Pallaith for Speaker

Pallaith

TNPer
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Hey everyone, I'm Pallaith and I have decided to run for Speaker of the Regional Assembly of The North Pacific (hereafter referred to as speaker). A few people who really seem to believe in me have encouraged me to run for this position, and as I am not one to back down from a challenge or to disappoint people, I figured I might as well give it a try. I was brand new to TNP when I was appointed Minister of World Assembly Affairs, and would be brand new to the speaker's office if elected there. I like to think I demonstrated a knack for learning on the job, but I also relied on the expertise of those who came before me. TNP has always had a great support structure for those in government, and I am not one to shy away from calling on it for help. I have dealt with legislative bodies in online communities before, though nothing like what you find in NationStates. Nevertheless, if you give me the ground rules, I will make sure to apply them and ensure that others do as well.

I suppose MoWA doesn't neatly translate into the role of speaker. Both positions require a good deal of communication and writing skills, however, and I do have those. The one area these skills would need to be utilized most often, of course, is the publication of digests summarizing RA activity. As MoWA I have been involved in the drafting and publication of regular recommendations for WA votes, which are disseminated through telegram and dispatches. One thing that has been true as long as I have been around and as far back as I could study in the archives, is that the speaker's office is always in want for consistent digests of the regional assembly's activities. We have had a very busy period of RA activity lately, and regrettably the digest has not been sent out to keep everyone in our region aware of these happenings. Given the frequency, sometimes on short notice, of recommendations for the constant WA votes, I have no doubt I could manage the RA digests on a biweekly or weekly basis, whichever is necessary to keep up with what is happening.

Other than keeping the digests frequent and informative, a huge issue that many in the RA have been dealing with for weeks now is that of citizenship, so I would like to briefly address the matter. It takes a long time to process these applications. I don't think there's any one-size-fits-all solution that will speed this up any more than it's already been sped up. What I can pledge is that I will be making sure the gears turn as quickly as they can on the speaker's end so that as soon as all security and admin checks have been done, the prospective citizens can be added appropriately. I trust our admins and vice delegate to continue doing their jobs to the best of their ability, and pledge to match their effort. Speakers in the past have promised, and succeeded in living up to the promise, of getting done on a daily basis the necessary tasks that must be done every day. You can count on me to continue that work as consistently and reliably as you have become accustomed. Having said all of that, many of our finest minds believe there are steps we can take to further refine the citizenship process.

We have a great legislative system in place and several great speakers have come before me to put it all in place. I see no reason to mess with something that works as well as it does, so I cannot promise you that I will be making a splash and tweaking things left and right. In fact, given my inexperience and my relatively recent arrival to the TNP stage, I can honestly say I would rather rely on what we have in place now as a safety net than risk screwing things up. I do want to clarify that saying this does not mean I won't reform or revise things where necessary, because of course when something needs to be addressed, it will be addressed. I just want to make clear that a vote for me is not a vote to forge a new path or direction for the sake of it. I have a great deal of respect for Zyveskistaahn and frankly I'm humbled by the thought of continuing the work of the speaker's office in its current form. No one person can shoulder this work forever, as we've seen countless times with past delegates and other government officials. With your help and with the speaker's office as it currently exists, I am sure we can take what Zyveskistaahn and COE before that have built and strengthen and advance it into whatever the future of TNP shapes up to be.

With that said, I welcome your questions and comments, I have no doubt you will have some, especially given this is my first time running for office in TNP. In spite of that, I hope you give me a fair hearing and, should I be so lucky, your vote.
 
Would you vote abstain on all legislation before the RA like Zyvetskistaahn did? In other words, what is your opinion on political neutrality of the Speaker?

What is your opinion on the failed Citizenship Bill?

Do you already have people in mind to appoint as your deputies?
 
This is so hard! I've watched both you and Kondratev as newcomers, and I've seen both of you become rising TNP stars. My question is, why should should I vote for you, Pallaith, over Kondratev?
 
flemingovia:
good platform, good candidate. You have my vote.

Thank you, that means a lot!

Eyes that do not Lie:
Would you vote abstain on all legislation before the RA like Zyvetskistaahn did? In other words, what is your opinion on political neutrality of the Speaker?

What is your opinion on the failed Citizenship Bill?

Do you already have people in mind to appoint as your deputies?

Yes, I would maintain the tradition of abstaining from votes as speaker. While the speaker may have an opinion on a given matter, I do not feel he or she should influence the outcome by putting his/her thumb on the scale. If I were to participate in the vote, or even the debate, I fear that any action taken to facilitate the vote might be unfairly painted as partisan (took too long to start the vote, started it too soon, was too harsh with a ruling, etc.) or even worse, my actions might be influenced by my beliefs even if I do not perceive the bias in action. It is safer to remove myself from the matter entirely in order to effectively facilitate the process without giving anyone any room for doubt that the process was fair.

I voted for the failed Citizenship Bill. I believed Darcania and Flemingovia acted with good intentions and sought to address a problem that we really should be looking to address. I am not of the opinion that just because something is not the best possible solution to a problem, it should be thrown out. I reasoned that in the event this bill passed we could further refine it while collecting data that would inform our effort. In other words, if it led to some good, or didn't change things at all, or as some feared, made it less likely citizens would join up, we could adjust it or remove it.. I myself am not sure what the best course is, and I respect the opinion of those who voted against the bill, as they made good points themselves. I personally did not consider the 3 posts to be a high hurdle to jump, and tend to be of the mind that bare minimum investment can itself be used to weed out those who probably won't be sticking around anyway. I would be happy with another solution that doesn't just set up arbitrary obstacles, however, I also don't want this matter to be dropped just because the solutions proposed don't satisfy everyone.

I value institutional memory and would seek to retain existing speaker staff, especially Kondratev. Any possible role Zyvetskistaahn could play in the speaker's office would also be enthusiastically explored. I would also cast my eye over former deputies and speakers if they happen to be available or willing to help.

Frozentophat:
Well written! I was just wondering what you thought about Plemby basically begging you to stay as his MoWAA.

Thank you! I find that to be quite flattering, it means I left an impression and Plemby values the work I put in and the accomplishments the ministry made. I know that when a ministry is doing well, especially after a slow period, people are nervous about shaking things up. Don't be. We have a great team, my deputies are top notch, and our work will continue as it has been even if I am not there to guide them. We have really smart and capable people working on these resolutions, and I am confident they were not there offering their input or crafting our recommendations because I was the one calling the shots. You know your ministry is fine when your staff beats you to the punch and gets things going before you even have time to blink. I am proud to say I have such a staff and they will continue serving you all well no matter where I end up.

Tomb:
This is so hard! I've watched both you and Kondratev as newcomers, and I've seen both of you become rising TNP stars. My question is, why should should I vote for you, Pallaith, over Kondratev?

I'm sorry to make this difficult for you :P

In the end I suppose the decision comes down to which set of priorities you have for the speaker's office in the upcoming term. Both of us do not intend to change the legislative rules as they currently stand, and we both plan to tackle the issue of citizenship reform. The way I see it, my plan is a bit more gradual, but we both plan to get as many people involved and discussing it as possible. I am giving greater weight to the aspect of the job that involves communication, as I feel the digests are not only a fantastic idea but essential to relaying our region's activity to the nations who are a little less aware of what is going on outside of the RMB. We need to be talking to as many nations as we can as often as we can, and they need to see that there is life in this forum, and elsewhere. I frequent Discord and am available throughout the day, although I am on mobile a lot of that time as I have work.

My work as MoWA demonstrated two things, that I could get down to business shortly after arriving in the region, and that I have the writing chops to regularly send out communications to our region's populace. For that effort to work as well as it does requires a great deal of organizational skills, and developing norms so that when a resolution comes up, everyone knows the drill and what is expected. We have our process down to a science, from setting up the voting thread and getting the initial discussion on the proposal converted to a recommendation, to actually formally posting and sending the recommendation out. There are a lot of smaller steps that most people don't notice that refine and finalize the record of these recommendations. An effective speaker needs to be able to establish a process and execute it again and again, offering consistency as well as speed. I have done this during this past term and will continue to do so even if the nature of that work should change and I am elected speaker.

I am a methodical machine when I need to be, and the speaker needs to be that. But I am also easy to get along with and have my playful side, anyone who's talked to me on Discord can attest to that. More importantly, I have experience working with a team and I rely on them as much as they rely on me. I will do the same with the speaker's office, and continue to use what the experienced hands in the region teach me to put my own spin on this pillar of our region. Honestly, I believe Kondratev is also an excellent choice, it all comes down to the approach you feel is best for the office to take in handling these matters.

Gladio:
You have my vote, good luck

Thank you, I appreciate the support!
 
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