Sacramento Latino Democratic Club

Bylaws

Latino Democratic Club of Sacramento County

Constitution and By-Laws

January 1st, 2025

  1. Vision and Name

The Latino Democratic Club elevates the voice of the Latino community in Sacramento County.  

The name of this organization shall be the:

Latino Democratic Club of Sacramento County (LDC)

  1. Mission

We will realize our vision by:

  • building power through strategic alliances, mobilization, and promoting the values of the Latino community.
  • proactively engaging in the decision making and election processes to identity and support those with our shared values.
  • growing and developing our membership to provide a venue for our members to become the next leaders who inform and influence decisions that will improve outcomes for the Latino community.
  • providing a platform that the Latino community can identify with as an open space driven by honest, fair, and respectful dialogue.

Specifically, the Club’s values include:

  • Social Justice:
    • LDC commits to addressing systemic/structural poverty, inequality, and the unequal distribution of resources by identifying and building diverse coalitions to abolish institutional policies and practices that create and sustain racial inequity.  LDC’s work focuses on healing the wounds of racism and historical trauma by challenging both the historical root causes and the existing framework of oppression and injustice. It’s work draws attention to the ways policies and practices disproportionately segregate communities of color by making it more difficult for people of color to secure quality education, jobs, housing, healthcare, and equal treatment in the criminal /immigration justice system. We join with our colleagues and communities to work for a future that is sustainable, just, and deeply engaged in Issues of race and equity.
  • Economic Equity:
    • LDC’s work focuses on advancing a more just and inclusive economy by expanding individuals’ opportunities to:  connect to quality work with equitable and livable wages; provide paid leave for workers; participate in business ownership;  receive high-quality childcare and early education; and advance a local and statewide housing agenda that builds wealth and assets for communities of color through affordable homeownership as well as secure, safe, and stable housing for renters. Its work also focuses on enabling community-led innovation driven by neighborhoods pioneering new solutions with community partners to collaborate and create safe places for people to live, learn, work, and play. 
  • Educational Equity:
    • LDC works to meaningfully and measurably ensure that all students of color have the opportunity to attain an excellent education at all levels from high quality childcare, early education, and pre-school through higher education, enabling students to achieve their potential to be college and career/life ready.   Teachers, faculty, staff, and administrators of color at our childcare facilities, pre-K-12 schools, universities, and colleges are critical to supporting the educational achievement of diverse student populations, as they share the racial and economic backgrounds of students most impacted by pervasive inequality.  They bring an essential perspective to education policymaking that has traditionally been underrepresented.  Critical to student success is the hiring and retaining of a diverse childcare workers, teachers, faculty, staff, and administrators as well as the existence of a strong ethnic studies curriculum that prepares students to enter the workforce and function effectively and critically as informed residents in a diverse multicultural society.  
  • Environmental Justice:
    • LDC works to build democratic, equitable solutions to pollution, poverty and racism that do not reproduce ecologically and socially harmful systems. LDC advocates for environmental regulations and policies that provide environmental protections to all in our communities and strives to work with neighborhood leaders to identify areas of most concern in local, regional, and state neighborhoods including improving access to clean energy technologies for low-income customers and underserved communities; increasing clean energy investment in those communities; and improving community resilience to grid outages and extreme events.  
  • Health Equity:
    • LDC advocates for policies and programs that will improve health, mental health, and wellness outcomes for communities of color and other disadvantaged populations and advocates for greater resources and services beyond access to health care services.  LDC works to ensure that voices of communities of color, regardless of immigration status, are represented in every critical decision affecting the health and wellness of underserved communities as well as policies that significantly invest in transformative public health infrastructures which invest in community health and divest from systems of harm.  
  • Technology Equity:
    • LDC advocates for practices that advance racial justice in the analysis, production, and deployment of existing and new technologies.  LDC support efforts to bridge the digital divide and efforts to leverage technology to prevent, detect, and eliminate bias and misrepresentation in the workplace, education, products, and safety. LDC works to ensure that consumers have strong protections to ensure reliable, affordable, and nondiscriminatory service, with strong privacy protections to safeguard their identities and data.
  • Immigration Reform:
    • LDC advocates, defends, and fights for the rights of all American immigrants. LDC supports a comprehensive immigration plan for undocumented immigrants that that upholds the dignity of all immigrants, one that creates an:  eight-year pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants; quicker pathway for citizenship for undocumented essential workers, TPS and DACA recipients;  protects those fleeing persecution; ends the massive incarceration of immigrants by dismantling the detention and deportation machine; keeps families informed, empowered and together; pursues redress on behalf of immigrant groups with particular and compelling claims to justice; and restores all forms of asylum and humanitarian protection; guarantees legal assistance and counsel for those facing detention and deportation.  LDC supports a demilitarized approach to the border and reinstates the right of people of who have been deported to come home.  LDC supports phasing out private detention centers and ultimately, closing all detention centers. Locally, LDC supports working with immigrants, community organizations providing assistance to immigrants, rapid response networks, and the legal sector to help build a society that values the rights of all people.
  • Police Reform:
    • LDC supports a broad agenda for police reform aimed at improving use-of-force procedures; increasing accountability and transparency; increasing data collection and reporting on use of force and police misconduct; courses on implicit and unconscious bias and cultural and ethnic diversity training; and an independent investigation process. In addition, increasing the racial/ethnic/gender diversity of officers and bilingual capabilities can help strengthen community police partnerships.  LDC supports policies that divest in policing and incarceration and invest in resources and infrastructure that keep all residents healthy and safe. 
  1. Affiliation
  1. The Club is duly chartered and affiliated with the Democratic Party of Sacramento County (DPSC).
  1. As a chartered and affiliated Club of the DPSC, the Club shall comply with bylaws of the DPSC as they apply to fully chartered local affiliates.
  1. Membership
  1. Qualifications: Any individual qualifies for Club membership if:
  1. The individual is a registered Democrat; or
  1. The individual is ineligible to vote (due to non-residency, age, or other legal impediment), but pledges to register as a Democrat when eligibility is attained; and
  1. Supports the purpose of the Club as stated in Article II, above.
  1. Active Membership: A qualified individual shall be considered an active member only if:
  1. The member has attended at least two membership meetings, committee meetings, or LDC hosted events in the past twelve (12) months prior to being eligible to vote; and
  2. The member has paid all club dues.
  1. Dues
  1. Each member shall pay dues on an annual basis, except that persons claiming financial hardship may be excused from payment of membership dues upon approval of the President or the Executive Board. Members or other organizations may offer to pay dues for students or persons with financial hardship.
  1. Membership dues amount shall be set forth by the Executive Board.
  1. Meetings
  1. Regular Meetings
  1. The Club shall hold regular monthly meetings. Meetings will be held at such locations where the Executive Board determines.
  1. Regular meetings shall not be canceled more than three (3) times within any calendar year and in no event shall more than two (2) regular meetings be canceled in succession.
  1. Special Meetings
  1. Special meetings may be called by the President at any time, on notice as specified below.
  1. In the absence of the President, the Executive Board may call a special membership meeting on notice as specified below in Article VII. Special Executive Board meetings may only be called on the request of a majority of the Executive Board. 
  1. Notice of Meetings
  1. Notice of regular or special meetings shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance to all active members, in any manner as follows:
    1. Notice in writing by email
    2. Social media post
  1. Notice of the meeting shall be deemed sufficient by either manner specified above if such notice includes the date, time and place of the meeting and is calculated to be received at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting.
  1. The notice shall also be posted on a website maintained exclusively by the Club.
  1. Rules for Meetings
  1. The Club shall use the newly revised Robert’s Rules of Order to govern parliamentary procedure at all official meetings of the organization, except as specifically noted in these bylaws.
  1. A quorum for any official meeting of the Club shall be ten percent (10%) of the total organizational membership, or nine (9) members, whichever is smaller, as of twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting, as reported by the Secretary.
  1. Unless otherwise specified in these bylaws, the Club may conduct business with the vote of a simple majority of the members in good standing present at any meeting.
  1. The Club may suspend specific portions of these bylaws and/or Robert’s Rules of Order for purpose of emergency business by a vote of two thirds (2/3) of the membership present at a meeting, unless the item to be suspended calls for a higher qualification. In such case, the percent specified in that portion of the bylaws shall be required to suspend that text. The motion to suspend shall call out the particular section of the bylaws proposed to be suspended.
  1. Changes to the constitution and bylaws not specifically referenced elsewhere must be noticed to the membership at least seventy-two (72) hours before the vote in question, and must be approved by a two thirds (2/3) vote of Club members in good standing.
  1. Officers
  1. Club officers shall consist of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Community Liaison, DPSC Club Representative, Communications Director and Campaign Services Director. Club officers shall be elected by the membership to serve a two (2)-year term of office and are eligible to serve multiple terms. The immediate past president may serve as an advisory member of the Executive Board. 
  1. Election of officers shall be held in January.
  1. If the President vacates office, the Vice-President may accept the position of President and fill the remaining term of office. If the Vice President accepts to ascend to President a special election shall be held by the membership to fill their vacated office. If the Vice-President does not wish to fill such vacancy, the membership shall hold a special election to fill the vacancy of President.
  1. In the temporary absence of the President, the Vice-President shall serve as President. If the position of Vice-President is vacant, the Treasurer shall serve. If the position for Treasurer is vacant the Secretary shall serve.
  1. The President shall officiate all general membership and Executive Board meetings of the Club.
  1. The President may appoint members temporarily to fill unexpired terms of office, subject to the approval of the majority of the Executive Board at the next Executive Board meeting after the office is vacated.
  1. The President may appoint Club members to serve in other capacities as needed subject to the approval of the majority of the Executive Board.
  1. The Vice-President shall assume the responsibilities of the President in their absence. The Vice-President, in collaboration with the Executive Board, shall develop the agenda for the general membership meetings, chair the Club’s standing committee on fundraising, and serve as the parliamentarian for the Club.
  1. The Treasurer, along with the President, shall register his/her name with the Secretary of State (SOS) and abide by requirements set forth with the SOS. The Treasurer shall have access to the Club’s bank records. They will be responsible for collecting membership dues, maintaining membership records, registering donations and gifts, maintaining appropriate accounting records of expenditures and payments, and will report such records to Executive Board and Club members.
  1. The Secretary shall record minutes at all general membership meetings, ensure all Club correspondence is acknowledged, maintain meeting attendance records, and provide all members with notification of agendas. The Secretary shall make such records available upon request in a reasonable manner to members in good standing.
  1. The Community Liaison shall serve as the Club’s representative to community organizations. As such, the Community Liaison shall act as the Club’s conduit to the county’s community organizations by identifying opportunities to: create strategic alliances; advocate to elected bodies; and support community events that align with the Club’s values.
  1. The Communications Director shall be responsible for the update and maintenance of the club website, social media activities, and provide all members with notification of club meetings and announcements including regular updates on club activities.
  1. The Club shall be represented at meetings of the DPSC by a Club Representative; the Club Representative to the DPSC shall serve as the Club’s voice and represent the mission and values of LDC.  The Club Representative shall present DPSC voting items to the Club Executive Board and/or the Club membership, and a majority of the Board and/or Club membership shall determine how the Club Representative shall vote. At each general meeting, the DPSC representative shall provide a report of DPSC business (e.g.: endorsements, committee reports, etc.). 
  1. Campaign Services Director is the chair of the Campaign Services committee and shall implement the Club’s endorsement process, as outlined in Article VIII, and works closely with the DPSC Campaign Services Committee. They shall keep the Club updated on priority races, opportunities to provide candidate support, and other election related matters. In the absence of the Club Representative, they shall serve as the Alternate Club Representative to DPSC. 
  1. The President, or the President’s designee, may authorize and make expenditures of up to $100 per month without the prior approval of the Executive Board or General Membership and subsequently noticed or disclosed to the general membership at the next meeting. The Executive Board may authorize expenditures of up to $500 per month without the prior approval of the General Membership and such expenditures shall subsequently be noticed or disclosed to the general membership at the next meeting. The General Membership may authorize expenditures of any amount, however, no expenditure shall be authorized to benefit a candidate or cause that the Club has not voted to support, or to oppose a candidate or cause where the Club has not taken a position in that race or on that issue.
  1. The Club may create other officer positions as deemed necessary to conduct Club business. The responsibilities of officer positions created pursuant to this section must be specified and may not conflict with the duties of the officers listed in Article VII or other officer positions created pursuant to this section. Election of such an officer position may only occur after the Club has created such position and specified its standing rights and duties. Officers elected pursuant to this section shall be voting Executive Board members and serve until the next election of officers. 
  1. An Executive Board member holding more than one office shall in no case be allowed to cast more than one vote. 
  1. The Executive Board, or General Membership, shall appoint committee members. Only members in good standing may serve on committees, however all committee meetings shall be open to members in good standing who wish to observe and/or participate without a vote. A standing committee that exists under the supervision of an officer position created pursuant to Section N shall be chaired by that officer. 
  1. Club Representatives to a California Democratic Party (CDP) Pre-Endorsement Conference shall be selected as follows:
  1. Candidates for selection as a Representative must be a Member in Good Standing of the Club as of the deadline prescribed by the State Party, must be a resident of the Assembly District in question, and must have been included on the roster submitted to the CDP by the deadline;
  2. Representatives shall be selected by majority vote of the Executive Board and shall be equally apportioned between men and women to the extent possible. 
  3. In the case of a vacancy in the roster of Representatives, after the selection for such purpose has been concluded, the President shall have the authority to appoint representatives to fill any vacancy. 
  4. Only Members in Good Standing, as defined in Article IV, Section B of these bylaws, as of the CDP deadline shall be included in the roster submitted to the CDP. The President, Secretary, or Treasurer shall certify the status of club members.

IX. Endorsements

  1.  The Club endorsement process shall be developed by the Campaign Services Committee and approved by the Club members prior to any endorsement of candidates or initiatives. Proposed changes to the endorsement process must be noticed in the meeting agenda, and such process must be approved by at least 2/3 of those members present and voting at any meeting. If the discussion of an endorsement process is brought up from the floor as New Business, such process must be approved by at least 3/4 of those members present and voting at any meeting.
  1. The endorsement process shall include a written endorsement questionnaire/form, may include candidate interviews, and any other procedure as set forth by the Executive Board and Campaign Services Committee, if established. The Club endorsement process may exempt statewide, constitutional, and congressional candidates, as well as ballot measure proponents and opponents, from the questionnaire and/or interview requirements.
  1. The Campaign Services Committee shall have the responsibility to interview and evaluate local Democratic candidates for local offices and ballot issue proponents and opponents, should the Executive Board determine that interviews will be conducted.
  1. In races where interviews were conducted, the Campaign Services Committee shall, at its discretion, recommend to the Executive Board candidates and ballot measures to be endorsed and supported by the LDC. The Executive Board shall vote on the committee action and may make recommendations to be presented to the membership of the LDC for final approval.
  1. Under no circumstances may the Club consider the endorsement of a candidate for public office who is not registered with the Democratic Party.
  1. The minimum threshold for endorsement is a vote of at least sixty percent (60%) of the valid votes cast by members in good standing.
  1. All voting conducted by ballot must include a signature in order to be considered valid. 
  1. The Club may consider adoption of ballot measure endorsements made by the California Democratic Party without consideration of a questionnaire or interviews where the party has made an endorsement. 

X. Code of Conduct

ARTICLE I CODE OF CONDUCT

SECTION 1. CODE OF CONDUCT GENERALLY 

1. Sacramento Latino Democratic Club (LDC) is committed to providing an environment that is free of harassment and retaliation with respect to any of its members. 

2. This Code of Conduct seeks to ensure a setting where members are free from racial, age, disability, ethnic, gender, or personal harassment; where everyone is treated with dignity and respect; and where there is zero tolerance for retaliation.

3. Actions fitting the definitions described in this Code of Conduct may subject members to the LDC’s Disciplinary Procedure as described in article ii. 

SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS OF HARASSMENT 

1. Harassment means any inappropriate conduct, comment, display, action, or gesture by a person that is either based on race, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, physical size or weight, age, nationality, ancestry, or place of origin. 

2. Examples of harassment may include, but is not limited to: 

a. Inappropriate touching, suggestive or abusive remarks of a sexual nature, compromising invitations, sexual assault, coarse language of a sexual nature, displaying pornographic material, or seeking non-consentual sexual favors; 

b. Unwelcome remarks, jokes, innuendos, or taunts of a sexual, racial, gender-based, or ethnic nature; 

c. Displaying materials, pictures, or graffiti that degrades one’s race, gender or ethnic background; and 

d. Insulting gestures, jokes, and disparaging written material based on race, ethnic background, or gender that causes embarrassment or humiliation. 

SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS OF PERSONAL HARASSMENT 

1. Personal harassment is conduct or comments which are intimidating, threatening, demeaning, or abusive and is behavior which is known or ought reasonably to be known as unwelcome. 

2. Examples of personal harassment can include, but are not limited to bullying—which can be defined as offensive, malicious, intimidating, insulting, or humiliating behavior, often associated with the misuse of power or position. 

SECTION 4. DEFINITION OF RETALIATION 

1. Retaliation is an extreme form of bullying which goes beyond personal harassment and attempts to severely negatively impact a person’s life outside of the Party. 

2. Examples of retaliation include, but are not limited to: 

a. Threatening the livelihood of a member in order to alter their future voting behavior in the club; and 

b. Conspiring to have a member terminated from their occupation based on their votes in the club.

SECTION 5. DEFINITION OF UNBECOMING CONDUCT

1. Examples of unbecoming conduct include, but are not limited to: 

a. Violation of the law or of the Bylaws of the club; 

b. Disruption of club meetings, a sub or ad-hoc Committee, or club event; and 

c. Any other act, omission, or condition deemed to be good cause by the Executive Board. 

SECTION 6. SEVERITY & LIMITATIONS 

1. LDC shall consider the severity of the offense when considering whether a member has violated the Code of Conduct or what corrective action should be taken to address a complaint. 2. LDC shall weight retaliation and actions that are illegal more severely than actions that are only hurtful or against this Code. 

3. Nothing in this Code of Conduct shall be abused so as to punish or remove members for their personal opinions, votes, or freedom of association, nor to settle personal affairs between two members if there is no relevance of a complaint to the meetings, events, functioning, or reputation of LDC.

ARTICLE II. DISCIPLINARY PROCESS

SECTION 1. CAUSES FOR COMPLAINTS & PUNISHMENTS FOR VIOLATIONS 

A. Any Member who endorses or materially supports a Republican running against a Democrat, or who endorses a non-Democrat running against a Democrat endorsed by the club, may be expelled from the club and may also be ineligible from being a member during the next term of office of the Elected Members. 

B. Any Member found to have violated the Code of Conduct adopted by the club as a Standing Rule shall be subject to the following possible punishments: 

1. Restorative justice; 

2. Reprimand or censure; 

3. Monetary fine, which shall prevent the Member from voting or participating in the LDC until the fine is paid; 

4. Suspension of any or all privileges, including voting and attending events, for a defined period of time; 

5. Removal from their position as an Officer; or 

6. Expulsion from the club. 

SECTION 2. COMPLAINTS 

A. A Member (hereinafter referred to as the Complainant) may file a complaint alleging that another Member (hereinafter referred to as the Respondent) has engaged in conduct that may subject the Respondent to this Disciplinary Process. A complaint must detail each charge against the Respondent, so that they may prepare an adequate defense. 

B. The Complainant must file the complaint with the Executive Board, or any member thereof. Within three (3) days of receiving a complaint, the Executive Board member who received the complaint shall notify the Investigatory Committee, the Executive Board, the Respondent, and the Complainant of receipt of the complaint and its substance. 

C. After receiving notice that a complaint has been filed, the Executive Board shall refer the complaint to an Investigatory Committee. 

SECTION 3. INVESTIGATORY COMMITTEE 

A. An Investigatory Committee comprised of at least three (3) Members in good standing shall be appointed by the Executive Board within seven (7) days after receiving notice that a complaint has been filed: 

1. An Investigatory Committee shall be gender balanced to the greatest extent possible between self-identified males and females. 

2. Nobody named in a complaint or with a substantial conflict of interest in the matter shall be a member of the Investigatory Committee concerning that complaint, and the Complainant and Respondent shall be notified by the Executive Board member who received the complaint of the members appointed to an Investigatory Committee in order to ensure no such conflicts exist. 

3. If either the Complainant or Respondent identify a conflict of interest with a member of the Investigatory Committee, the Executive Board shall vote on whether the conflict warrants replacing said member of the Investigatory Committee. 

B. An Investigatory Committee shall produce a report detailing any facts and evidence relating to the complaint referred to it, and detailing the preponderance of each charge, which shall be presented to the Executive Board. The Board shall then schedule a Disciplinary Hearing to hear and decide the complaint. 

C. Members of an Investigatory Committee shall maintain the confidentiality of information derived from the complaint process, or else become subject to discipline. 

SECTION 4. EXECUTIVE BOARD HEARING 

A. The Secretary (or Chair) shall provide at least fourteen (14) days notice of an impending Disciplinary Hearing to the Complainant and Respondent, which shall be held during the next regularly scheduled Executive Board meeting after notice is given, or as otherwise scheduled by the Board, and shall be composed of all voting members of the Executive Board, unless any of them should be subject to recusal. 

B. The Complainant & Respondent shall have the right to: 

1. At least three (3) days before the Hearing is to begin, request that the Hearing be rescheduled to a date before the next regularly scheduled Central Committee meeting, subject to approval by a majority of the Executive Board; 

2. Confront all witnesses and evidence provided against them; and 

3. Speak in their own defense. 

C. The Hearing shall hear the facts of the complaint, and based upon the preponderance of evidence, by simple majority vote, shall: 

1. Rule as to whether a violation was committed; and then 

2. Determine the appropriate disciplinary action as proscribed in Section 1 of this Article. 

SECTION 5. APPEAL TO THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

A. The Respondent or Complainant may appeal the decision of the Executive Board to the membership by informing the Secretary (or Chair) before the date required to send notice for LDC meeting agendas, and an Executive Session regarding the appeal shall be added to the agenda of the next regularly scheduled general club meeting. 

B. The general membership shall only consider the material facts of the case as presented to the Executive Board, which shall be presented to the membership in the general meeting by the Investigatory Committee. The Complainant and Respondent shall also be provided equal opportunity to submit an opening statement and to speak regarding the material facts of the case. 

C. The general membership shall be presented with the ruling of the Executive Board regarding whether a violation occurred, and after deliberation in Executive Session, the membership shall vote as to whether a violation occurred according to a preponderance of the evidence. 

1. If the LDC membership vote finds that no violation occurred, then the matter shall be considered closed. 

2. If the LDC membership vote disagrees with the Executive Board’s ruling that a violation did not take place, then the complaint shall be returned to the Executive Board for an appropriate disciplinary action to be proposed to and considered by the membership. Until the Executive Board delivers a proposed disciplinary action to the general membership, the Respondent’s club membership shall be temporarily suspended. 

3. If the LDC membership’s vote agrees with the Executive Board that a violation occurred, then the membership shall proceed to consider whether the Executive Board’s proposed disciplinary action is appropriate. 

D. If LDC general membership finds that a violation occurred, when the membership proceeds to consider disciplinary action, it shall be presented with the disciplinary action proposed by the Executive Board and vote as to whether such action is appropriate. 

1. If the membership votes that the disciplinary action proposed by the Executive Board is appropriate, then the Executive Board’s proposal shall be enacted. 

2. If the membership votes that the disciplinary action proposed by the Executive Board is not appropriate, then the complaint shall be returned to the Executive Board for an appropriate disciplinary action to be proposed to and considered by the membership. 

E. Disciplinary action must be adopted by a simple majority of valid votes cast, except for expulsion from the club or removal of an Officer for violations under Section 1, Subsection C of this Article, which shall require a two-thirds ( 2 /3 rds ) majority.

Certified by:

  January 12, 2025

Gabriel Morningstar

Past Secretary

2025 Latino Democratic Club Officers

President Cruz Naranjo

Vice President Gabriel Morningstar

Treasurer Daniel Savala

Secretary Cristal Zeas

Club Representative to the DPSC Vannessa Cudabac

Campaign Services David Gallegos

Community Liaison April Ybarra

Communications Director Jose Navarro