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Hello everyone, I am Southern Bellz, long time TSP citizen, two time former delegate, with my most recent elected position being the Minister of the Army. For the last few terms I have taken a break from elected office and just have contributed as a citizen of the region, which I feel is the most important position in the region.
More than anything, I love what this region stands for. We are a place that when people walk into The South Pacific, they are welcomed, regardless of background. We welcome them instantly as one of us. They become a citizen and they have the same power as any other member of this region. As a result, we have a lot of people from different backgrounds. Before coming to The South Pacific, GR and myself have had completely different background, but now we are both lucky enough to call this region home. I know I am grateful to have had this community welcome me, and judge me not my raiding past of that time, but judge me on my ideas. I remember how scary it was start presenting my vision of the region, and how much it meant for Fudgie to agree with me and lend her support. There is a reason that I am mentioning my first moments in the region, because that type of support is what leads to people becoming contributing members of this region. And I am not saying that we need to support every idea from a new member in this region, but I am saying that we need to listen and embrace visionaries in this region (Even if that change can be a little scary). When we take risks on people’s ideas and they see it develop all of a sudden they go from being new to a community to being a critical part of this community. The reason why I am running is because I think that development is really fun to be a part of. I have saw a lot of you develop into leaders here, and I want to focus on the next wave of leaders. If elected, I will encourage the rest of the cabinet I am elected with to not only appoint deputies, but to get creative and create appointed positions that have real potential to change the region. I think every cabinet member should have a staff around them that not only helps them accomplish their goal, but develops another member of the community. And I would not be excluded from this. My major weakness for the role is that my interests are not strong in roleplaying. To combat this, Role Play will be one of the key parts that I will have my deputy focus on. I will ultimately take responsibility for my staff, but I think that sort of mentorship where people can lead and take political risk without running a campaign will lead to more people thinking “hey I think I can do this”, and run for office. Some of the programs I will be running if elected will be programs that give insight to the community what our government is doing and what our allies and outside partners are doing. Q & A’s and other such town hall events with leadership from both our government, our allies, and maybe even potential future allies will help keep the TSP community informed about how our government governs, but also brings TSP more into the greater NationStates community. It’s getting to the point where I am feeling I am starting to be a bit long winded, so I will say that through all of this my number one focus is to support the development of citizens into leaders and to help keep this community up to date on what is happening with our government and the greater NS world. Thank you for your time, and I would love to have your vote. -Southern Bellz
MoRA is a very time consuming job - you have to put a lot of effort into it to keep things moving. You haven't been around very much lately and you've, in the past, had trouble keeping activity up, especially through the winter-spring time. Are you prepared to keep your activity up during your term?
Thank you for the question, I disagree with most of your assumptions. The one time I had 'problems keeping activity up' was at the end of first term as delegate which ended 3 years 155 days ago according to the region history.
Since then, I had another term as delegate which focused on developing and passing the bill of rights. My last elected position as Minister of the Army, I took an office that was dysfunctional and was being debated over even having in the assembly into an active force. Recruits at the time include CrimsonTideFan, QD, and Aribitor, all of who continue to have success in the SPSF today, and I think is proof of concept that if we provide people the stepping stone into government, that people will rise to the occasion and become our next generation of leaders. Arby was a great VD and that revitalized army was one of his first roles in the region. I think QD did a great job with the Army, and hope its success continues. As my activity level now, I have been active in debates about how elections are run leading up to the elections, and most of all, I would not run for any position that I do not think I would be able to keep active for the whole term.
Generally, the MoRA position is the stepping stone cabinet position - it's the cabinet position usually pursued by the most junior member (we've seen this with Henn last term). Is your campaign thus a bit short-sighted? If we want younger members to get a chance to run a department - isn't the best way to do that to... vote for someone newer?
Likewise, The NS World Fair is coming up during this term - what would you like to see in a TSP booth?
I don't think my campaign is short sighted, in fact, I think it's the opposite.
My campaign is focusing on changing cabinet culture from just having deputies on staff to robust and varied ministries of more than two people. It focuses on showing the insights of our government process to the citizens of the region and exposing the region to the thoughts of NS greats. I believe that ultimately, this will help establish generations of Henn's and if that's the case the region will be in great hands. As far as the world fair, I think a continuation of friendship and cooperation was a great message. I think messaging is very important for the region, and I think the cabinet needs to be coordinated and targeted. One issue I think would be good for us to talk about is the importance of having a very open citizenship policy and challenges that come with it.
The 16th Delegate of The South Pacific
Question time!
1. Why are you running for Minister of Regional Affairs? 2. Obviously all Ministers want to have active and engaged Deputies, but that has always been a problem with past Cabinets (read onwards), including this one. Do you think all Ministers would be able to get a Deputy now? 3. What are your thoughts on the Fellowship Programme? Even though it could be more visible, I am happy to say it has allowed the Ministry of Regional Affairs to have an active and engaged staff. Do you think this experience should be kept, and replicated in other areas of our government? 4. We have seen a trend to stop requiring citizenship for most regional activities, to the point that you don't need a citizen to join the Special Forces or the Ministry of Regional Affairs? Do you think this is a good thing? 5. What steps would you take to bring the government closer to the in game community? 6. You are not the most visible face when it comes to regional affairs, even though you have undoubtedly done much for the region throughout the years. What can you respond to that? Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
(11-16-2014, 03:22 PM)Kris Kringle Wrote: Question time! Thank you for the questions Kris  Good luck in your campaign against me, I am honored to have my name next to yours on the ballot, and can say no matter who wins this elections, TSP wins for being able to have so many quality choices.1) I am running for Minister of Regional Affairs because I have enjoyed The South Pacific community for about a decade now. I have given a lot to the community over the years, and I have taken a break from the government for awhile and I am eager for the chance to give back again via government service. I have tasted a lot of different roles in my time in TSP and always loved being involved in the cabinet. I chose this position in particular because I really want to focus on domestic issues. As you know, as delegate your time often gets split between regional and international affairs, as MoA or MoFA, all you deal with are international affairs. I am very excited at the prospect of focusing on Regional Affairs. 2) I think so. This election has shown that there is a ton of political interest in the region. I am reading the campaigns, and I see a hunger in this region to drive this community to further heights. Unfortunately, the drawbacks of democracy is that not everyone with a good idea can win an election, but I want to make sure that everyone running today has a chance to have an impact in government regardless of winning or losing an election. 3) I think it is a great program, and I think it is key for the government to help provide a pathway into involvement. The one area of government, I would like to see more people involved with in a official capacity is foreign affairs, I think GR was right to get rid of the ambassador program because ambassadors were focusing on non value added work. I think there is room to maybe reboot the program and retool what an ambassador is/does. This would be something to hash out with the new MoFA and I would not want to speak or develop these ideas further without discussing it with them. 4) It's something I would have to discuss more with the people who implemented the programs, but I do not really think it is a good trend overall. I don't think we should be giving out more political power to people who have not accepted the terms of the charter. 5) One of the areas I am really going to focus on as minster is this "The Ministry is responsible for creating letters about government happenings, distributing such letters to the region in-game, and posting them on the RMB." The best way to reach out to a community is to communicate to it. Hopefully the delegate would not mind distributing my letters via regional telegram, but I will be posting them on the RMB. 6) I am unsure what people consider me the face of in this region, but to address the question, but I am someone that tries to have a narrow focus. My previous roles did not provide the luxury of focusing solely on regional affairs and I am really excited for the chance to focus on regional affairs. There are so many ways to build and focus on community and hopefully, if elected and after this term more people might consider me a face of regional affairs
Thanks for those answers. I think they are very spot on, particularly the answers to questions #2 and #3. I do need to make some comments about your answer to #4.
I think not requiring citizenship to join the Fellowship Programme is a good thing, because it allows newcomers an easy way to get involved in the region, even if they don't want to vote or be in the Assembly. This is a good way of letting people see that they are all welcome. Sure, the idea is to then show them the benefits of citizenship and having them become more active members of the community, but considering that the FP is a stepping stone for newcomers, I think the idea of not requiring citizenship at first is a good one. Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
Just wanted to invite anyone who had further questions for me to ask them!
I am excited about my vision for MoRA. Until then, please enjoy the best christmas song you havent heard yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_cPQn6vOdo
As Minister of Regional Affairs, would you force the Delegate to declare that ducks are cool?
Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System |
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