WHY IS THE TAIL WAGGING THE DOG?

According to the Weber County Republican Party Bylaws, “the power to conduct Party business” is “vested in the County Central Committee (CCC).” “The Executive Committee of the Party shall meet at least monthly, to conduct the business of the Party and shall be subject to direction from the CCC.” By vesting the CCC with the “policy making” duties, the Party intended for those closest to the grass roots of the Party to be the ones responsible for its policy.
 
Unfortunately, this bylaw has been overlooked by much of local Party leadership for years.

The CCC is made up of our County Precinct Chairs and Vice Chairs, all elected by their friends and neighbors at their respective caucuses. These elected positions are most closely related to the grass roots membership of our Party. We have an obligation to organize these volunteers and help them understand their roles and responsibilities while assisting them in their duties.

The Bylaw committee and the Executive committee, who meet often, fiddle with our governing documents based on unknown interests until a hastily called meeting of the CCC is scheduled. Then, without much warning or understanding, the committees spring their suggested changes on the CCC for an up and down vote of approval without debate.

According to our governing rules, “all business conducted by the CCC shall adhere to the rules of parliamentary procedure…” That’s because the CCC is a deliberative assembly and deliberative assemblies deliberate, meaning they exhaust all debate before a decision or vote is made. Absent a parliamentarian, there is no chance for committee members to effectively participate in debate. Without participation, interest lags resulting in frustration and then people scatter...some never coming back.

Due to the importance of the CCC, maximum participation is desired, and members are expected to attend all required CCC meetings. As a Party, we must facilitate grass roots participation by empowering the CCC to fulfill its constitutional role as the “policy making body of the Party.” In order to turn this around…the dog needs to wag the tail!
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​The current Bylaw proposal process (see below) excludes the CCC until they are allowed to vote yes or no on bylaw proposals.

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​Below is the process that best fits our governing rules.

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It’s time the Party irrigate the CCC’s authority and grow our grass roots membership. We can do this together by understanding our governing rules and accepting our role as leaders in the process. Ben Franklin said, "Tell me and I forget…Teach me and I may remember…Involve me and I learn.” We can do this!