Messages In This Thread

Pencil Sharpeners · 07-08-2016, 06:41 AM

[Image: Jcjod5_oXKgS6_zDsZowiVcswfjrNpu3AoTiiPTu...3bXrlRdQ8L]

This episode of South Pacific News is the second of our interviews with TSP's new Local Councillors. Today, we will be interviewing Punchwood.

Firstly, with this being shared on the RMB, there will probably be a lot of new nations reading who don't really know who you are, so could you give us a little of your background?
Well my name is Punchwood and I've been in the region for two years and a bit now. I've spent most of my time in Regional Affairs though I have spent a very short period of time as a SPSF member and an ambassador for the region. I was a High Court Justice for a term, I've been a Deputy Minister for Regional Affairs before and I have also served as Minister for Regional Affairs. I will now get to say that I am a Local Councillor thanks to you the voters.

You recently campaigned to be the Minister of Foreign affairs, but lost out in the cabinet election in July, when Sandaoguo gained a substantial lead before you conceded very graciously. What made you then decide to stand for LC?
Well in short I got nominated. I know it's very common for people to say that they weren't expecting a nomination but then decide to run but it's true. I was nominated and I thought well what is the worst that could happen? The worst thing that could happen is that I might lose, plus it means I'll be able to stay activity in Regional Affairs matters and start to be more active in the RMB.

Well, let me congratulate you on your win. It was a closely fought election, with considerable uncertainty in terms of projecting a result. How did you feel during the vote? Was there any point when you thought you couldn't win?
I was nervous the whole way through voting, and there was not a moment that I thought "Yep, I've won a seat." At the start I was worried that I wouldn't get many votes but then the APC endorsement came and that really helped to swing it for me. Even after that though I remained nervous and I would keep checking the vote throughout the day.

As you've just said, things turned around for you when the APC (Alliance for the Preservation of the Coalition), a party of which you are a member, gave you their endorsement. What did it mean for you to have the backing of your party?
It was an amazing moment. There were two members of the APC standing for election myself and Zak. The party trusted me enough to endorse me for the Local Council, there is not much that beats that.

How significant do you think this win is for the APC and how do you see party membership influencing your role on the Local Council?
I think this is a big win for the APC, we now become a real party. Well I will use my role on the Local Council to help spread our message and get the things we believe are right done. Look we are the most progressive party in the region, we are a real party with a real platform unlike our counterparts who exist mainly as a voting bloc rather than a real party. We believe in government transparency, giving the SPSF the autonomy it needs so long as it keeps to TSP law, a foreign policy that spreads our culture, a free press and a region where all are treated equally and have the same rights no matter if they are on the forums or not. So those are the kind of ideas that I will try my hardest to get implemented or at least discussed while I'm in the Local Council.

There has been a lot of talk about how the Local Council role is changing to better represent the region on the gameside. What would a successful Local Council look like to you and how do you see the role developing in the future?
A successful Local Council to me would be where the Local Council listens to the region but does not poll them on every single issue. I see that being the future of the Local Council.

You said that you’ve spent most of your TSP career in the Ministry of Regional Affairs. What have you learned during your time in the Ministry of Regional Affairs that you think you could apply to your new LC role?
Lots! I've learnt that running for election is much easier than being elected and then having to do the things you promised. The main one though is that if you want things done then you have to be active and you have to make sure the people you are working with are active too. So I will be make sure Belschaft and Seraph are both fully active and I will be talking on the RMB that little bit more and making sure that polls are a normal thing rather than a special thing.

The most important question has, of course, yet to be asked. You know it’s inevitable, so, cake or pie?
Well I was once like Seraph, I thought that Cake and Pie could live hand and hand together but I was wrong. I soon saw that. The Lord of Cake is the only pudding. I would have thought you would have seen that coming seeing as I lead a Cabinet coup declaring that all Pie supporter would stand trial for crimes against the region.

And finally, do you have anything else you’d like to say to the region?
Just thank you for electing me, I hope to serve you guys well. Long live Cake!

Did some LC, MoRA, CRS stuff in the past. Do a lot of World Census stuff now.

(This post was last modified: 07-08-2016, 06:42 AM by Pencil Sharpeners.)