Good time of day to y'all TSPeople.

Now I know some of you aren't going to be happy about this but I am here once again to ask for your vote for the Delegacy of TSP. 
The current term started out a bit rough for me. I had never been a Delegate before and to have to live up to the idolization of someone else is hard. It is also impossible and detrimental. But I tried. And in many things I know that I didn't measure up. BUT I do know that I have done my best to serve TSP as I do in everything I put in to this region. I like to think that that matters but ultimately it's up to y'all. 

Just like in my last campaign I will not be making fancy promises or having fancy graphics. I stand by doing what I do and while I know there are a few things that need to be worked out (this job doesn't come with a guidebook)  I know that I am able and willing to once again continue to give it my all.

I have nothing but good things to say about OWL right now. The leadership of Anjo is just awesome and votes have been have all been hit when needed so that is a plus. Even the midnight stacking ones :-) So that takes care of the WA part. 

I do hope that things can go better this term in regards to working with the Ministers to see about RMB events and engagement. I know that everyone has different opinions about the RMB but it can be pretty cool if you give it a go. 

Just like the last time, I am keeping this short and simple. If you have questions, please ask. 

As always I strive to do my best for TSP each and every day. 

Thank you for your consideration

~Penguin

 COI for TSP
Current Member of Leg Comm
Current Member of CRS
Current Member of CG
Current Member of Moderation
Interim RA one time 
One Term LC Member 
Current Delegate

This is Penguin!!
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Penguins shall one day rule the pie!
And by "pie", I mean "World"!!
Goddess Empress Queen Princess Lady of TSP 
Lilium Inter Spinas // Non timebo mala
I have done a lot of things in the Region in my History.
There's a list somewhere if you wanna go looking. 

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I have nothing but good things to say about OWL right now. The leadership of Anjo is just awesome and votes have been have all been hit when needed so that is a plus. Even the midnight stacking ones :-) So that takes care of the WA part.

What are your plans/goals with WA development in regards to endorsements in the region?

Esfalsa | NationStates | Wiki | Roleplay | Discord

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The current term started out a bit rough for me.

For the re-election campaign that you're running, starting out by admitting things have been a bit rough is a good idea. We all mess up, and we all typically find a job harder than we had intended our first go around. However, in your first term, you generally failed to take initiative, attempt innovative solutions to problems which were clearly within your remit, or take seriously the Delegate's role as head of state. It would be one thing if, knowing that, you entered this campaign with a promise to do better or a set of proposals for your second term would be better than your first.

Instead, you've come to the region with...basically nothing. Only at one point in this campaign do you state something you will do differently from your first term (and even then, you don't really state what beyond a goal). You mostly state things you won't be doing. It's fine to not do graphics but I want to know what will you be doing. A Delegate can communicate, find ways to increase engagement between the Cabinet and the RMB, increase WA literacy in the region, structure RMB activity with the Local Council and more, all without "doing graphics".

Your campaign is structured around saying "I'm not Amerion and that's OK", and that's true. Many Delegates have been successful, not just Amerion. But as Delegate, you have an obligation to fulfill the duties of your office and work to improve the region with the ideas and skillset that you have.

You haven't done that.

You have consistently passed the buck on any effort to actually improve in the remit of your office.

The clearest, and most mathematically demonstrable, example of this is your lagging endorsement rate. For comparison, I have taken the endorsement rate (WA endorsements divided by total WA nations) for all three democratic Feeders (the South Pacific, The East Pacific, and The North Pacific) for each of their past six full-term Delegates at one, three, and five months after they assumed the in-game Delegacy. (All data is supplied by EuroTracker on these three pages.) Since I also lack great graphic design skills, we have a fairly straightforward Excel table and a brief chart that show the results:

Spoiler

In these charts, any time any of the eighteen Delegates listed had an endorsement rate lower than PenguinPies at Month #1, 3, or 5 is highlighted in red. This happens only 6 times across 38 data points. None of those times occurred in TSP. In one case (MadJack's term as TNP Delegate), the Delegate then undertook substantial efforts to increase their endorsement rate, resulting in a 5.1% increase over 2 months. In two cases (Albrook and Atlae's terms as TEP Delegate), no change was implemented. Averaging all data for all Delegates, Penguin was at least 2% below the average endorsement rate at each landmark for all Delegates (2.7%, 2.4%, and 4.2% respectively) and at least 3.5% below the average endorsement rate at each landmark for TSP Delegates (3.9%, 3.1%, and 4.9%). This also demonstrates it isn't just a question of Penguin falling behind Amerion, which her "campaign" (if you can call it that) implies. Penguin is falling behind all TSP Delegates and almost all GCR Delegates.

The short version of that is: Penguin's endorsement numbers are bad. Very bad, historically and compared to TSP and comparable GCR Delegates.

Why does this matter? Two reasons:
(1) Endorsement count is one of the few things the Delegate is solely responsible for, and given the role's limited powers, it is one of the few factors to decide to prefer one candidate over the other. Maintaining high endorsements on the Delegate is of vital importance for regional activity, security (it increases the barrier for a potential coup), and projecting foreign power abroad (by increasing our WA vote). While making decisions about how to use those things is often left to other institutions (e.g. OWL or the CRS), the player and nation of the Delegate is the key to actually having a high endorsement count, and it's easily demonstrated that Penguin is not the nation to go to for maintaining high endo counts.

(2) It is a clear area where Penguin had the opportunity to take initiative to correct a problem and haven't. Between month 1 and month 3 of the current term, Penguin's endorsement rate only increased by 1.4%. If at the beginning of the term, Penguin had noticed a low endorsement rate and taken initiative to attempt to correct it, that could be pointed to as an example of leadership and growth by an office-holder. That didn't happen. Instead, the issue was discussed on the Discord in April and you deflected, saying others should conduct a survey to help you determine strategies to increase your endo rates, which (as far as I know) has never happened. In short, nothing has been attempted to fix the problem, besides continuing Endorsement Days, which are not having a significant effect.

Given these issues, I will ask two specific questions:
1. What will you do, if re-elected, to increase your endorsement rate?

2. Why did you not do that already?

A more concerning issue is Penguin's failure to act purposefully as head of state of the region. The Delegate holds a special importance in TSP, not as a political role but rather as a guiding force for the region. How they approach Assembly politics should be careful and considered, avoiding political fights and generally attempting to foster a spirit of engagement and activity. Penguin has not done that. During this past term, many serious issues have been debated in the Assembly, including changes to executive government after a full-turnover of the Cabinet, the future of the Local Council, and the possibility of calling a Great Council. Throughout this process, Penguin has gone out of her way to be dismissive to people engaging in debates about the region's future. This has not just been criticism of ideas that are forwarded (which would be acceptable) but has gone as far as being dismissive of the entire concept of having such a debate.

This is unacceptable for the head of state. The head of state of a thriving democratic region should relish there being thoughtful and robust discussions of the region's laws and its future. They should not put down those who attempt to start or engage in those discussions, as Penguin has repeatedly done via Discord.

This leads me to a few more questions:
How do you conceive of the role of the Delegate as a head of state of the region? Beyond holding the in-game Delegate seat and responsibilities under the Charter and relevant laws, what responsibilities does this impose in terms of how you engage with the region? (notably, I asked this question in January and received a functional non-answer.)

Specifically, how will that impact how you interact with Assembly debates? Will you encourage them? Will you criticize them? Will you personally engage in them or step back?

Do you have any regrets about how you have handled the role and responsibility of head of state specifically in your first term? If so, what?

I know there are a few things that need to be worked out (this job doesn't come with a guidebook) I know that I am able and willing to once again continue to give it my all.

This leads to an (obvious) question which is unanswered by your "campaign". What are the "things that need to be worked out"? How will you do it?

I do hope that things can go better this term in regards to working with the Ministers to see about RMB events and engagement. I know that everyone has different opinions about the RMB but it can be pretty cool if you give it a go.

This reads like an advertisement for the RMB, which is fair, as the RMB is a core part of the Delegate's remit. Engaging with them actively is certainly a part of your job. However, it doesn't read like a plan for how you will work with the Cabinet on RMB events and engagement. What is your plan for this?

Relatedly, I'd like to talk about your current RMB work. One idea you've introduced (which, in concept, is a good idea) is periodically asking questions on the RMB. After a scan of your past RMB posts and then looking at them in context (example), it doesn't seem like these posts are getting much engagement. Why do you think that is? How would you attempt to improve it in another term?

I had never been a Delegate before and to have to live up to the idolization of someone else is hard. It is also impossible and detrimental. But I tried. And in many things I know that I didn't measure up. BUT I do know that I have done my best to serve TSP as I do in everything I put in to this region. I like to think that that matters but ultimately it's up to y'all.

Lastly, I want to address this.

A lot of this campaign reads very honestly. You stepped up to a job you might not know how to do perfectly. You were likely to make some mistakes. But I don't agree. Coming after a wildly popular and successful office-holder can be particularly rough and taking criticism of job performance stings as well. But that doesn't mean it's not the place of the Assembly to criticize or hold officials accountable for their mistakes. At worst, this can read like sympathy-seeking, attempting to short-circuit the Assembly's legitimate criticism of your job performance because you tried, a way of thinking which would be profoundly unhealthy for the region's democratic process.

But, even beyond that: you say you did your best. I don't believe that. I believe you're capable of more. I want an honest answer: What does that look like and why should I trust you will give that effort in a second term?

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Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

(This post was last modified: 07-05-2022, 10:34 PM by HumanSanity.)

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Y'all I appreciate your questions BUT this is an announcement that I am dropping out of the race for Delegate.  I just had a very big issue happen last night IRL and I have to focus on that to keep BP safe. 

Anjo - best of luck to you

This is Penguin!!
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Penguins shall one day rule the pie!
And by "pie", I mean "World"!!
Goddess Empress Queen Princess Lady of TSP 
Lilium Inter Spinas // Non timebo mala
I have done a lot of things in the Region in my History.
There's a list somewhere if you wanna go looking. 

Reply