Okay, so I've started with a bad pun, but please, don't go away, hear me out.  I have a speech all prepared and everything.

*Clears throat*

My fellow South Pacificans, I know that I'm still, in a great many ways, a newbie to the region and that I have no past experience to lay before you as evidence of my suitability for the important role of Chair of the Assembly. I'm all too aware of my lack of knowledge and understanding when it comes to the complex history and politics of this fine region. Yet, despite all of this, I know that some of you know me quite well by now and have supported me in the various ways I've involved myself over the past few months and, I hope, you have gained a sense of my attitudes and priorities in a number of different situations. 

When the last wave of elections happened, I had not intended to put myself forward for any role and said then and since that I would not be a good choice for quite a few of them. The issue, you see, is that whilst I have my principles, am more than capable of holding a strong political opinion and am even a member of one of the region’s two political parties, I'm not actually a very political person. I do not tend to have a personal agenda and I don't have a head for legal minutiae, but only the words that convey them. In many of the roles in The South Pacific, this might be considered a serious weakness, but I'm here today to argue that, for the Chair of the Assembly, it's actually a great strength.

The role of Chair is, principally, an administrative one.  The Chair should lead the Assembly, yes, but only in the manner of servant, one who protects debate and those involved in it by ensuring that discourse is fair, impersonal and on topic, one who is timely and efficient in administrative tasks and one who is willing to facilitate in any extra business the Assembly may wish or require.  Having any kind of political agenda would, I believe, only be a hindrance to the smooth operation of the Assembly.

Now, it’s common for the Chair to fill up an election campaign with plans and promises for various kinds of action, commissions he or she will start up, etc. etc. etc.  I don’t have any such plans, but I know a lot of you do.  If elected it would be my desire to work with anyone who wanted to make reforms, or to look into procedural changes and to bring their plans to fruition with the help of the Assembly.  As Chair it would not be my place to mould the Assembly to my own will, but to aid the Assembly in shaping itself.

If you elect me as your Chair, I will step down from my role as Local Council, though there is currently no legal requirement to do so*, as I feel it would damage my ability to remain truly neutral and faithful to the ideals of the Assembly. I promise to remain impartial, to fulfil my duties with a servant heart and to do my best for you, the community I would be elected to serve.  I promise to help improve the Assembly according to that august institution’s own sovereign will and to protect that sovereignty by ensuring that all legislators have the chance to have their say and to vote on legislation.

I will take up the role with humble reverence if you’ll have me.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer them.

*This was prepared prior to the recent executive order.

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

Reply

Question 1: What kind of chair would you like to sit on?
Question 2: Is there a "rule of thumb", or maybe several, you intend to rely on when processing legislator applications?

Reply

Question 1: What kind of chair would you like to sit on?

I think I'd really like one of those red leather button-backed armchairs, or quite possibly an Eames.  I'm not picky, though.

Question 2: Is there a "rule of thumb", or maybe several, you intend to rely on when processing legislator applications?

I intend to seek advice on this from the CRS to begin with until I'm fully acquainted with the resources at my disposal to make those decisions easier for me to deal with on my own (most of the time).  I absolutely do not want to be a weak point in our regional security, but as I also believe it's important to deal with people promptly and to be as welcoming as possible, I promise to ensure that all applicants are kept abreast of where we are in the application process and are not left to feel as if they have been forgotten about.

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

Reply

Hm, looks like nobody wants to ask any questions. So I'll do it for them.

- Do you plan on appointing one or more deputies? Which powers do you wish to grant those deputies?
- Is there anything you wish to explicitly do different than your predecessor(s)? (besides hopefully not CTEing )
- How satisfied were you with Awe's interaction with the Local Council representative, and what, if anything, would you do differently?

Reply

What will you do if you're not elected?

Deputy Regional Minister of the Planning and Development Agency(March 8-May 19, 2014)

Local Council Member(April 24-August 11)

Court Justice of TSP(August 15-December 7)

Quotes

"The 1% is like a 1% battery charge. It will die out if it is not charged(the charge is the 99%). But if you don't charge it, it will die for sure, sooner or later"
- Me (2001- Present)

"Change is the world's blood"
- Me (2001-Present)

[Image: 9ehfkQV.png]

Reply

Hm, looks like nobody wants to ask any questions. So I'll do it for them.

- Do you plan on appointing one or more deputies? Which powers do you wish to grant those deputies?
- Is there anything you wish to explicitly do different than your predecessor(s)? (besides hopefully not CTEing )
- How satisfied were you with Awe's interaction with the Local Council representative, and what, if anything, would you do differently?

On Deputies:

I've swung back and forth on this one, but I've decided two things.  Firstly that, if elected, I will nominate a deputy once I've settled into the role and secondly that I would look at working with others to introduce legislation recognising deputy Chair of the Assemble as a legally appointed position with the powers necessary to do the job.  The recent situation with Awe and Omega has revealed that during an extended absence, there is no one with the power or legal authority to do what needs to be done with regard to legislator applications, nor a mandate for continuity in the assembly.  The current situation that allows anyone to put something to vote after 'a reasonable time', does not create confidence and results in a certain amount of stagnation.  I'd be keen to avoid that during both planned and unforeseen absences in the future.
As to who I might pick.  I have a fair idea, but I haven't spoke to any of the possible candidates yet and would not want to broadcast it before doing so.

On things I might do differently than those who have come before:

Honestly, the only thing I had prepared for this was, 'I don't plan to CtW. '.  I've not been in the region long enough to have a good idea of what has and hasn't worked so well in the past.  I'd like to do at least as good as job as Awe, who was efficient, diligent and considerate in his role.  I might be a little more active when it comes to prodding legislation until something comes of it.  I've chaired meetings before (or at least, I've been a de facto chair in meetings) and I know that sometimes you need to get things back on the right track, or summarise actions to confirm that, yes, we are doing something and we should just get on with it.  I think the Assembly could do with a little more of that sometimes.

On interactions with the Local Council, past and future:

I was generally very happy with how Awe handled this.  There was never a sense that legislation was being held back too long or that Assembly business was stalling, and yet he managed to work well with the LC (specifically Bel) to ensure that there was time to poll on the issues that mattered the most, something he was not constitutionally obliged to do.  I would want to work on a similar system and would be keen to work closely with the LC to ensure that the regional voters have a fair chance to be involved in votes on legislation, as well as the opportunity to understand the issues behind them.  I think Chair summaries of debates would be a helpful aid in this and not just for the gameside, so I would like to introduce that practice, time permitting.

What will you do if you're not elected?

On losing the election:

As there is currently no legal requirement for me to resign from the LC to participate in this election, I will continue in that role for the remainder of my term.  As the debate surrounding the recent Executive Order has revealed some surprising possibilities for what the LC might achieve in the gameside itself, I would be keen to explore these options in more detail and hope to be part of an informal commission to investigate just what gameside Home Rule might look like and how it might differ from the type of government and legislature we're used to given the different needs, interests and resources of the gameside community.

Once my term as LC is up?  Who knows.  I feel like I've already expanded my horizons just by putting myself forward in this election.  I might be a little less reticent to put myself forward for other things in the future (but it would all require some considerable thought).

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

Reply

Question 1: What kind of chair would you like to sit on?

I think I'd really like one of those red leather button-backed armchairs

That's a wingback; you have good taste, if limited knowledge of proper chair names

_{Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making}
^{Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator}

---

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Reply

That's a wingback; you have good taste, if limited knowledge of proper chair names

I can take them with or without wings, actually. But yeah, considering I've helped out, on and off, in our furniture department, you'd think I could do better. (But then John Lewis don't really sell any of those... We do list the Eames on our website, though!)

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

Reply

Now that voting has commenced, I just want to thank all the people (well, both of you) who submitted questions and those who have pledged their support or who plan to over the voting period. I also want to thank the competition for running clean campaigns and I wish you both the very best of luck.

Now, we wait and see.

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

Reply