I. Ward System.

A. Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County adopts and adheres to the Ward system for the organization and conduct of county party affairs, election of Precinct and Ward officers, County Central Committee members, and delegates to any meeting or convention of the State Party, as determined by State Party rules.

B. Specifically, pursuant to the aforementioned State Party rules as those rules address the Ward system, the County Party creates three Wards: I, II, and III; each of which shall include respectively all Precincts that are included by law in Rio Arriba County Commission Districts I, II, and III.

C. The County Chair shall announce and call combined Ward and Precinct meetings, as required by the state Party rules, so that such meetings occur prior to, and/or concurrent with, any meeting or convention of the County Central Committee and/or as may otherwise be required by the State Party rules governing:

1. the election of county party officers statewide,
2. the election of State Central Committee members by the county parties statewide,
3. or the election of delegates statewide to any State Party convention.

D. The County Party Chair or the chair of any Ward may, from time to time, call a meeting of that Ward and its constituent Precincts for other purposes including party organizing and building, fund-raising, campaigning for Democratic general election candidates, adoption of resolutions, and other matters related to the affairs of that Ward of the county, state and national Democratic Parties in general.

The County Party Chair or chair of any Ward promulgating any such call must ensure that notice of the call reaches Democrats registered to vote in those Rio Arriba County wards or Precincts covered by the call by the best means available to the officer issuing the call including newspaper insertions, broadcast media announcements, Internet social media postings, telephone lists, e-mail lists, or mailing lists as compiled from sign-in sheets completed by those attending any prior County or State Democratic Party meetings or conventions.

II. Principal Officers, Secondary Offices, County Central Committee Membership.

A. Elected Principal Officers. Specifically, pursuant to the aforementioned State Party rules as those rules address officers of county parties, the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County creates the following elected principal offices listed below, the holders of which shall be members of the County Central Committee and who shall serve by election to those positions by the County Central Committee.

Chair.

The Chair shall be the chief executive of the County Party. The duties / authorities / roles of the Chair are determined by the State Party rules.

First Vice Chair.

The duties / authorities / roles of the First Vice Chair are determined by the State Party rules and any additional duties / authorities / roles of that officer are determined solely at the discretion of the County Party Chair.

B. Appointed Principal Officers. The Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County creates the following appointed principal officers listed below, the holders of which shall be members of the County Central Committee and who shall serve by appointment to their offices by the County Party Chair. These officers serve at the pleasure of the County Party Chair and their duties, are determined by these County Party rules. Additional duties [of] these officers may be determined by the County Party Chair.

None of these appointed officers need necessarily have been previously elected members of the County Central Committee prior to his/her appointment by the County Party Chair

Treasurer.

Secretary.

Chair of the Rules Committee of the County Central Committee, who shall also serve as the County Party Parliamentarian and Consigliere to the County Party Chair and County Central Committee.

Chair of the Platform & Resolutions Committee of the County Central Committee.

The chairs of the Rules Committee and the Platform & Resolutions Committee may be the sole members of those committees, but the County Party Chair may appoint vice chairs and additional members of those committee at his/her discretion.

If the County Chair does so appoint vice chairs of those aforementioned committees (Rules and Platform & Resolutions), those officers will assume membership on the County Central Committee and will succeed to the position of chairs of the committees in question in the event of a vacancy in the office of chair of those committees.

Any other members of those committees, so appointed by the County Party Chair, need not be County Central Committee members to serve as members of the Rules and Platform & Resolutions Committees, but they must be registered to vote as Democrats in Rio Arriba County.

Second Vice Chair.

At the discretion [of] the County Chair, he/she may appoint a Second Vice Chair, who must be of the same gender as the County Chair. Appointment of the Second Vice Chair, if the County Chair elects to do so, must occur within 180 days of the last preceding odd-number year County Central Committee convention.

The duties / authorities / roles of the Second Vice Chair are solely determined by the County Chair, to whom the Second Vice Chair is directly responsible, and as may be determined by any State Party rules governing the role of second vice chairs that the county parties statewide may choose to select.

C. Secondary Officers. All Ward Chairs, Ward Vice Chairs and members of the County Central Committee representing the various precincts, as determined by the allotment formula pursuant to State Party rules, are the County Party secondary officers.

That allotment formula is to be determined, prior to the odd-number year County Central Committee Convention, by the County Party Chair and/or a qualified officer or staff member of the State Party.

The aforementioned secondary officers shall assume the duties of their offices and assume membership on the County Central Committee immediately upon their election at Ward or Precinct meetings or by appointment — in the instance of a vacancy in the office that may exist subsequent to those meetings — by the County Party Chair.

For purposes of compliance with laws and regulations of the governments of the state of New Mexico or the United States, any “secondary officer” of the County Party, is not considered a political party “officer” as defined by the laws and regulations of those governmental entities.

The County Party Chair shall fill, by appointment, the aforementioned offices, in which a vacancy may exist by virtue of:

1. the failure of a Ward or Precinct to conduct a meeting pursuant to the call of the County Party Chair or a Ward Chair, or
2. the failure of any Ward or Precinct to elect the officers and/or all of the members of the County Central Committee to which that Ward or Precinct is entitled, or
3. the resignation of any previously-serving officer [or] Precinct member of the County Central Committee, or
4. the removal of any of the previously serving aforementioned officers, according to State Party rules.

E. County Central Committee Membership. Specifically, pursuant to the State Party rules as those rules address membership of county party central committees statewide, the County Party includes in the membership of the County Central Committee the following individuals:

1. All principal and secondary officers mentioned above in sub-paragraphs II(A)(B)(C);
2. All members of either chamber of the New Mexico Legislature residing within Rio Arriba County and who are registered to vote as Democrats in Rio Arriba County and who are members of the Democratic Caucus in their respective chamber of the Legislature;
3. All members of the Rio Arriba County Board of County Commissioners who are registered to vote as Democrats in Rio Arriba County.

The aforementioned legislator and county commissioner members of the County Central Committee, holding such membership by virtue of that status, are only subject to removal from the County Central Committee membership for nonconformity with those requirements, which is cause for automatic removal from membership on the County Central Committee.

Otherwise, the removal of any member of the County Central Committee [or] officer may only be accomplished in accordance with State Party rules addressing such a removal.

F. County Central Committee Quorum. A quorum of the County Central Committee for the purpose of conducting any official business at any meeting of this body is the number of members in attendance at such a meeting, as called by the County Party Chair, and for which the County Party Chair has, with due diligence, [given] sufficient advance written or published notice of that call, including the time and date of such meeting, to all members of the County Central Committee.

G. County Central Committee Executive Committee. Pursuant to State Party rules, the County Central Committee may establish an Executive Committee, the powers and duties of which are articulated within the State Party rules.

The membership of the Executive Committee consists of all of the aforementioned elected and appointed County Party principal officers and the chairs and vice chairs of each of the three Wards.

A quorum of the Executive Committee for conducting any business at such a called meeting is one-third of the total number of members of the Executive Committee.

The County Party Chair may determine additional powers and duties of the Executive Committee. The County Party Chair has the sole authority to call a meeting of the Executive Committee.

III. Additional Official Positions — Committee Membership.

A. The County Party Chair may establish, at his/her discretion, additional County Party committees and appoint the chairs, vice chairs, and members of those committees. The members and chairs of these committees must be Democrats registered to vote in Rio Arriba County, but need not be members of the County Central Committee.

B. Such additional committees, as described in the preceding paragraph above, may also be created via a note of authorization by the County Central Committee. In that instance, the appointment of the chair, vice chair, and members of these committees is by the County Party Chair and these appointees need not be members of the County Central Committee.

IV. Formal Date of Adoption of Resolution/Rules by the County Central Committee.

This resolution adopted by unanimous vote of the membership of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County, meeting in regular session on June 1, 2019.

The Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County did adopt by majority voice vote certain amendments, offered verbally, to the proposed rules that were under consideration and presented to the membership that day (6/1/19), including:

1. a perfecting amendment to allow administrative correction of any minor typographical and/or grammatical errors and/or minor elimination of superfluous words from the text or the inadvertent omission of words in the text as originally presented,
2. an amendment regarding the creation of the position of Second Vice Chair,
3. an amendment setting the quorum for conduct of business by the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County allowing administrative alteration of the text as presented.

The text of the above rules reflects the adoption [of] those amendments and follows their intent by administrative correction/alteration in keeping with the discussion and approval of those amendments by the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County.

We Hereby Attest:

[signed: Joann V. Salazar]

Chair of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County County Central Committee

[signed: Clarissa S. Durán]

Secretary of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County County Central Committee

[signed: J. Arnold]

Chair of the Rules Committee of the Democratic Party of Rio Arriba County County Central Committee