These Code of Conduct / Ethics Guidelines (Guidelines) may be revised from time to time at the discretion of the 21st Legislative District Democratic Organization (21st LD) with the assistance of the Rules Committee.

The 21st LD is a diverse group of volunteers (Community Members) who work together to promote a truly representative Democratic Party open to all who support its principles.

The 21st LD pledges to make every effort to encourage maximum participation in the political process. Community Members fulfill many roles, including mentoring, teaching and connecting with other members of the community. Diversity is one of our biggest strengths, but it can also bring increased communication challenges at times.

The 21st LD convenes in many physical and virtual spaces.

These Guidelines may be used in any physical or virtual location where members of the 21st LD have gathered and/or are collaborating when conducting the 21st LD business. However, events and meetings that take place in public spaces will generally have their own code of conduct and/or similar community Guidelines. As such, the Guidelines for a specific event should also be followed.

Guidelines

The guidelines below apply to all members of the 21st LD. In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, all members are expected to make participation in Democratic organizations a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, level of experience, ability, socioeconomic status, nationality, personal and/or physical appearance, race, religion or lack thereof, or sexual identity and orientation. The 21st LD is committed to these guidelines and when appropriate will exercise it’s inherent right as a deliberative assembly to punish members for serious or repeated violation of these guidelines. A member who violates these principles at a 21st LD event and/or meeting may be asked to leave the event. A member who continues to violate these principles or whose violation is especially severe in nature may be asked to leave the organization.

The following list is not exhaustive, but it is intended to help all of us communicate well and avoid unnecessary friction so that the 21st LD community can collaborate better together. Specifically,: Members should keep in mind that:

• Their work will be used by other people, and they in turn, will depend on the work of others.
• Decisions they make will often affect others in the community.
• Disagreements happen, but should not be an excuse for poor behavior and bad manners. When disagreements do happen, work together to solve them effectively and in a way that ensures that everyone has a reasonable opportunity to be heard and understood.
• People may not understand jokes, sarcasm and oblique references in the same way that you do. If you think your conversation is making another community member uncomfortable, try to make amends and move forward. Members should promote a culture of respect, inclusion and equity by:
• Always remembering to use welcoming and inclusive language and be welcoming, inclusive, friendly and patient.
• Assuming good intent on the part of other speakers and participants.
• Being kind, considerate, respectful and professional by treating all individuals with a sense of dignity, respect and worth.
• Making a personal commitment to be nonjudgmental about cultural differences, living conditions and the lifestyles of people with whom I interact.
• Avoiding profane, racist, other prejudicial, exclusionary, abusive or aggressively sexualized language.
• Avoiding disruptive or threatening behavior.
• Do not publish Photos, videos, and audio of others if they object or ask to be excluded. Steps should be taken to accommodate live streaming (if the body votes to allow it) by announcing to members that live streaming will begin or take place (The previous list applies to all forms of communication, including committee meetings, whether in person, by telephone or any other forum; and other communication media, such as Facebook, Slack, mailing lists, etc..) Members should ensure their own safety and promote a safe environment for others by:
• Respecting others’ personal space and making physical contact with others only after receiving their consent.
• Recognizing that a person under the influence is unlikely able to provide reasonable consent. Always act with extreme caution when accepting consent as you are highly likely to be ruled against in the event of a complaint.
• Understanding that physical contact (sexual or otherwise) is not appropriate without clearly articulated consent. Consent can be instantly revoked whether it is prior consent or in the moment.
• Respecting others’ property, and property of the organization to which the member belongs.
• Immediately ceasing any behavior that is reasonably perceived as harassing, abusive or violent, and respecting others’ feelings for what behavior qualifies as such.
• As political leaders in their communities, members are expected to make themselves aware of and reasonably anticipate the sensitivities of others.
• Administrators and contributors to online spaces, such as webpages and Facebook groups, should respect the reasonably assumed communal nature of such spaces.

Finally, if any member experiences or witnesses behaviors that violate these principles, they are asked to take appropriate and fair corrective action.