How To Form a Local

What is a “Local,” and why would I want to form one?

Locals are the fundamental units of the Green Party of Utah (GPUT), based either on location (members from the same general area) or on affinity (members share a common identity, such as student status or ethnicity, or a common concern, such as peace or the environment). Locals meet regularly for education and action springing from the Green Key Values. They form the decentralized organizational structure on which GPUT decision-making is based. Represented by their spokespersons, Locals interact with each other via the statewide Coordinating Council (CC), which operates by consensus.

In order to promote a politics of grassroots movement-building, GPUT members must be members of a GPUT Local-there is no at-large membership status. As a Local, you will network with other activists in your community and around the state, building a true, participatory democracy.

Before you get started, find out if there is already a Local you want to join, or if other people are trying to start one. Contact the GPUT Local Liaison or call 801.631.2998.

Think Big but Don't Underestimate Small

A Local must have four or more applicants for GPUT membership. Plan an organizing meeting; advertise it by leafleting in your community and placing notices in (free) newspapers and calendars. Don't worry if your group starts big but then shakes out to a handful of committed people. A few dedicated volunteers can move mountains!

First Meeting: Your Local’s Identity

Use this meeting as an introduction to the GPUT and as a forum for identifying shared values and strategizing ways to effect change. Public meeting spaces (libraries, community centers) are better than homes because people generally feel more comfortable coming to a meeting in a public venue. Prepare an agenda and hold an effective meeting that doesn't waste people's time. Bring along a sign-up list for collecting contact information, and introductory materials to hand out.

Issue Organizing

As a Local, you will be able to do much more than run candidates for office. You can participate in alternative media such as utah.indymedia.org, organize workplaces, feed the homeless, put on educational workshops, stage protests and direct actions, lobby the government, and (last but not least) build community among yourselves! If you are forming a geographical local, what issues are dear to your neighbors?

Issues like the war on drugs, missile defense, or Palestinian rights rarely build a Local—alternative transportation, affordable housing, and police brutality often will. As people join to work on issues close to home, you can educate them about issues that seem remote. Whatever issue(s) you focus on, you need to ask how you will succeed. Which decision-makers affect your issue(s)? How do you get the public's attention? What other groups are already working on your issue(s), or could be drawn in? Often, a new Green group can start by supporting the efforts of existing organizations. Win or lose, another group will remember it if you show up to speak for their issue at a city council meeting. Don't forget, though: these tactics are just suggestions. Your group may decide to create a committee to further consider tactics and move on for now to the next important discussion item.

Nuts and Bolts

The GPUT must ratify a Local's bylaws. Consider using another Local's or the state party's bylaws as a model. Your local can set up a committee to revise them, based on what other Locals are doing. Three organizational questions must be addressed:

Structure

How often will you meet? What kind of positions will you have (e.g., treasurer, secretary)? How long will terms of office be? Will there be committees, and how will they be accountable to the larger group? Who will be the primary and secondary contacts (spokespersons) for your Local?

Decision-Making Model

The strived for decision-making model for the Green Party of Utah is consensus. Check with the Co-Coordinators or Local Liaison to find out how to get training in consensus. It is a cooperative process that empowers all participants and promotes group cohesion and follow-up. Because the group as a whole agrees to decisions, factionalism is eliminated. If consensus is new to your group, it may feel awkward at first, but it gets easier with practice.

Membership

Each Local is ardently encouraged to send in $10 per original applicant to the GPUT.

Other Membership Issues

• What additional requirements (if any) are there for becoming a member?
• What are the privileges and responsibilities that membership involves?
• What is the role of non-members (the public) in your meetings?

Do You Need Some Help?

Contact the GPUT State Secretary about documents like the GPU bylaws and the application for forming a local.

Contact the GPUT State Treasurer about financial matters like setting up a bank account for your local.

Contact the GPUT Local Liaison about all other matters.

When your Local is ready to apply, submit the items listed below to the Coordinating Council at:

Green Party of Utah

4696 S. Sunstone Rd. # 201

Taylorsville, UT 84123

• Your bylaws
• The names (with phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addies) of a primary contact (spokesperson to serve on the Council) and a secondary contact (to serve if the primary contact is unavailable)
• An organizing petition signed by at least four individuals seeking membership that includes the following passage:

We, the undersigned, do unanimously accept the Green Key Values and seek recognition as a Local, with the primary purpose of advancing the Green Key Values and the Green Party Platform. We agree to observe and be bound by the bylaws of the GPU and the bylaws of this Local.

There are eleven GPUT Green Key Values:

1. Grassroots Democracy
2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity
3. Ecological Wisdom
4. Nonviolence
5. Decentralization
6. Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice
7. Feminism and Gender Equity
8. Respect for Diversity
9. Personal and Global Responsibility
10. Future Focus and Sustainability
11. Quality of Life

The Council will consider the application and may request more information or send concerns back to the Local until it is satisfied that the Local conforms to GPU requirements.