the state party without the advanced authorization of the State Executive Committee.

•  Increase the authority of the state party to sign a contract without State Executive Committee approval from one year to 18 months.