ABC for Speaker

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ABC for Speaker​


Hello great nations of The North Pacific!

I shall be running for Speaker of the Regional Assembly. Ever since I got involved in Regional Government over a year ago, I've had the privilege to serve in many positions in this region and I believe this experience will prepare me for taking on the duties of Speaker if I am elected. The most relevant experience to this position, would of course be my 2 terms as a Deputy Speaker; first under Owenstacey and now under Darcania. However, I also believe my experience as Minister of Home Affairs has well prepared me to lead such a vital branch of our government.

In the time I have been here, we have had many great Speakers such as our current one, Darcania, our now former Delegate Pallaith, and Owenstacey - a newcomer, but a very capable leader. In recent months though there have been issues concerning the duties of the Office of the Speaker that need to be addressed. Below, I have outlined my plans to fix these issues and make the Regional Assembly and The North Pacific the best they can be.

Under Darcania, citizenship has been faster and easier to obtain than ever. Because of their role as both an Admin and as Speaker, citizenship checks now only require the approval of the Vice Delegate and the Speaker. We also saw them introduce a tool they had created themselves to verify that oaths of citizenship match the required text. Of course, as Darcania is running for Vice Delegate now, citizenship checks won't be nearly as fast. That does not mean that they have to be slow though.

If elected, I will ask Darcania for the program so that I as well can use it and citizenship checks will remain very efficient. Additionally, I will try my very best to do the Speaker Checks on all applications at least once a day so that they remain fast and easy to obtain.
TL;DR: Citizenship Checks are being done effectively at the moment and I wish to continue the current system.

I will admit that this term, there have been very few RA Digests released. This is due in part to the 1+ month time of inactivity in the RA, but I will address that issue later. The main problem is that when activity came back, there were many times where Deputy Speakers (myself included) forgot to release them on time. Additionally though, I have received word that many people either trash or don't read the digest. This raises the question of whether the digest itself needs to be improved, or if the method of distribution needs to be changed. If elected, I would hold a public poll to decide what needs to be changed. In this poll, people could make the decision: should the content of the digest be made more interesting or should the digest be something that only people who subscribe to it would receive? Of course if people were unsure, there could always be a middle ground.
TL;DR: Public polling should be held to help decide the future of RA Digests; shall they be only for those who subscribe to receive them, should they be made more interesting, or is there a middle ground we should find?

Next, I move to the issue of low activity in the RA itself. The Regional Assembly has for the past few months either had no activity at all or has had very little activity. There is definitely a reason for this. I believe that one of the main reasons is that our Constitution is near perfect. When someone wishes to draft a bill now, they actually have to look hard to find something worth changing. On one hand there are some things that need more clarification, however some area for interpretation is always necessary.

Another reason though is that the vast majority of people in The North Pacific either haven't heard of the RA or have no idea how it works. To solve this, I propose working with another Ministry - possible the Ministry of Communications to form dispatches and references to help people both know that the RA exists, and help them know how it works.
TL;DR: Much of the low activity in the RA is due to our Constitution being very good and not in need of much change, but it is also because people either haven't heard of the RA or don't understand how it works.

I want to make The North Pacific a better place for all citizens. There are things that need to be changed in the Regional Assembly and I believe that both my experience and my vision can help make this happen. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them; I will try to respond to them as soon as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my campaign (or at least skim through it) and I hope I have what it takes to become the next Speaker!

Sincerely,
ABC

Candidate for Speaker


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If you're elected, will you change the Speaker's motto from "Shut up, I'm speaking" to "Shut the duck up, I'm speaking"?
 
You have come a long way since you first joined the Speakers Office under me and it was been amazing to see you progress. You have my total support.
 
Owenstacey:
You have come a long way since you first joined the Speakers Office under me and it was been amazing to see you progress. You have my total support.
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Thank you for your support :)
 
ABC, how do you respond to the allegations that you've been keeping DEF locked up in a cage in your basement for nine years?
 
I remember you when you first started out trying to become a Deputy Speaker and finally reached that goal

Many memories

Hope you win :D
 
Malphe:
Looks good.
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Thanks! :)

Syrixia:
ABC, how do you respond to the allegations that you've been keeping DEF locked up in a cage in your basement for nine years?
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These allegations are without merit; I would never even think of doing such a think like that.

Yuno:
I remember you when you first started out trying to become a Deputy Speaker and finally reached that goal

Many memories

Hope you win :D
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Thank you for all of your support!

Kasch:
Good luck, abc!
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Thank you so much! :D
 
I have a couple questions for you.

First, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being completely unfamiliar and 5 being totally comfortable, how would you rate your familiarity with the key tasks of the Speaker's office? Specifically:

1) Admitting new citizens
2) Removing citizens who no longer qualify
3) Opening and administering votes in the RA

Second, the Speaker is an office with a lot of discretion in when to put things to vote, or even to entertain discussion. Under what circumstances to you believe it is appropriate for the Speaker to refuse to open a vote, or to unilaterally end discussion on a topic?
 
SillyString:
I have a couple questions for you.

First, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being completely unfamiliar and 5 being totally comfortable, how would you rate your familiarity with the key tasks of the Speaker's office? Specifically:

1) Admitting new citizens
2) Removing citizens who no longer qualify
3) Opening and administering votes in the RA

Second, the Speaker is an office with a lot of discretion in when to put things to vote, or even to entertain discussion. Under what circumstances to you believe it is appropriate for the Speaker to refuse to open a vote, or to unilaterally end discussion on a topic?
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1a. 5
1b. 5
1c. 4 (I haven't had the chance to hold an RA Vote this term, but have a good idea of exactly how it works because of the RA Procedures)

2. I would only refuse to open a vote if it was either a last case scenario or what was being brought to vote itself were nonsensical. Let me give an example. Let us suppose that someone creates a proposal in the RA to make every day of the year a government holiday. Obviously, this doesn't make sense and is almost certainly being done as a joke rather than as a legitimate proposal. Another example would be if someone introduced a motion to dissolve The North Pacific government in a time of peace without any justification. Finally, let us suppose that a citizen introduces a bill to amend the Constitution and make them perpetual dictator and happened to have a lot of supporters. I'd block a motion to vote for this as it would be a severe blow to democracy if it were to be passed and/or were contradictory to the Constitution. In general, I would block motions to vote and end discussion on proposals that were ridiculous, would severely hurt the region (whether it be in our democratic government or our own stability), or was done at a time when it wasn't needed (such as declaring an emergency when there is no real justification to do so). Obviously, there are fringe cases, but in general this would apply.
 
So just to be clear, you view it to be the job of the speaker to crush votes that might pass (as in your example) if you disagree with them politically.
 
Mall:
So just to be clear, you view it to be the job of the speaker to crush votes that might pass (as in your example) if you disagree with them politically.
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Not if I disagree with them politically, only if they are a severe threat to the legitimacy of our government or our democracy and freedoms.

Sorry, Mall. I'm afraid some of the proposals you may wish to pass would fit this criteria very well.
 
Hello, abc, glad to see you're running for the Speakership. I always thought you would make a good Speaker, but I have a couple questions and concerns for you first.
  1. Who do you plan on appointing as Deputies should you win, especially considering your comparative lack of experience overseeing Regional Assembly matters?
  2. During my most recent term, I had difficulty with the extremely low activity levels of my Deputies—both RPI and yourself. One only has to look at my Vacancy Bill, which I had attempted to lead you through, to see evidence of this.
    How can the electorate, and especially myself, be assured that you will maintain activity in the Speaker's Office, especially with regards to the standards set in the past few months for Citizenship checks?
 
Darcania:
Hello, abc, glad to see you're running for the Speakership. I always thought you would make a good Speaker, but I have a couple questions and concerns for you first.
  1. Who do you plan on appointing as Deputies should you win, especially considering your comparative lack of experience overseeing Regional Assembly matters?
  2. During my most recent term, I had difficulty with the extremely low activity levels of my Deputies—both RPI and yourself. One only has to look at my Vacancy Bill, which I had attempted to lead you through, to see evidence of this.
    How can the electorate, and especially myself, be assured that you will maintain activity in the Speaker's Office, especially with regards to the standards set in the past few months for Citizenship checks?
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1. I would definitely reach out to a longtime member of the office, such as COE to help me learn more about the office and would appoint a newcomer as a second Deputy

2. I would formally like to apologize for my low activity last term as a Deputy Speaker. There are many reasons for this, but probably the most contributing factor was the lack of time in RL to do much in NS. This has especially been true through mid April, but with much more time now, I would have no problem being as active as a Speaker needs to be this term. The current standards though shall be brought up from last term in regards to activity levels and I would make sure that any deputies I appointed would also be very active if elected.
 
abc, did that Speaker staff thing I did when I was Speaker help you at all? Is it worth trying again in some form? I'd like to know since you would be the first Speaker to have been a member of that staff first.

In your answer to Darcania's question you said you would make sure your deputies would be very active. What methods would you employ and, using those methods, would you have removed yourself as a deputy based on how this past term went?

How comfortable are you with updating the spreadsheet's vote columns? It's the hardest thing to teach deputies and that's going to be on you now. Do you know how that works well enough to pass that knowledge along? How about the spreadsheet in general, what's your comfort level with that?

I don't have much of a choice in this election. I like to give deference to members of the Speaker's office, unless a very promising newcomer with talent to spare is running (as I did last January), but it's not much of a challenge when you're unopposed. This is a very important job that unfortunately not a lot of people want to do, even the ones who have done it and have a talent for it. I hope I can count on you not to coast because you're unopposed.
 
Pallaith:
abc, did that Speaker staff thing I did when I was Speaker help you at all? Is it worth trying again in some form? I'd like to know since you would be the first Speaker to have been a member of that staff first.

In your answer to Darcania's question you said you would make sure your deputies would be very active. What methods would you employ and, using those methods, would you have removed yourself as a deputy based on how this past term went?

How comfortable are you with updating the spreadsheet's vote columns? It's the hardest thing to teach deputies and that's going to be on you now. Do you know how that works well enough to pass that knowledge along? How about the spreadsheet in general, what's your comfort level with that?

I don't have much of a choice in this election. I like to give deference to members of the Speaker's office, unless a very promising newcomer with talent to spare is running (as I did last January), but it's not much of a challenge when you're unopposed. This is a very important job that unfortunately not a lot of people want to do, even the ones who have done it and have a talent for it. I hope I can count on you not to coast because you're unopposed.
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Thank you for your questions.

1. I think what you did as Speaker was very helpful. By maintaining a staff, the next generation of people to run the Office of the Speaker could be trained. Without it, training Deputy Speakers is not impossible, but is definitely a significant time hog.

2. I'd ensure that the Deputies I chose either had experience working in the Speaker's Office or showed signs of being very active in other areas of government. If they were very new members, where they didn't have experience and there wasn't much of a track record to see how active they were, I'd probably invite them to work in the Speaker's Staff for a month or so and if they were active enough there, I could offer them a position as a Deputy (if there was room). Not only would I make sure I did this when picking my Deputies, but I'd also ask them at the beginning of their term to let me know about any times during their term that they'd be inactive due to RL so I could be prepared for that. If these methods were to be employed, I probably wouldn't have removed myself as a Deputy. I'd have let the Speaker know at the beginning of the term that I'd be very inactive around mid-April, and the Speaker's Office would have 3 deputies so that there'd always be someone to pick up the work.

3. I'm actually fairly comfortable with it. I've looked through the RA Rules, the instructions Darcania has given me, and at the voting sheet itself, and I definitely think I could use it fine. Of course I'd have one experienced deputy who I might end up asking in a fringe case situation, but for the most part I should be fine filing votes myself. I'd probably do the RA Votes in the beginning of the term so I could get a better idea of how to do it myself with hands on experience, but after that I'd be perfectly prepared to teach it to my deputies. Even now I could probably do a good job of teaching it to a Deputy if I could guide them through the process. The spreadsheet in general is something I'm pretty comfortable with. I know very well how to do citizenship checks as I spent my entire time under Owenstacey doing that, and I'm fairly proficient with my knowledge of how to file votes in the voting section.

4. I realize there isn't much of a choice in this election, but you can count on me to get the job done.
 
abc:
Pallaith:
abc, did that Speaker staff thing I did when I was Speaker help you at all? Is it worth trying again in some form? I'd like to know since you would be the first Speaker to have been a member of that staff first.

In your answer to Darcania's question you said you would make sure your deputies would be very active. What methods would you employ and, using those methods, would you have removed yourself as a deputy based on how this past term went?

How comfortable are you with updating the spreadsheet's vote columns? It's the hardest thing to teach deputies and that's going to be on you now. Do you know how that works well enough to pass that knowledge along? How about the spreadsheet in general, what's your comfort level with that?

I don't have much of a choice in this election. I like to give deference to members of the Speaker's office, unless a very promising newcomer with talent to spare is running (as I did last January), but it's not much of a challenge when you're unopposed. This is a very important job that unfortunately not a lot of people want to do, even the ones who have done it and have a talent for it. I hope I can count on you not to coast because you're unopposed.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your questions.

1. I think what you did as Speaker was very helpful. By maintaining a staff, the next generation of people to run the Office of the Speaker could be trained. Without it, training Deputy Speakers is not impossible, but is definitely a significant time hog.

2. I'd ensure that the Deputies I chose either had experience working in the Speaker's Office or showed signs of being very active in other areas of government. If they were very new members, where they didn't have experience and there wasn't much of a track record to see how active they were, I'd probably invite them to work in the Speaker's Staff for a month or so and if they were active enough there, I could offer them a position as a Deputy (if there was room). Not only would I make sure I did this when picking my Deputies, but I'd also ask them at the beginning of their term to let me know about any times during their term that they'd be inactive due to RL so I could be prepared for that. If these methods were to be employed, I probably wouldn't have removed myself as a Deputy. I'd have let the Speaker know at the beginning of the term that I'd be very inactive around mid-April, and the Speaker's Office would have 3 deputies so that there'd always be someone to pick up the work.

3. I'm actually fairly comfortable with it. I've looked through the RA Rules, the instructions Darcania has given me, and at the voting sheet itself, and I definitely think I could use it fine. Of course I'd have one experienced deputy who I might end up asking in a fringe case situation, but for the most part I should be fine filing votes myself. I'd probably do the RA Votes in the beginning of the term so I could get a better idea of how to do it myself with hands on experience, but after that I'd be perfectly prepared to teach it to my deputies. Even now I could probably do a good job of teaching it to a Deputy if I could guide them through the process. The spreadsheet in general is something I'm pretty comfortable with. I know very well how to do citizenship checks as I spent my entire time under Owenstacey doing that, and I'm fairly proficient with my knowledge of how to file votes in the voting section.

4. I realize there isn't much of a choice in this election, but you can count on me to get the job done.
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Based on your responses, it sounds like you will re-institute a Speaker staff then? Otherwise how could you try them out in a staff before making them deputies?

My question about the spreadsheet was primarily about editing it for new RA votes. Setting it up in the forum is crucial but editing the spreadsheet for new votes is fraught with challenges. I just wanted to make sure when you address that question, you're actually answering based on what I was worried about.
 
Pallaith:
abc:
Pallaith:
abc, did that Speaker staff thing I did when I was Speaker help you at all? Is it worth trying again in some form? I'd like to know since you would be the first Speaker to have been a member of that staff first.

In your answer to Darcania's question you said you would make sure your deputies would be very active. What methods would you employ and, using those methods, would you have removed yourself as a deputy based on how this past term went?

How comfortable are you with updating the spreadsheet's vote columns? It's the hardest thing to teach deputies and that's going to be on you now. Do you know how that works well enough to pass that knowledge along? How about the spreadsheet in general, what's your comfort level with that?

I don't have much of a choice in this election. I like to give deference to members of the Speaker's office, unless a very promising newcomer with talent to spare is running (as I did last January), but it's not much of a challenge when you're unopposed. This is a very important job that unfortunately not a lot of people want to do, even the ones who have done it and have a talent for it. I hope I can count on you not to coast because you're unopposed.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your questions.

1. I think what you did as Speaker was very helpful. By maintaining a staff, the next generation of people to run the Office of the Speaker could be trained. Without it, training Deputy Speakers is not impossible, but is definitely a significant time hog.

2. I'd ensure that the Deputies I chose either had experience working in the Speaker's Office or showed signs of being very active in other areas of government. If they were very new members, where they didn't have experience and there wasn't much of a track record to see how active they were, I'd probably invite them to work in the Speaker's Staff for a month or so and if they were active enough there, I could offer them a position as a Deputy (if there was room). Not only would I make sure I did this when picking my Deputies, but I'd also ask them at the beginning of their term to let me know about any times during their term that they'd be inactive due to RL so I could be prepared for that. If these methods were to be employed, I probably wouldn't have removed myself as a Deputy. I'd have let the Speaker know at the beginning of the term that I'd be very inactive around mid-April, and the Speaker's Office would have 3 deputies so that there'd always be someone to pick up the work.

3. I'm actually fairly comfortable with it. I've looked through the RA Rules, the instructions Darcania has given me, and at the voting sheet itself, and I definitely think I could use it fine. Of course I'd have one experienced deputy who I might end up asking in a fringe case situation, but for the most part I should be fine filing votes myself. I'd probably do the RA Votes in the beginning of the term so I could get a better idea of how to do it myself with hands on experience, but after that I'd be perfectly prepared to teach it to my deputies. Even now I could probably do a good job of teaching it to a Deputy if I could guide them through the process. The spreadsheet in general is something I'm pretty comfortable with. I know very well how to do citizenship checks as I spent my entire time under Owenstacey doing that, and I'm fairly proficient with my knowledge of how to file votes in the voting section.

4. I realize there isn't much of a choice in this election, but you can count on me to get the job done.
Click to expand...
Based on your responses, it sounds like you will re-institute a Speaker staff then? Otherwise how could you try them out in a staff before making them deputies?

My question about the spreadsheet was primarily about editing it for new RA votes. Setting it up in the forum is crucial but editing the spreadsheet for new votes is fraught with challenges. I just wanted to make sure when you address that question, you're actually answering based on what I was worried about.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I intend on bringing back the Speaker's Staff.

Ah okay, yes I know how to do that as well. I apologize for going a little off track with my answer.
 
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