Talk Elections

Time for questioning!

Ms. Fhtagn, what areas of the Department do you think can be reformed or improved, and what will your priorities be as our new Secretary?

     To the nominee, what duties do you see the office of Secretary of Internal Affairs comprising, especially in respect to the office of the Game Moderator?

Senator Scott, I feel first and foremost, the biggest improvement that needs to be addressed with the Department is activity level. When the idea of appointing me to this position came my way, I did my best to research how the position should be run, and after speaking with several folks and looking back far enough, I came to the realization that an active SoIA is something the game has not had in quite some time, and something that is desperately needed. The fact that such a vital position has been so severely neglected is simply unacceptable, and something that demands a major overhaul.

One of the ways I intend to do this is to to build close working relationships with regional officials, and coming up with a system we can all agree on that will not only build unity between the offices, but implement a plan to hold everyone involved accountable for their commitments to resolve current issues in Atlasia.

Senator PiT, my main goal as SoIA, as answered in the previous question, is to establish clear and open lines of communication, as well as making sure systems are in place to hold people accountable for their duties. I do not intend this to only be something in place between myself and regional officeholders, but as a relationship between myself and the Game Moderator as well. I see the relationship between the SoIA and GM to be mutually dependent on each other in many ways. Without both ends clearly and consistently upholding their end of their duties, it makes it nearly impossible, and pointless, for the other to do their job effectively. I fully intend to work with the GM on a personal level to establish an acceptable method to ensure that I am fulfilling my duties by providing timely responses to domestic issues, and in turn, a method for me to ensure that the GM is doing their job by providing me with domestic issues to respond to. 

I would like to thank Ms. Fhtagn for coming to this hearing and look forward to working with you in Nyman.

Many moons ago, I also served in this position for a short time but found the possibilities for action quite broad. However, I've come to believe that for a Secretary to be successful, he or she must be proactive in their actions in developing regulations, directives, and proposed laws.

So, my first question is do you have an agenda of sorts which you plan to begin working on regardless of how active the GM or other officerholders might be? And if so, would you be able to take us through your priorities in administering your remit?

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=208786.0

Good Times!

Thank you for the question, Senator Barnes (and apologies for the delay in my response).

I have a few examples in mind of policies I intend to hit the ground running with based on generated interest at the regional and federal levels.  Some broad examples of this are energy and the environment, transportation and infrastructure, and health care.

It is no secret that at the regional levels, clean energy and energy independence are one of the top issues being campaigned on (both at the regional levels and higher) and discussed in their respective legislatures. As a member of the Southern Chamber of Delegates, I myself have sponsored legislation that laid the groundwork for a transition to nuclear energy, for example. There is also a candidate running for Senator in Fremont who is running on nuclear and hydroelectric power. One of the things I would love to tackle as SoIA, is working with regional leadership to ensure that there is progress being made on these sorts of proposals, and any proposals that have been passed are being appropriately implemented.

Transportation and infrastructure are another set of big issues that we are starting to see as a major topic at all levels of government. With the (fairly) recent announcement of the high speed light rail system to connect the regions, I want to use this as an opportunity to ensure that the heads of all regions are still on board with this proposal, and get a gauge on what steps are being made to get the ball rolling on this plan, and what is needed from the federal government to ensure that this can be done. There has also been a lot of discussion on infrastructure in the regions, but little in the way of observable progress in these ideas. Another example from my experience in the South, is during this legislative session, there was a bill that eventually ended up being tabled due to budget issues that would rebuild infrastructure, offer job training for inexperienced workers, and hire additional contractors, surveyors, etc. to oversee the development of infrastructure management. I want to take the time to work with regional officeholders to determine what may be needed to ensure potential programs like this do not come to light and die as quickly as they are introduced. I want to work with officeholders to develop a plan to continue implementing this legislation, as it not only solves the issue we are facing nationally with crumbling infrastructure, but also tackles the issues we are facing with unemployment.

And lastly, upon my election into the Atlasia House of Representatives, I have come to find more of an understanding of the health care situation, as we are looking to get a new health care bill rolled out and implemented this session. While this is still a work in progress and something being monitored, if this bill passes, my goal is to make sure that regional officeholders are fully aware of their responsibilities upon it's passing. I fully intend to come up with an action plan and method of tracking progress on making sure this legislation is being acted on in a timely manner, and properly executed at the respective regional levels, and setting up a way to ensure that any inaction on their part is something that they are reasonably held accountable for.

I was thinking of the first time in 2011! Good lord...

I would like to thank the nominee for her detailed answer to my question.

I move that the question be now put.

Okay, let's bring this confirmation hearing to a final vote. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain.

Aye

     Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

By a unanimous vote of 6-0, Fhtagn had been confirmed to the position of SoIA.

Thank you to Senators Scott, PiT, and Barnes for your wuestions, and thank you all for your trust in my ability to perform the duties of this position.

I look forward to getting to work and serving Atlasia well :)