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.
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.