August 2022 Special Election
Over the last two years, the chapter has been led by a team of extraordinary leaders. The Progressive Democrats movement extends its profound and sincere gratitude to all members of the board for their leadership and contributions to the advancement of our cause in Hudson County. Under their leadership, we have been able to establish ourselves as a leader in Hudson County electoral politics and start the work of electing new progressive leaders.
As a result, PDHC is hosting a special election to choose leaders for the remainder of 2022.
The following chapter leadership positions will become available at the end of August:
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President
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Executive Vice President
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Vice President for Membership
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Vice President for Finance
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PDNJ State Delegates (2)
Overview of the Election Process
The August 2022 Special Election is being organized and overseen by the PDNJ Special Election Committee.
Please direct any questions about the election process to Nick Wolferman (PDNJ Executive Director) at nwolferman@gmail.com.
Important Dates & Deadlines
Deadline to Submit Nominations: Wednesday, August 17th at 11:59PM
Deadline to Submit Candidate Acknowledgements: Friday, August 19th at 5:00PM
List of Nominees Announced: Friday, August 19th
Candidate Q&A Session: Monday, August 22nd at 7:00PM
Voting Period: Monday, August 22nd - Wednesday, August 24th
Results Announced: Friday, August 26th
Executive Board Orientation: Saturday, August 27th at 10:00AM
List of Candidates
The following PDHC members have received and accepted nominations to run for a chapter leadership position(s):
Candidate Name
Position for Which Candidate Will Appear on the Ballot
Brad Londin
Mandar Morye
Ricardo Rojas
President
President
President
Mandar Morye
Ricardo Rojas
Brad Londin
Mandar Morye
David Ocampo Grajales
Thomas "TJ" Senger
Christian Flores
Brad Londin
Mandar Morye
Mandar Morye
David Ocampo Grajales
Executive Vice President
Executive Vice President
Vice President for Membership
Vice President for Membership
Vice President for Membership
Vice President for Membership
Vice President for Finance
Vice President for Finance
Vice President for Finance
State Delegate
State Delegate
These members will appear on the ballot as candidates in the upcoming special election. Members may be nominated and run for more than one position. However, if elected to more than one position, the candidate must choose to serve in only one of the positions for the respective term.
Position Descriptions
President
Term: August 2022 - January 2023
Duties & Responsibilities: ​
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Preside at all Chapter meetings;
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Serve as an ex-officio member of all committees;
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Serve as Chair of the Chapter’s continuing political committee or appoint a full member in their place; and
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Be responsible for managing and carrying out the day to day operations of the Chapter and its business.
Executive Vice President
Term: August 2022 - January 2023
Duties & Responsibilities: ​
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Maintain accurate records of all general body and committee meetings;
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Assist the Executive Board in the efficient administrative and logistical execution of Chapter operations;
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Act as parliamentarian;
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Keep, maintain, ensure compliance to the organizational documents of the Chapter and Organization;
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Assist the President in the execution of their duties; and
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In the absence of the President, perform the duties of the President.
Vice President for Membership
Term: August 2022 - January 2023
Duties & Responsibilities: ​
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Recruit new members and facilitate their integration into the organization;
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Coordinate events and programming for members;
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Coordinate with the PDNJ Secretary and Membership Director; and
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Chair the Membership Committee.
Vice President for Finance
Term: August 2022 - January 2023
Duties & Responsibilities: ​
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Keep, maintain, and verify a full account of the funds under the control of the Chapter;
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Keep a full and accurate accounting of the receipts and disbursements of the Chapter;
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Report the state of the Chapter’s finances to the Organization’s Treasurer and Finance Director;.
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Serve as Treasurer of the Chapter’s continuing political committee or appoint a full member in their place;
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Update the Executive Board on the financial condition of the Chapter; and,
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Hold and be responsible for the Chapter’s debit card.
PDNJ State Delegate (2 Positions)
The Board of Delegates is the principal governing body of the Progressive Democrats of New Jersey. Legally, it acts as the board of trustees of the Organization, meaning that the ultimate authority in the Organization is this body. Every recognized, active chapter has two (2) delegates to represent their interests and vote on matters before the body.
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Term: August 2022 - January 2023
Duties & Responsibilities: ​
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liaise between the Chapter and State Organizations -- communicate and act on behalf of, and in coordination with, the Chapter’s executive board and membership;
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consider and conduct legislative business;
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act upon proposed amendments and Bylaws to the Constitution, and amendments to Bylaws;
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act upon petitions and appeals under the original legislative jurisdiction of the Board of Delegates submitted by general active members and chapters, including but not limited to creating of interim chapters or charting of existing interim chapters, or such petitions and appeals under the original jurisdiction of the Executive Committee transferred for consideration to the Board of Delegates at large;
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approve of nomination and endorsement of statewide or federal candidates
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plan and execute the annual meeting as described in Article X of the Bylaws;
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set the price of membership dues and grant waivers;
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review potential conflicts of interests in association with other Organizations and issue non-disclosure agreements
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vote on the revocation of a member in the case of a split vote in the Executive Committee;
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remove a director or delegate of their position;
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impose disciplinary action on members, delegates, officers, and directors;
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fill vacant positions resulting from the resignation, impeachment, or revocation of an Organization officer or director; with the exception of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director;
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suggest amendments to the annual budget and approve it;
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upon a simple majority vote, override the decision of an Organization officer;
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staff, in part, Organization committees; and
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perform other legislative operations as defined by the Organization’s governing documents or required by the parliamentary authority.
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To summarize: as a PDNJ State Delegate representing Hudson County, your responsibilities will be to decide on the business of the Organization and to act as a line of communication between the state and county levels of the Organization. Your goals will be to participate in the leadership team of the Organization and the Chapter, to help them grow and expand the Organization and the Chapter in order to help them to fulfill their mission of building a movement to elect progressives in New Jersey and Hudson County.
Candidate Nominations
Any PDHC member in good standing interested in running for a position must submit the Candidate Nomination Form (or be nominated by another member) by Wednesday, August 17th at 11:59PM. Nomination period is now CLOSED.
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Any member in good standing may nominate themselves or another member in good standing for a chapter leadership position.
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Members who have been nominated but do not wish to run may remove themselves from consideration at any time.
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Eligibility Requirements
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All chapter members in good standing are eligible to run for a leadership position.
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A member in good standing is defined as a member who is up to date on their dues payments and has continued to follow the Organization’s Bylaws and Code of Conduct. If you are unsure of your membership status please contact hudsoncounty@pdofnj.com.
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Prohibition on Campaigning
The PDHC Chapter Bylaws strictly prohibit any candidate from campaigning for a Chapter office in any election.
Candidates who are found in violation of this clause will immediately be disqualified from running for Chapter office during the election in question.
What is Campaigning?
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PDHC defines campaigning as asking another to submit a nomination, whipping votes, electioneering, distributing digital or physical materials, engaging in any spending, forming or suggesting a “slate” of candidates, or directing proxies to engage in the aforementioned behavior.
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Members are also prohibited from engaging in independent campaign activities.
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List of Nominated Candidates
A list of nominated candidates will be announced via email on Friday, August 19th. A list of nominees will also be displayed on the chapter website.
Candidate Acknowledgements
All nominated candidates must acknowledge and confirm their candidacy and eligibility by submitting the Candidate Acknowledgement Form by Friday, August 19th at 5:00PM.
Failure to submit this form will prevent nominees from being listed on the ballot for this election.
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The PDNJ Special Elections Committee will notify any member who has been nominated and inform them that they must submit the acknowledgment form.
Candidate Q&A Session
On Monday, August 22nd at 7:00pm, we hosted a Candidate Question & Answer Session open to all PDHC members.
Watch Recording of Candidate Q&A
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Candidate Q&A Rules​
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Rules on Candidate Statements:
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Each candidate will have up to three (3) minutes to deliver a statement outlining why they are running for a chapter leadership position.
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Candidates will have the opportunity to deliver statements and answer questions for each position they are running for. Candidates may choose to refer to their previous statement to avoid redundancy.
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Candidates will deliver statements and answer questions beginning with the highest office on the ballot and in alphabetical order for each position.
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Candidates must refrain from addressing or making personal attacks on other candidates during their statements.
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A member of the PDNJ Special Election Subcommittee will act as a timekeeper and be responsible for enforcing time limits. The timekeeper will have the authority to interrupt the candidate if they run over time.
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Members are asked to refrain from applauding or in other ways demonstrating support or nonsupport for a candidate during their statement.
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Rules on Member Q&A:
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After each candidate statement, full and active chapter members may ask the candidates questions.
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Candidates will have five (5) minutes to answer questions.
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The time members take to ask their questions will not count against the candidate’s time.
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A member of the PDNJ Special Election Subcommittee will act as a timekeeper and be responsible for enforcing time limits. The timekeeper will have the authority to interrupt the candidate if they run over time.
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Members are asked to keep the focus of their questions limited to the following topics:
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The candidates’ relevant background
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The candidates’ relevant skills and knowledge
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The candidates’ expressed vision for PDHC
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Concerns members may have regarding the candidates
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Members are asked to refrain from applauding or in other ways demonstrating support or nonsupport for a candidate during the Q&A portion.
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Rules on Member Deliberation:
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After all the candidates have spoken and answered questions, they will leave the room and the members in attendance may engage in deliberation on the candidates.
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A total of ten (10) minutes will be allotted for member deliberation.
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Deliberation is intended to provide the membership and opportunity to caucus and collectively consider each candidate’s fitness and qualifications for a chapter leadership position.
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Discussion will be limited to the following topics:
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The candidates’ relevant background
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The candidates’ relevant skills and knowledge
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The candidates’ expressed vision for PDHC
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Concerns members may have regarding the candidates
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Members must refrain from making disparaging or inappropriate statements regarding any of the candidates.
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We recognize that there is a fine line between discussing the candidates (positively or negatively) and campaigning as outlined in the Chapter Bylaws. We ask members to use their best judgment when deliberating and to strive for productive dialogue and to ensure criticism is relevant and constructive.
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It is recommended that you refer back to the rules that prohibit campaigning and the Organization’s Code of Conduct.
Voting: How to Vote
All chapter members in good standing will be able to vote in the special election.
Members will cast their votes electronically over a three-day period lasting from Monday, August 22nd at 9:00PM to Wednesday, August 24th at 11:59PM.
Following the completion of the Candidate Q&A Sessions on Monday, August 22nd, members will be emailed a unique one-time link they must use to cast their ballot. The email provided at the time of member registration/dues payment will be used for this communication.
If you do not receive your link or have difficulty casting your vote, please contact nwolferman@gmail.com as soon as possible.
Voting Process: How it Will Work
Voting will be conducted via secret ballots utilizing a Ranked-Choice voting system.
How a Ranked-Choice Voting Election Works
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Voters rank their candidates on a ballot
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Votes are counted for each candidate
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The lowest vote-getter is eliminated (if no candidate gets enough votes to win)
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Any votes for an eliminated candidate are redistributed to their next ranked-choice
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Votes are counted for the remaining candidates
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Eliminations and redistributions continue until a winner is found
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Determining a Winner
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For all positions except PDNJ State Delegate, the top vote-getter will be declared the winner.
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For PDNJ State Delegate, the top two (2) vote-getters will be declared the winners.
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There will be an “Abstain” option on the ballot. Abstentions do not count towards the vote total.
Uncontested Elections
If there is only one (1) nominee for any office, except PDNJ State Delegate, there will be a “No Confidence” option on the ballot instead of “Abstain.” If “No Confidence” has more votes than the nominee, the nominee will be disqualified from Chapter office for the term in question and the Executive Board may appoint another Full Member to fill the office.
If there are only two (2) nominees for PDNJ State Delegate, there will be “No Confidence in X” for each nominee where “X” is the nominee’s name instead of “Abstain.” If “No Confidence in X” has more votes than Nominee X, Nominee X will be disqualified from Chapter office for the term in question and the Executive Board may appoint another Full Member to fill the office.
Election Results
The results of the election will be announced via email on Friday, August 26th.
Results will also be displayed on the chapter website.
Executive Board Orientation
All newly elected Executive Board members are required to attend an Executive Board Orientation on Saturday, August 27th from 10:00AM - 11:30AM.
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This orientation will provide new leaders an opportunity to become acquainted with the organization's structure and mission, have a clear understanding of the expectations of their role, and get to meet the rest of the new Board.
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The PDNJ Special Election Committee will provide all elected candidates with information to join the orientation on Friday, August 26th.
Resources
Candidate Q&A Session Recording (Coming Soon)