Re-elect Plemby

[plembobria]

O hai OMG! k so I'm Plembobria. Ive been delegate for the past 4 months. and now its time 4 those 4 months 2 be over. So ive been wondering if maybe u guys want me to be delegate again? i promise im SUPER nice.

Seriously now. Four months ago, the delegate election came up, and I felt that I needed to run to keep the government active and friendly to new citizens. Over the past four months we've gotten a lot done. All my ministers have been really great in keeping the show on the road. Heck, they deserve most of the credit. I've been just sitting on top, making sure that the whole executive stays focused.

I won't be posting a comprehensive platform like my previous one. However, I welcome questions and comments about the goals I've outlined, and how I've done in meeting them.

 

[plembobria]

 

[Felis]

I'll ask the most important question - what is your favourite colour?

 

[plembobria]

I'll ask the most important question - what is your favourite colour?

blu

 

[Sil Dorsett]

Hi Plemby! I was reviewing the ministerial goals you posted in September and I noticed that there was nothing listed World Assembly Affairs. Do you have any specific goals for WA Affairs for the next term?

 

[Felis]

I'll ask the most important question - what is your favourite colour?

blu

Interesting!

Time for an actual question though, what would your ideal cabinet look like? This could include people who've left NS or are part of other regions.

 

[Tomb]

Plemby, why do you feel the need to not post specific campaign goals for each area of government?

I personally would've liked to see a Ministry by Ministry list of goals outlining any shortcomings from last term, and what you will do this term to address them, in the form of goals.

 

[Altmoras]

Plemby, why do you feel the need to not post specific campaign goals for each area of government?

The goals you linked to from September are far too minimal to justify not outlining your goals for the next 4 months here in my opinion.

 

[Deleted User (Guest)]

I would like to know your foreign policy goals over the next four months, including but not limited to: diplomatic outreach, CAIN, treaties and any planned reforms to our existing foreign service.

I'd also like to hear how you felt, candidly, the last four months was for us on the foreign affairs front.

 

[plembobria]

Hi Plemby! I was reviewing the ministerial goals you posted in September and I noticed that there was nothing listed World Assembly Affairs. Do you have any specific goals for WA Affairs for the next term?

You are the first person to notice that. The truth is, I forgot to. But over the past term my government has done a lot to revitalize WALL. Over the next term I'll keep working to get unified WALL recommendations out, drafted by the various WALL WA staffs. We've done quite a bit of work towards that goal, and I'd like to continue that.

I'll ask the most important question - what is your favourite colour?

blu

Interesting!

Time for an actual question though, what would your ideal cabinet look like? This could include people who've left NS or are part of other regions.

The one I have.

Plemby, why do you feel the need to not post specific campaign goals for each area of government?

I personally would've liked to see a Ministry by Ministry list of goals outlining any shortcomings from last term, and what you will do this term to address them, in the form of goals.

Plemby, why do you feel the need to not post specific campaign goals for each area of government?

The goals you linked to from September are far too minimal to justify not outlining your goals for the next 4 months here in my opinion.

the goals I made where not comprehensive for a reason: I don't intend to make promises I can't keep. I pledge to keep the government active, and I've done that. I'd like to keep that going. I also said that I'd talk with ministers to work on realistic goals that they are capable of achieving, and hold them to account on them, as well as offering assistance where possible. Over the past four months, many of my ministers have taken a lot of initiative on there own in running their ministries. Syrixia organized a festival with TSP. Praetor is working on a diplomatic training program. Tomb restarted the (previously ailing) mentoring program. I never pledged to do any of those things. But I did pledge to appoint a team to get things done and hold them to it. And they've done very well.

 

[plembobria]

double post

 

[Tomb]

the goals I made where not comprehensive for a reason: I don't intend to make promises I can't keep. I pledge to keep the government active, and I've done that. I'd like to keep that going. I also said that I'd talk with ministers to work on realistic goals that they are capable of achieving, and hold them to account on them, as well as offering assistance where possible. Over the past four months, many of my ministers have taken a lot of initiative on there own in running their ministries. Syrixia organized a festival with TSP. Praetor is working on a diplomatic training program. Tomb restarted the (previously ailing) mentoring program. I never pledged to do any of those things. But I did pledge to appoint a team to get things done and hold them to it. And they've done very well.

Thank you for your answer.

 

[Nasania]

Hi Plemb, I like to read news from around the Nationstates world, but there hasn't been a publication in months of the Northern Lights, so how exactly will you revitalize the region's newspaper so it has monthly publications again?
Will the newspaper hire correspondents to send to other regions and gather information to report back to the TNP public?

 

[plembobria]

Hi Plemb, I like to read news from around the Nationstates world, but there hasn't been a publication in months of the Northern Lights, so how exactly will you revitalize the region's newspaper so it has monthly publications again?
Will the newspaper hire correspondents to send to other regions and gather information to report back to the TNP public?

Our ambassadors distribute TNL to other regions. I have also brought back the North Pacific Press Releases program so that ambassadors update foreign governments with regional news.

 

[Frozentophat]

Hey, I came in around the last month of your delegacy and it seemed that you hadn't broken this region yet - great job! I know you just mentioned that you would keep the same cabinet, but it appeared to me that there was limited life in a couple of the ministries (mostly comms, GA) at least since I've came back. How do you plan to revitalize these ministries? Would you consider opening applications, or at least appointing new ministers?

 

[Deleted User (Guest)]

How do you feel about TNP-RP? Are there any rising stars within that theatre that you think could make good culture ministers next term?

 

[Kondratev]

Plemby, your recent veto of the evidence redaction bill is only inflaming tensions around a situation which has led to the resignation of cabinet members and the Attorney General, and caused one of your opponents to withdraw their candidacy for delegate. While I was inclined to wait until the end of the elections to take action on this, your veto has forced me to bring this up now.

For the benefit of people who have not been present in Discord through all this, here is a post containing all the information which has been made public thus far.

I have several questions for you, as follows:

1) Will you continue your policy of forcing government officials to vote in unison on domestic policy, including bills in the Regional Assembly? Do you understand the legal concerns former Attorney General Ash had with regards to this policy?

2) Why did you feel the need to question the integrity of an election commissioner because of his roleplay connections to another candidate? Do you also doubt the integrity of your roleplay family members who were appointed as election commissioners?

3) Ash's investigation into your conduct was stopped after you and Lord Ravenclaw convinced the plaintiff to back down. Lord Ravenclaw has consistently defended this action as necessary to regional security, because he thought it was unknown how you would react if “backed into a corner” by an indictment. How are we to trust your integrity if your closest friend and ally believes you capable of illegally usurping power?

4) Yesterday, several rank and file citizens in Discord publicly asked for an investigation into the reasons behind Praetor's resignation. Yourself, the vice delegate, and “advisor to the delegate” Mad Jack all began to flood the channel with spam. Lord Ravenclaw responded to the citizens' concerns with, “oh let them have their tantrums.” Mad Jack told them that “the TNP government owes you precisely jack shit.”

The attacks leveled at rank and file citizens by government officials became so intense that it caused one citizen to say, “well considering most of the people don't like me for some reason I don't think I should ask because if I did then they wouldn't tell me.”

How do you justify this response? Does it bother you at all that citizens coming into our chat room feel alienated because they are personally attacked by the highest ranking figures in the regional government?

5) Do you categorically deny that your veto of the evidence redaction bill has nothing to do with the calls for an investigation? This is the most popular bill ever to have been vetoed, passing with 41 to 10. Your veto of this bill would protect yourself and other government officials from an investigation. Your veto also came only hours after multiple citizens had requested such an investigation in Discord chat.

6) Your opponents all withdrew their candidacy in the final hour or two before the end of the nomination deadline. We know at least one of these withdrawals was related to the situation surrounding Ash's investigation. If you should be re-elected, do you believe you have a legitimate mandate to continue as delegate?

I would appreciate your perspective on these issues, as I consider them to be of serious concern to all TNP citizens. Thank you.

EDIT: Added link to the public information thread.

 

[Deleted User (Guest)]

Closest friend and ally? Me? You apparently overestimate our relationship by a great deal.

It is dangerous for any sitting delegate to face those sort of charges, least of all during an election cycle. Look if you will, to The East Pacific, where Aelitia had to be removed before anything could be done to investigate and seek his knowledge on things of issue to the security council and court there. Look to December 2013 when incoming Delegate Escade of tSP had to be prevented from taking the delegacy by a member of tSPs security council following security concerns that arose. Look to the actions of The Dourian Embassy, Wickedly Evil People, Feux in Osiris, The West Pacific and Lazarus respectively and how they responded upon losing elections and/or feeling that they were backed into a corner.

There were few ways an indictment could have gone pleasantly, especially because the situation was questionable at best - there is no clear way of saying "yes, Plembobria violated the BoR by telling his Ministers how to vote" because the Delegate can choose to hire and fire Ministers at will, and there is no such thing as an employment tribunal in TNP, nor can you prove that a Minister was sacked for their behaviour because the Delegate does not have to give any reasons to them whatsoever.

Given the potential issues from an indictment during a) an election period and b) from the questionable circumstances upon which it arose given that the complainant was an Electoral Commissioner who had been advised to file the complaint by Darcania, who had also declared their candidacy for Delegate and if you add in the factor that the Delegate may feel that they were being unfairly persecuted and that an election had been rigged against them then yes, things could have gone south, badly.

The Vice Delegate isn't there to coddle the Delegate. The Vice Delegate is elected separately from the Vice Delegate for a reason - the Security Council, which the Vice Delegate chairs is independent from the Delegate and keeps its own counsel. My interest was preventing the situation from escalating to a potential issue which could have caused significant harm to the community, our reputation and our stability.

I acted as I believed, due to my own experience in this arena, that the Vice Delegate should. I am not responsible for the actions the now former Attorney General took, nor am I responsible for the now former, Minister of Foreign Affairs. To say otherwise would be to claim an authoritative stance over their personal relationship, which is none of my business and to suggest otherwise would be to claim the two of them were unable to handle their own affairs.

Do I wish things had gone better? Yes. This isn't a perfect world, but I'll take the loss of two people as a small victory compared to the other things that could have happened.

It is only because of me that most know this even happened, since no one paid any attention to the screenshots posted by Ash on his way out in the main server.

 

[plembobria]

Hey, I came in around the last month of your delegacy and it seemed that you hadn't broken this region yet - great job! I know you just mentioned that you would keep the same cabinet, but it appeared to me that there was limited life in a couple of the ministries (mostly comms, GA) at least since I've came back. How do you plan to revitalize these ministries? Would you consider opening applications, or at least appointing new ministers?

I might. There's been quite a bit of upheaval in the Cabinet, if you haven't noticed.

How do you feel about TNP-RP? Are there any rising stars within that theatre that you think could make good culture ministers next term?

I haven't payed much attention to the RP world while I've been in office. And as I said before, I think the CA ministry should be more focused on festivals and the like rather than RP. But I don't think I can say much as to who I might appoint. I have a few candidates in mind, but I don't want to discuss that publicly at this time.

1) Will you continue your policy of forcing government officials to vote in unison on domestic policy, including bills in the Regional Assembly? Do you understand the legal concerns former Attorney General Ash had with regards to this policy?

Forcing them? I hire ministers to advance my agenda. If you don't like my agenda don't vote for me. And don't expect me to hire you. And no I don't understand Ash's legal concerns because there are none. The Ministers serve at my pleasure, and I serve at the RA's pleasure.

2) Why did you feel the need to question the integrity of an election commissioner because of his roleplay connections to another candidate? Do you also doubt the integrity of your roleplay family members who were appointed as election commissioners?

Please explain. Which election commissioner? I don't believe I have cast doubts on anyone's ability to serve as an EC. While I've replaced both EC's during this election, it has been due to both of their resignations. I can't actually fire them.

3) Ash's investigation into your conduct was stopped after you and Lord Ravenclaw convinced the plaintiff to back down. Lord Ravenclaw has consistently defended this action as necessary to regional security, because he thought it was unknown how you would react if “backed into a corner” by an indictment. How are we to trust your integrity if your closest friend and ally believes you capable of illegally usurping power?

He is not my closest friend and ally. Secondly, he serves in a office expressly designed to keep mine in check. And I don't presume to comment on his judgement. That is the RA's job.

4) Yesterday, several rank and file citizens in Discord publicly asked for an investigation into the reasons behind Praetor's resignation. Yourself, the vice delegate, and “advisor to the delegate” Mad Jack all began to flood the channel with spam. Lord Ravenclaw responded to the citizens' concerns with, “oh let them have their tantrums.” Mad Jack told them that “the TNP government owes you precisely jack shit.”

Madjack's bluntness aside, he is correct. So long as there are no criminal charges filed, there is no mechanism in TNP for investigating the reasoning behind any minister's resignation. Secondly, your accusations of "bullying" were responded to by me, the vice delegate, and one of my special advisers, with the seriousness they warranted. None at all. There is a legal method for "rank and file citizens" to request classified information. Funny how it hasn't been used.

5) Do you categorically deny that your veto of the evidence redaction bill has nothing to do with the calls for an investigation? This is the most popular bill ever to have been vetoed, passing with 41 to 10. Your veto of this bill would protect yourself and other government officials from an investigation. Your veto also came only hours after multiple citizens had requested such an investigation in Discord chat.

"Most popular bill ever vetoed?" Did you actually look through the archives at every veto handed down since 2005? My objections to the bill were quite clearly laid out in my veto message. If you disagree with my objections, address them. I don't have time for people who refuse to deal with the substance of issues while pedaling conspiracy theories by "just asking questions."

6) Your opponents all withdrew their candidacy in the final hour or two before the end of the nomination deadline. We know at least one of these withdrawals was related to the situation surrounding Ash's investigation. If you should be re-elected, do you believe you have a legitimate mandate to continue as delegate?

If the regional assembly reelects me it is because they want to. They are under no obligation to vote for me, and they have the right to reopen the election. I really don't care to entertain questions over whether or not I have a "mandate."

 

[Guy]

There certainly seems to have been a bit of drama etc. I haven't been privy to any of it (partly as I have not the time to scroll through Discord logs, partly as it occurred behind closed doors).

In deciding who to vote for, the question is quite simple: Does Plembly deserve re-election?

There hasn't been much said on that question, but I have seen some discussion related to the resignations of Ash and Praetor. If anyone wants to explain why this should be held adversely against Plemby, I'm happy to listen. I cannot simply hold the fact that Ministers have chosen to depart, even under acrimonious circumstances, against Plemby. Disagreements happen in NS politics, even serious ones. We haven't heard one side of this, let alone both (all?) sides. Unless there is some specific allegation of wrongdoing, I don't think there needs to be an investigation whenever such circumstances arise.

Kondratev has asked some questions of Plemby, asking him to explain some matters. I don't think I'd be saying something that is contestable by suggesting that Kondratev mistrusts Plemby's motives with regards to those matters (and probably others), and does not wish to see him re-elected.

Two of these questions contained allegations that concerned me. The first was regarding the attack on Election Commissioners; the second a possibly improper use of a veto. I believe both have been discharged by Plemby.

The other questions did not refer to specific incidents. It is easy to ask broad questions, cast wide aspersions, use vague language. If there is a serious matter here, however, that's not the standard which I would expect. The first question seemed particulalrly frivolous.

To cap, I'll be waiting for further discussions to take place, but as of now I'd vote for Plemby.