So, I've decided to run for election.
It's not the first time since 2018 that I (seriously) think of it, but it never felt like the right time, some times for me, some times for the region, some times for both. Maybe it'll never be the right(est) time, but I've decided to not let indecisiveness take the best of me again.
I have to admit I struggled knowing what to write in this campaign (so I plagiarized Cata's, which is gonna make this look like i'm debating her campaign or something. What fun.), it's hard to not make it more of the same, more of the typical, more activity, more this, more that. Everyone wants those, and there's little room in the way you can deliver them.
So, instead of going on this department by department I'll divide this in two, what I want to change and, the far less exciting, what I want to continue.
What Changes
First off, let me say, the region is
Second, I don't want my election to be predicated on the success, or the popularity of, what I guess are, government reforms (partly my old ideas smh). But it would seem dishonest not to mention these as part of my candidature. This post would be much much shorter.
Facts. I have no proof of it, but I think I've done the best with this in the past. Retention is the most difficult thing, and recruiting onto offsite is not easy either. I think if we push certain things on the rmb and reach out to certain people, like I did as delegate, but not just me.So,
RMB & Outreach - I think RMB and Outreach, intraregional recruitment and integration of new citizens or prospective ones, has been something this region has struggled for a long time. We've tried different things, but none of those have stuck, we've written guides, but those can only go so far.
So, what I suggest, is separating the Outreach duties that are most RMB centric, such as on-site activities, passive engagement ( just talking on the RMB ) and passive recruitment ( again, just talking on the RMB about what's going on the region), which are things that already naturally happen, and to an extent RMB moderation, be separated from the Officer roles and the cabinet and we create a separate body, with several members, to handle that. Of course this would still be under the supervision of the Delegate and preferably also under an integration-focus Officer, and this would not mean that Cabinet/Delegate just ignores the RMB and on-site activities.
We can call it whatever, and the manner of selection of it's members can be argued later, but in essence this would serve to on one hand give those who are most active on the RMB and more centered on that aspect of the RMB community some control over what is their region too. And while I know the TRR RMB attracts a certain reputation on the offisite part of the region the truth is we have, and have had, many members that would fit perfectly on a position such as this one - Cookies, Mhaul, Anarchi, current officers, Hoff and Thepeopl, who already serve in an unofficial similar role, and in the past we had people like Aandru, for example.
On the other hand I think this would be the perfect stepping stone for new people looking to getting involved in the government but to whom the lack of experience can be an obstacle, and so this would be a less daunting more carefree way to try your first time in the regional government.
Cabinet Composition - I assume this idea will be more controversial than the first, but in my mind one would have to be implemented in tandem with the other.
Before, this wasn't my intent with cutting down maximum Officer roles (well the de facto ones we have), however the rest of this is exactly what I had in mind in 2018 and pushed for. We should do exactly this and implement it. I'm in support of cutting to two to be clear as Cata amended.What I suggest is decreasing the size of the elected officers from four to two, and changing the roles from them being assigned by the Delegate to having candidates running for either Culture ( or Internal Affairs if people want to make it more broad ) or Foreign Affairs[/strike].
We have struggled several times with getting enough candidates for our elections. Sometimes we have just the four, the required minimum to fill up the cabinet ( though, of course, this does not necessarily mean we will have four officers ). Sometimes we have less than four. Sometimes we have a long gap between an officer resigning and a new officer challenging for the role, if at all.
Culture and Foreign Affairs are the offices that remain constant in this region. They always have some who is interested in them. They always have a lot for people to do with these positions, they're effectively the two most important roles in every cabinet. There would be no alteration to the challenge system in these roles other than that when someone is challenging they'd be challenging for a specific role.
This would not mean that the cabinet would fall to just being two officers. Instead, the remaining officers would be appointed directly by the Delegate and would be replaced at will by the Delegate. The specifics of the appointments can be made later, whether they require Assembly approval, etc.
There also needs to be more ease in the way the Delegate is able to handle inactive or underperforming officers. Asking other people to run is frankly something that I don't like very much. It sounds confrontational and at the same time backhanded. If there's an established expectation that the Delegate can replace at will then that's much less problematic than the Delegate approaching others in DM's asking them to challenge x or y. That makes for, in my opinion, bad cabinet relationships.
I think this is a better approach for roles such as WA Affairs, Integration/Outreach or for new roles the Delegate wants to experiment with, like Roleplay or Recruitment, because there are bound to be more volatile and sporadic on their output and activity.
This would allow a bit more flexibility in the way the delegate manages their cabinet. Cabinet dynamics and having people you know you can work with is important, while on the other hand having the core officer roles remain elected to guarantee a diversity of opinions and that the region as a whole still has a bit more choice in who is doing what.
I don't want the campaign to be bogged down by the specifics of the legislative implementation of these changes, so please, don't start that discussion now, that comes later.
Wow, this sounded like Cata wanted BoM drama and TNP-Defender drama to continue, just wow! Lmao. Sigh, this will probably sound mean, but I think our FA overall is a bit too weak and needs to be more bulldoggish and proactive. It's not that previous governments were bad, just did things differently. I'm of strong mind that the Delegate and FA team should be very independent of the Assembly, however, I also don't believe in trespassing the Assembly's bottom line. I guess the idea here would be to maintain a healthy balance between the two, without weakening FA and without tempting being challenged for being too wild or independent. We'll probably need to reexamine the relations not only that we have, but that others have with others. Regardless, of our relation to them. This isn't a "We need to reexamine membership in Aegis" type of deal but for everyone both for positive and negative reasons. I wonder if I need to cut down embassies again too?What Continues
This part is the less exciting, more of the same, bit.
I don't expect to do large Foreign Affair turnarounds or signing treaties with every defender region out there. During Walrus's delegacy TRR has kept a very reliable, very no nonsense approach to Foreign Affairs, while still looking up for what we think is best for our region.
We can see that with the BoM stuff and the Defender-TNP kerfuffle. I would very much like that to continue. I would also like to bring back some sort of FA updates, even if just make use of the TRR NSGP Thread.
I would like there to be an event at least with one of our treatied friends. I think that this happens every term is basically guaranteed. I don't have anyone specific in mind but we'll get there when we get there.
Anywhose though, we still should probably talk about Aegis after elections conclude. Everyone should know that I do not have confidence in Aegis any longer, but I do think it isn't useless and that staying/leaving/whatever is not to be done lightly. The recent debacle was a travesty in my opinion. It's beyond just being mad at Euro or something. I am of the belief, it should not have been possible to go down the way it did and I am not sure clarifying/amending the accords would actually prevent a similar situation. However, membership wise in Aegis, it would need to be prevented from recurring or a situation almost like it. At least on that end, as Delegate I'd push very heavily to make sure that can't happen, shove it down people's throats probably. On the other hand, for the opposite, well it's not the end of our world either, so I don't have an issue pulling that trigger if it comes down to it.
This type of stuff is very much more of Cata's wheelhouse than mine. Though I imagine people like Cata and Ray can work on these types of things and whoever does culture.In terms of culture, I would like to utilize the new NS map feature to the best of our ability. This could even come to be implemented in the last days of Walrus's delegacy, or even if I'm not Delegate.
I just need to work the map, it's important that the region is happy with it but that I am too, as the person who will be drawing it and updating it.
The idea here would be to tie being placed on the map to endorsing the Delegate and/or being a Citizen, or some other qualification. No plans for RP or anything.
Other than that, I hope that we continue doing the things that this region does together, be it werewolf, popmaster, dunking on RMB spammers, whatever it be, and I hope we continue to take some enjoyment out of it.
Feel free to ask questions.In closing, I just want to reiterate that every term is a group effort, that the Delegate has a key role in that effort in coordinating it, and that the changes that I mentioned before will not be the fix-all for this region, and that there'll be better days and worse days, as there always have.
Full disclosure, I'll be absent for around 10 days during June. I should still have internet access but I doubt I'll be doing much of anything during that time other than check discord.
Joke part of the Campaign:
We will formerly become the New Rejected Order. I will be our Emperor, Tom will be Regent; Guy, Bowshot, Koth, Souls, and Milograd will be Senators. the frattastan will be the official poophouse cleaner. Also, we will formerly create an Alliance with Mallorea & Riva, sharing embassies with his at the #1 position. We will bring back those unjustly banned from TRR like Tupelope, Frak, and Ur Mom. Probably.
I might add more stuff as an Addendum, I need to do some more rereading of what I missed in the past of briefly looked over.
