SAN DIEGANS AGAINST CRIME
Political Action Committee
REVISED BY LAWS, EFFECTIVE MARCH 22, 2011
BY LAWS OF SAN DIEGANS AGAINST CRIME
ARTICLE I
Name and Definition
The name of this association shall be “San Diegans Against Crime” (hereafter “SDAC”). SDAC is a voluntary, non-profit, unincorporated association of San Diego County residents for the purposes of eradicating and preventing crime and supporting a fair and effective criminal justice system within the community. The association is intended to function as an independent political action committee. The SDAC is not affiliated with any political party of any candidate for public office and has been created to participate directly and indirectly in the political campaigns for elective office, or initiatives and propositions, and other acts of governance relevant to its purposes.
ARTICLE II
Authority
The association is created through the voluntary association of its membership. The participation of the San Diego County deputy district attorneys in SDAC is approved and sanctioned by the Deputy District Attorneys’ Association of San Diego County, which hereby initiates the association by unanimous consent of its Board of Directors. Said approval pledges the support of the Deputy District Attorneys’ Association and the support of its membership to the purposes of SDAC.
ARTICLE III
Purposes
The purposes of the SDAC are to:
(1) examine the performance of public officials relevant to the eradication and prevention of crime within the County;
(2) research and evaluate methodologies and public policies which effectively prevent, deter, and mitigate lawlessness;
(3) advocate positions consonant with the purposes of the organization in all governmental forms: the courts, local governmental bodies, state and federal public agencies and legislative bodies;
(4) educate the public about the consequences of alternative public policies relevant to public safety and to economic and other crime;
(5) participate directly and indirectly in political and issue campaigns; to recommend endorsement or opposition of or oppose candidates and political issues;
(6) promote the hiring and retention of quality peace and probation officers;
(7) assure the hiring and retention of quality professional and independent prosecutors (who represent “the People”) in the criminal justice system:
(8) represent and assist the victims of crime, particularly children, the elderly and the infirm;
(9) encourage the peaceful resolution of disputes and grievances, and nurture among the young a respect for the rights of others and the law;
(10) support private efforts and pubic policies which meaningfully rehabilitate offenders, or where public danger warrants, which assure their removal from society.
ARTICLE IV
Office of SDAC
The principle office address of SDAC shall be 4660 La Jolla Village Dr., Ste. 1080, San Diego, California, 92122.
ARTICLE V
Membership, Dues and Contributions, Terms
Section 1. Membership
Membership shall be available to all active and retired members of the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys’ Association (SDDDAA), and such other persons who subscribe to the purposes as enunciated in Article III of these by laws.
Section 1.A Active Membership
Active Membership is limited to those persons who are active or retired members of the SDDDAA.
Section 1.B Contributing Membership
Contributing Membership is open to those who subscribe to the purposes in Article III herein. The Board of Directors of SDAC may reject any candidate for contributing membership upon their making application, or if already a member, then on renewal of membership, provided however, that membership in SDAC shall not de denied to anyone on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, sex, gender, handicap, or national origin, or on any other basis violative of legal or constitutional right.
Section 2. Annual Dues.
Section 2A. Active Members.
The amount of annual dues for active members shall be set by the Board of SDAC.
Section 2B. Contributing Members.
Contributing members shall be subject to an annual dues structure as set forth below.
Annual dues structure for contributing members
Emerald Star members: $5000.00
Sapphire Star members: $2500.00
Ruby Star members: $1000.00
Topaz Star members: $500.00
Citrine Star members: $250.00
Family Star members: $100.00
Friendship Star members: $ 25.00
Section 3. Returned donations
Any contribution, or membership to which it pertains, not acceptable by the Board of Directors of SDAC shall not be accepted and/or shall be returned to the donor.
ARTICLE VI
Organization
The control and direction of SDAC is vested with a Board of Directors. The initial Board shall include no less than five nor more than thirteen members; from four to ten such members shall be selected by the Board of Directors of the SDDDAA and the remaining members shall be selected by the Board of SDAC. At least one member not serving as a deputy district attorney and not a member of SDDDAA shall be a member of the initial Board of SDAC.
Section 1. Selection of Board Members
Successor Boards shall consist of no fewer than nine (9) board members and no more than eleven (11) board members and shall be elected by the Board as follows:
Election of Successor Boards shall occur at the scheduled meeting prior to the annual meeting, and shall be by majority vote of a quorum of Board members attending. Terms shall be for two years, corresponding with the calendar year.
Replacement Board Members may be selected on an interim basis whenever there are vacancies on the Board. An individual may be nominated to serve on the Board of SDAC by three active members of SDAC or by three active members of SDDDAA, or by any member of the Board of Directors of SDAC or SDDDAA. The person nominated must be an active member of SDAC and SDDDAA. The person nominated must be elected by a majority of a quorum of the Board of SDAC at a regularly scheduled meeting.
The name or names of all persons nominated to be selected on an interim basis to fill a vacancy on the Board of SDAC, will be listed on a ballot. Each Board member will have the number of votes equal to the number of vacancies that are to be filled. (EX: One vacancy = one vote, two vacancies = two votes.) The Board members may cast only one vote per candidate for each of the number of votes available. The votes will go onto the ballot. The election will be done by secret ballot. Once the election is completed, the Secretary and Vice President, or in their absence their alternates as selected by the President, will gather the ballots, certify each ballot was properly filled out, and tally the votes. Improperly filled out ballots will not be counted. The person with the most number of votes will be elected to the vacancy on an interim basis. In the case of multiple vacancies on the same ballot the persons with the most votes will fill each of the vacancies. (EX: If two openings, the two top vote recipients will fill the vacancies, if three vacancies, the top three vote recipients will fill the vacancies.) In case of a tie for any vacancy there will be a re-vote for that vacancy only with the same procedure above. If there is another tie, the President, Vice-President, and Secretary will decide. The interim member will then serve out the remaining of the term of the vacancy, until the next scheduled election of directors and officers of the SDAC Board.
Any interim members of the Board of SDAC elected to the Board during the preceding year must be formally elected at the scheduled meeting prior to the annual meeting. The member’s term shall begin with and correspond with the calendar year.
Section 2. Removal of Board Members
Any Board member may be removed by a majority vote of a quorum of the Board for good cause. Good cause shall include, but is not limited, to the following:
a) Failure to retain active membership in the SDDDAA and SDAC.
b) Failure to attend more than 3 consecutive Board meetings.
The Board shall have control over the funds and affairs of SDAC and shall establish and carry out all policies and activities of the association. Terms shall be for two years, with one half of the initial members serving an initial term of one year. No person shall serve longer than ten years on the Board except by unanimous consent of the Board. The Board shall have the power to:
a) Hire or appoint such personnel, and enter into such contracts, as it deems necessary to carry out the purpose of SDAC;
b) Adopt and periodically review the budget;
c) Study all matters affecting crime within the County;
d) Establish voluntary contributions for members;
e) Finance and engage in research to determine optimum policies;
f) Educate the public concerning the performance of public officials and the qualifications and proposed policies of candidates for public office;
g) Engage in such other acts necessary to carry out the purposes of SDAC.
The initial Board of Directors shall consist of: Robert Eichler, Mark Pettine, Sally Williams, A. Craig Rooten, and Duane Shinnick. The first three persons above shall serve two year initial terms, and the latter two, one year terms.
ARTICLE VII
Officers
The officers of SDAC shall include the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Their respective duties consist of the following:
President: The President shall preside at all meetings of SDAC and shall call to order all meetings. He or She shall sign and execute all contracts on behalf of SDAC when authorized to do so by the Board, and shall perform all of the duties incidental to the office.
Vice President: The Vice President shall, in the absence or incapacity of the President, perform the duties of that office.
Treasurer: The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all of the funds and liquid assets of SDAC and shall deposit them in a separate account and supervise their accounting consistent with applicable law. He or she shall sign all checks, notes and orders for the payment of money, which shall be countersigned by the President. He or she shall, at reasonable times, make available the books of SDAC to any member of its Board, and upon reasonable notice, to any active member of SDAC. Receipts will be collected for moneys received where customary. Canceled checks, stubs and bank records shall be kept for a period of no less than five years after the transaction occurred.
Secretary: The Secretary shall keep true and correct minutes of all meetings of SDAC and attend to all correspondence pertaining to the organization, and perform all the duties incidental to his or her office. Endorsements of political candidates shall be recorded as either a vote in favor or endorsement or a vote against the endorsement, without a numeric breakdown of such vote in the minutes. All other Board votes shall have the numeric breakdown recorded in the minutes.
The initial officers of SDAC are President-Robert Eichler; Vice President-Mark Pettine; Treasurer-Sally Williams; and Secretary-A. Craig Rooten.
ARTICLE VIII
Meetings
The Board shall schedule regular meetings at monthly intervals. The regularly scheduled meetings shall occur on the last Tuesday of every month. An annual meeting will be held for all active members in the month of October, or another month may be selected upon a vote of the Board of Directors of SDAC, to be announced at least two weeks in advance. Special meetings of SDAC may be called by the President and shall be called upon written request of at least ten active SDAC members or three SDAC board members. All called meetings shall be announced at least three days in advance by fax, telephone or electronic mail.
A quorum for the Board shall consist of a majority. All votes on business require a majority vote of a quorum of the Board. All votes shall be verbal or by a show of hands; except where two ore more Board members so request, votes may be by secret ballot.
Telephonic conferencing with voting can be held in emergency situations. Telephonic conference votes require a majority vote of a quorum of the Board.
ARTICLE IX
Education Committee
A separate account shall be established to fund education of the public or of specific groups concerning successful strategies and policies to prevent and eradicate crime and to otherwise carry out the purposes of SDAC. SDAC, Through the Education Committee, shall publicize SDAC’s positions on issues and candidates for public office. Such publicity shall include commentary on the prior performance of candidates running for public office relevant to the criminal justice system and the issues of concern to SDAC.
ARTICLE X
Financial relationships
SDAC and the Education Committee shall have no ongoing financial or in-kind support relationship with any campaign of any candidate for public office, shall take no direction from any such candidate or any committee or agent of a candidate, and shall not accept any contributions from or for any candidate or the committee or agent of any candidate for any public office. SDAC may take positions on issues or on the candidacy of any matter submitted to the electorate, based on its own independent evaluation of the qualifications and likely performance of the policy or candidate in furthering the purposes of SDAC.
ARTICLE XI
Records and Finances
Section 1. Audit. The Directors of SDAC shall keep correct and complete books and records of accounts. Said records of account shall be audited once a year by an auditor approved by the Directors.
Section 2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of SDAC shall be from January 1, through December 31.
Section 3. Deposits. The funds of SDAC shall be deposited to its credit in a separate account maintained for that purpose. A separate account for the Education Committee shall be maintained. Funds deposited in either of these accounts shall not be commingled with other accounts.
ARTICLE XII
Standing Rules
The Board of Directors of SDAC, acting by the affirmative vote of a majority or more of its members, may adopt and for time to time amend such rules and regulations pertaining to the purposes, activities and affairs of SDAC as it may deem necessary and desirable, provided that such rules and regulations do not conflict with any provision of law or of the By-Laws herein. Such rules and regulations, if adopted, shall be designated as the “Standing Rules of the SDAC.”
ARTICLE XIII
Amendments
Section 1. These By-Laws may be adopted, amended or repealed, or new By-Laws may be adopted, amended or repealed by a majority vote of a quorum of, the Board of directors of SDAC.
Section 2. Notwithstanding the above, these By-Laws may be adopted, amended or repealed, or new By-Laws may be adopted in the following manner:
(a) Upon presentation to the Board of Directors of SDAC of a petition signed by at least fifteen active members of SDAC, the Board of Directors shall, at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting, place on the agenda and act upon the petition for the purposes of voting on the changes proposed in the petition. Said matter shall be included on the noticed agenda for said meeting. Said changes shall be adopted where approved by a majority or more vote of a quorum of the members of the Board of Directors of SDAC and said altered By-Laws shall be drawn accordingly.
ARTICLE XIV
Severability
If any provision, article, or section of these By-Laws shall be deemed invalid for any reason, it shall be void and of no force and effect, but shall not effect the validity of the remaining provisions.
ARTICLE XV
Dissolution
SDAC may be dissolved by a two thirds vote of the Board of Directors. Upon such dissolution, any funds remaining after payment of all debts and expenses shall be paid over to an Internal Revenue Code qualified 501-c-3 charity as proposed by the Board of Directors and approved by a vote of the active membership.
ARTICLE XVI
Parliamentary Procedures
The rules governing all meetings shall conform with Roberts Rules of Order, revised.
Date:_______ ___________________________
Terri Wyatt
President, SDAC
Date:_______ ____________________________
Robert Hickey
President, SDDDAA
