[StrategyPlan] Goals and Strategy Exercise

[Jim Stauffer]

The "strategy" discussions on the coco list have been centered around 
developing a list of issues to send to the Locals. I've never been clear on 
what the Locals are suppose to do with that list -- discuss the issues 
verbatim or just use them as a reference for local discussions.

I've not favored a 'list' approach, preferring to hear what the Locals come up 
with on their own, but emphasizing the need to be realistic (as opposed to 
wish-list brainstorming).

Also, there doesn't seem to be agreement on the duration and composition of 
the counties' strategy meetings. I still advocated the one-day, multi-counties 
structure.

I've put together a draft of an announcement to send to the Locals. It's 
centered around the approach I've advocated. However, I did take the issues 
list that was developed and added it as a reference of what cocos had 
suggested. (Actually, that list is primarily Shane's contributions plus a few 
of mine.)

Comments on this plan are welcome. But I would like to hear whether or not 
people are generally in favor of this approach.

However, this announcement will be received in the counties with no 
forewarning or prior discussions on the topic. This is one of the conditions I 
wanted to avoid. It would be far better to discuss this plan with the counties 
at a GA prior to sending them an actionable item. Should we send this now, or 
wait until after the next GA?

Also, this plan assumes that the CC will be actively involved with 
facilitating this project by being in touch with their Locals and encouraging 
their participation, and helping to organize the meetings.


Jim
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           GPCA  GOALS  AND  STRATEGIES  FOR  LONG-TERM  PLANNING
                        A Participatory Exercise


Green Party Locals:

We would like to engage all GPCA county Locals in an exercise to establish 
long-term goals for the party. By agreeing on a set of goals, we give the 
party definition and purpose. From those goals we develop strategies for their 
implementation. This creates projects for our Working Groups and Standing 
Committees (WG/SC), and it helps attract volunteers and donations.

It’s important to be realistic when setting goals. Brainstorming exercises 
encourage free-thinking with no critique or analysis of suggested issues. Goal 
setting is different; it’s intended to derive projects that are achievable, 
not just desirable. We all have a list of favorite issues and a wish-list of 
what we’d like the party to be. But we must focus on what we can actually 
accomplish – realistic goals.

We encourage Locals to get together with your neighboring counties for this 
exercise. Gathering into a group from a few counties helps the thought 
process. It gets us outside of our normal monthly meeting crowd and provides 
the synergy of a larger group.

The Coordinating Committee (CC) will gather the reports from this exercise and 
present the results at next General Assembly. The CC would like all county 
responses by the end of February.



PROCESS

We are proposing an afternoon meeting of up to four hours for this exercise. A 
venue should be selected that allows participants to attend and return home in 
one day.

Contact your neighboring counties and get an estimate of attendance. Find a 
meeting room or a house of sufficient size. Consider traveling distance for 
all attendees.

Take notes of the goals discussed and rank or categorize them by the level of 
agreement or support. Submit the report to your CC Regional Rep, or to the CC 
list (gpca-cc at cagreens.org). Please identify which counties participated in 
the exercise and how many people attended.


DISCUSSION

We want to hear what Locals think our long-term goals should be. This requires 
some degree of open discussion, but the exercise must remain moderated by the 
theme of realistic goals. For every suggested goal, the presenter should have 
some idea of a strategy to implement that goal.

Basically, the question to answer is, “What should the GPCA accomplish in five 
years and in ten years?”

Some organizing may help the discussion:

Political Goals
         Partisan and non-partisan candidates
         Campaigns and ballot proposition
         Election reforms

Internal / Party Goals
         Voter registration
         Developing county Locals
         Fundraising
         Internal structure and process




REFERENCES

The WG/SC coordinators have been discussing this subject and have come up with 
their list of issues. These are being provided here just as a reference, they 
should not be used as guidance for your discussions. Its purpose is to provide 
input as to what volunteers at the state level see as our long-term issues.

  1. Given the current recession and its detrimental effect on fundraising, 
should GPCA and its locals adopt a “survival plan” until recovery is tangible 
(e.g. unemployment below 8%)? How would this affect all goals and strategies?

  2. What are realistic voter registration goals? What attracts people to a 
small party? What caused the California Green registration decline of the past 
six years, can it be reversed? Was the 2010 new registrations of about 1,000 
too unambitious?

  3. Given that we have less than 1% of registered voters, what are realistic 
electoral strategies for a party of our size? Do we continue attempts in 
partisan races or focus on non-partisan races? If there is to be focus on 
State-wide offices, then should GPCA focus on the MOST "winnable seats"? What 
funding and effort split is desirable? This should be ‘partisan offices.’ Is 
there a realistic strategy for winning partisan races?

  4. How do we recruit/develop electable candidates for non-partisan offices?

  5. How do we recruit electable candidates for state-wide offices?  This 
should be ‘partisan offices.’ Is there a realistic strategy for winning 
partisan races?

  6. Does Prop 14 provide any potential to us? Should GPCA continue to be part 
of the lawsuit against Prop 14? Do we raise funds for the lawsuit?  Are we 
part of a lawsuit against Prop 14? I don’t recall any discussion of us joining 
a lawsuit.

  7. Should we make a real, concerted effort to promote ranked-choice voting 
(i.e. Instant Runoff Voting and proportional representation)?

  8. Should GPCA consider closer ties with the Progressive Caucus of the 
California Democratic Party? How would this work at the level of the Locals?

  9. The GPCA’s decentralized structure and consensus-seeking decision process 
is an experiment that we’ve carried on for 20 years. Is it working well 
enough? Is there a good balance of responsibilities between the state party 
and the county parties? Should we examine giving more authority over internal 
business to the state party?

10. Is continuing to rely solely on volunteer labor a viable plan for growth?

11. What kind of representation do counties/regions/locals want in GPCA? How 
should the current system be changed for the better?

12. What factors have created viable, stable Locals? What factors have caused 
Locals to deteriorate?

13. What resources do Locals need from the state party? What resources does 
the state party need from Locals? What specific services/mutual agreements do 
Counties/regions/locals want from GPCA? How should the current system be changed?

14. Should in-person General Assemblies be scrapped? If yes, what should 
replace them? Are the alternatives cost-effective?