Elections (December 2019) Campaign Thread

[McChimp]

This thread is for discussion about candidates running in the December 2019 general election.

[Imaginary]

My opponent Chanku zaid they thought it'd be bezt to have campaigning happen here in the campaign thread but I guezz it vouldn't do at all for me to follov hiz zuggeztion cuz ravvr ravr ravr and all that zo..

Pleaze read my campaign dizpatch! https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1296232

..it haz pretty picture c:

[Chanku]

I decided to do exactly what Imaginary did and make a Dispatch, because why not?

[New Rogernomics]

First, some questions for Chanku.

1. Being the first Prime Minister would put quite a burden on your shoulders, are you up to being the first to have a go?

2. If you could change or reform any Ministries, what would you focus on doing?

3. You mentioned that you were once part of the Celestial Union, is there anything you learned from there that you found valuable?

4. What sort of regional games would you like to run in Lazarus, if any in particular cross your mind?

5. Given your foreign affairs experience in Wintreath, what place do you think Lazarus should hold in the game, and are there any particular regions we should approach?

6. And, for the last, and most difficult question, who in particular would you consider appointing to Ministries? Or, if you can't think of folks for now, what sort of qualities would you look for in a potential Minister?

[New Rogernomics]

Next, some questions for Imaginary.

1. Being the first Prime Minister would put quite a burden on your shoulders, are you up to being the first to have a go?

2. If you could change or reform any Ministries, what would you focus on doing?

3. You mentioned you think the Regional Guard can be a fun part of Lazarus, what role do you think the Guard should play in Lazarus?

4. Europeia and some other major UCRs have run a mentorship program, and some have argued these have not been successful, so what would be involved with this mentorship program, and what would you say to those shareholders that have doubts in such a program?

5. You have done a lot to shape the LazENDO program and encourage tarting in Lazarus, though how would you suggest to rejuvenate it?

6. And, for the last, and most difficult question, who in particular would you consider appointing to Ministries? Or, if you can't think of folks for now, what sort of qualities would you look for in a potential Minister?

[Chanku]

First, some questions for Chanku.

1. Being the first Prime Minister would put quite a burden on your shoulders, are you up to being the first to have a go?

2. If you could change or reform any Ministries, what would you focus on doing?

3. You mentioned that you were once part of the Celestial Union, is there anything you learned from there that you found valuable?

4. What sort of regional games would you like to run in Lazarus, if any in particular cross your mind?

5. Given your foreign affairs experience in Wintreath, what place do you think Lazarus should hold in the game, and are there any particular regions we should approach?

6. And, for the last, and most difficult question, who in particular would you consider appointing to Ministries? Or, if you can't think of folks for now, what sort of qualities would you look for in a potential Minister?

To answer 1, I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I had some of the skills to be up to the task. I will be in somewhat uncharted territory, as I will be the first fully democratically elected Head of Government since the Civil War. To expand on it a bit more, because of the nature of it being new and somewhat uncharted, I do think the first Prime Minister, whoever it is, must work to set forth an example for future Prime Ministers to follow.

To answer 2, honestly I'm not sure. I will fully admit I'm not the most knowledgeable about the Ministries as they stand, and how things operate. I certainly think that Internal Affairs could be restructured a bit, perhaps split up a bit more into different areas. Probably the most sweeping change would be looking to implement a Ministry System where each Minister has an overarching authority over an area, and then Deputy or Vice Ministers that focus on a specific area of that, which is something that has had success in Wintreath and I think could work here to overall reduce the workload of each Minister and within each Department. However, I will admit this may not work here for various reasons and would definitely need to get more information on things as they currently stand before I do anything like that.

As for my time in the Celestial Union, it did teach me the importance of keeping a handle on everything going on, and not just ignoring things. It also did teach me the value of working with other people, and that it is sometimes better to listen, rather than speak. I also learned to be a bit more careful about who you trust, and to not trust people just because they seem nice or friendly, which is something I did a bit more often in the past.

As for regional games, we could do the traditional things like Werewolf and Spyfall, however I have seen other games adapted to Discord/Forum format like Assassin in another region, and we could do more traditional PnP RPG things like DnD. Additionally, we could do Cards Against Humanity (or some clone of it), which can definitely bring people together. A game I wouldn't mind seeing is Secret Hitler as well, albeit perhaps themed a bit more to be 'Lazarene Flavored'.

As to Lazarus's place in the game, and regions we should approach this is a bit difficult for me to answer. With respect to the regions question, I do personally think we should look at repairing our relationship with Wintreath (although I would definitely be hands-off with this, given my bias and Conflicts of Interest), and regions like Caer Sidi could be a decent place to look at forming relations with as well. As for our place, it depends on what you mean by it. I do firmly believe that we have a responsibility to set an example for other regions, and to use our position to advocate for policies and change that would be positive in NationStates, although I do not believe that Lazarus should be anything but Neutral in R/D. I can probably answer in more detail if I had a better idea for what you were asking with this question.

Finally, as to who I would appoint, I would likely look at appointing everyone that currently holds a Ministry position, at least to start with, as they are the ones that would understand the most as to how their Ministry Operates, the state of the Ministry, and things that could change. For any vacant positions, I would look for people with experience in that Ministry, in addition to having the ability to lead and organize things. After I start to understand how things operate, I would likely look at making wider changes, albeit at this time I am not entirely sure as to what.

Thank-you for these questions NR!

[joWhatup]

Some questions for both:

Chanku, apologies, but I have never heard of you. Now, I was not in Lazarus before Mandate 12 was established, but still, I have not seen you do anything in that time. I have only seen you around very recently. So, what experience, if any, do you have with the government of the last 1.5-2 years? Why should I vote for someone I have not seen around? And, another issue, what other regions are you currently involved in? Do you think those other allegiances could have an effect on how you make decisions, should you become Prime Minister?

Edit: on discord, you mentioned we should intervene if a region is “coup(ed) or otherwise harmed”. Does this mean you are advocating a defender stance?

Imaginary, I have few questions. However: what do you believe should be our main objective in foreign policy? How will you achieve this?

[Imaginary]

Next, some questions for Imaginary.

1. Being the first Prime Minister would put quite a burden on your shoulders, are you up to being the first to have a go?

2. If you could change or reform any Ministries, what would you focus on doing?

3. You mentioned you think the Regional Guard can be a fun part of Lazarus, what role do you think the Guard should play in Lazarus?

4. Europeia and some other major UCRs have run a mentorship program, and some have argued these have not been successful, so what would be involved with this mentorship program, and what would you say to those shareholders that have doubts in such a program?

5. You have done a lot to shape the LazENDO program and encourage tarting in Lazarus, though how would you suggest to rejuvenate it?

6. And, for the last, and most difficult question, who in particular would you consider appointing to Ministries? Or, if you can't think of folks for now, what sort of qualities would you look for in a potential Minister?

Wow, great questions! :) Thanks for taking the time to ask them.

1. I spend a fair amount of my time working to improve Lazarus already, and I don't think my ability or will to do so will change in the next four months, so I do feel like I am prepared for the "workload" of the job.

2. I'd like for the Public Relations team to be more invigorated; the other two departments function quite well (altho always room for improvement)! PR is a much more subtle art than either Internal Management or the Guard, so I think it would be best to have older, more experienced folks present there to direct it. The structure Ryccia created for the department is quite good, but in order to make it effective I would spend much more of my own time thinking about what possible PR opportunities we could take advantage of, as well as nudge more progressed players towards the PR direction.

3. Primarily I view the Guard as a training device with which to teach those in Lazarus

• how update and basic r/d work
  
• how to trigger and direct others effectively during update
  

with opportunities to also teach

• how to recruit, engage and maintain the attention and loyalty of players
  
• how to use r/d to further PR goals
  

in order to create a sector of Lazarus containing masters of the r/d game that will use their skills to further the region's goals.

4. I'll have to discuss it with some others before I give you particulars on how it will work. But what I want from it is interaction with new players, who might otherwise glance at the message board full of other people talking, or hear vague ideas about an Assembly full of other folks voting on stuff, and not feel like it's something they're ready for. Mentors will be offered to those who would like someone to show them the ropes, and from their mentor they'll receive information about opportunities and advice of what they're involved with should they feel out of their depth with something.

My main concern is that mentors will not want to engage with their assigned mentee (they're boring, I hate randomly talking to people, I'm busy), so I think an important aspect of this will be spotting, not only knowledgeable, but dedicated, mature and responsible players to take on this role. We have a lot of those around though, so I'm not worried this will be a breaking point of the program.

5. I spent all my free time for a week a few months ago plugging nation names and numbers into a program to get nation lists that wouldn't lead to people going over the endo cap. I'm never doing that again. >_> Either a coder helps me or I need to figure out how to make a better program myself.

6. If I'm elected and they accept my offer and the respective Directors are amiable with my thoughts on VDs, this will be my cabinet.

Director of Internal Management: Leonism - experience in the work and department, maturity, can self-direct
Vice-Director of IM: Debussy - some experience in the department, enthusiasm

Director of Public Relations: Custadia/McChimp - knows how words work
Vice-Director of PR: Chanku - ran in this election, might do something cool and PR needs that

Director of the Regional Guard: Whatermelons - very experienced, a bit immature but that will change

I'll probably change this up like a month into the term though to account for differing performance/interests of people from what I'd expected of them. My main change is getting rid of Lord Denominator as VD of PR; that's cuz he barely does anything here. I'll probably talk to him and other WA-y folks around about what a good way to do things in that area would be though.

Thanks again for the questions!
 

Imaginary, I have few questions. However: what do you believe should be our main objective in foreign policy? How will you achieve this?

Keep our friends close. Talk to them. Work with them. Stare at other people and give them cookies if they wander by.

[joWhatup]

Hm. Next question: what would you like to see happen in regards to the World Assembly? You mention you wish to remove LD as Vice-Director, but the issue if WA matters is still left open. With the amount of votes we have, it would be a shame if it was wasted. What are your plans with that?

[Imaginary]

Hm. Next question: what would you like to see happen in regards to the World Assembly? You mention you wish to remove LD as Vice-Director, but the issue if WA matters is still left open. With the amount of votes we have, it would be a shame if it was wasted. What are your plans with that?

I don't ever intend to be telling Treadwellia which way to vote, but I do think a collection of individuals interested in informing themselves and suggesting a way to vote to others would be cool. It's not a huge priority though, so I'll be looking around for folks, but if no one steps forwards to spearhead an effort to make something like that happen then... meh. >.>