Northern Regional Committee

[Kingpoleon]

I motion for immediate nomination of a Chair for twelve hours. Perhaps a Vice Chair to act in case of slight inactivity for the Chair.

I think cinyc has shown himself capable of amazing efficiency in the Northeast region. I suggest he and former Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention Truman become Chair, Vice Chair, or Co-Chairs. Both seem to be very efficient and good at moving things along.

[Kingpoleon]

I third the motion. Someone fourthing this allows it to pass without a vote.

[Kingpoleon]

I think "The Northern Union of Franklin" would be a good name. We could then refer to the region as either Franklin or "the North."

As for a bicameral legislature:
I like the idea of three Senators, and the remainder if numbering three or above forming a House of three to five members. If there are four candidates, a three man Senate would be created. If there were five or six, a five man Senate is elected. If there are seven or more, the top three are elected to the Senate and either a three or five man House is created. The combined legislatures elect a Prime Minister among them, with the Governor casting the tie breaking vote. The PM then presides over the legislature and the Governor would veto it.

I'll turn it into legalese in twelve hours or so, assuming no one else does. Hopefully this meeting can be successful in using innovation and unique ideas in founding this region's government

[Kingpoleon]

Personally, I think three districts Representatives and two at-large Senators would make he most sense if my bicameralism idea is too large. Remember, we have five people currently in the Northeast Assembly and seven people here. I think we can safely supply a legislature of eight, but if we go with three districts and two at-large, I think we can combine them into one Assembly with different names for them.

[Kingpoleon]

My sincere apologies. I was continuing previous discussion.

As soon as a proper bill is made regarding Senate elections, I would agree to an immediate vote.

[Kingpoleon]

Abstain, on the grounds that I don't like the proposal, even though it appears to be the better option.

[Kingpoleon]

Agreeing with the amendment. I support immediate nomination of this Committee for as short a time as possible. Why not two weeks, if it's termed a "special election?"

[Kingpoleon]

If we're holding the multiple elections next weekend, can we constitutionally specify that the person elected to the June seat will remain in office until October?  I don't think the Fourth Constitution requires another June election - it just says the election for the Senator has to be in June.  And this will be.

I agree with this.

I, too, agree. Good compromise. I'm not very glad that we are going so slowly, but, then again,it's going faster than I thought it would.

[Kingpoleon]

AYE

[Kingpoleon]

Perhaps some sort of combined long name that can casually be referred to as either? I recall someone else suggesting "the Northern Union of Franklin."

That was me, and it is a good compromise in my opinion.

[Kingpoleon]

OFFICIAL BALLOT

Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region?
[2] The Commonwealth of Franklin
[3] The North
[1] The Northern Union of Franklin
[   ] Write-in:
Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region?
[1] Executive and Legislature
[   ] Write-in:

[Kingpoleon]

Point of clarification: is voting open to the public or only to committee members?

The public is free to express support for anything and contribute to discussions. Voting, however, is the sole right of committee members.

[Kingpoleon]

I implore the Committee to consider an official nickname.

As an official Committee member, I second this. If possible, we could do this in under twelve hours. How many people do we need to hold a vote on "Franklin" becoming an official nickname?

[Kingpoleon]

I'd prefer two at-large representatives elected for two month terms and three district representatives elected to one month terms.

[Kingpoleon]

I believe the second one posted by Truman is the best option and the only one suggested. As the author of it, I ask that we vote for it by unanimous consent. This is the best we can do for now, and while I agree with the principle of bicameralism and voting for something at the same time, I cannot believe that such a system would work right now. I would be perfectly fine with this being easily amendable in case activity increases in the future.

[Kingpoleon]

As a general principle, it's probably best that we try to keep the Assembly system as simple as possible.

Speaking as a private citizen, I'd rather that all five members are elected via proportional representation in a unicameral legislature.  If we need to have districts, then at the very least we should limit how often a person can change from state to state.  Drawing competitive districts can be enough of a hassle; we wouldn't want people flowing in and out of districts just to grab seats for a certain party.

My only rule for districts would be that nobody who has moved states under a month before the election could run for office in a regularly scheduled election. It's pretty hard to prevent gerrymandering, but I trust no Assembly would even attempt it. If it starts up, I would try to fight it.

[Kingpoleon]

I don't like electing multiple members at a time. It feels largely undemocratic to allow the second and third and fourth and fifth place winners to get a seat. Perhaps we could do five at-large seats and elect them for three month terms but stagger the elections so no more than two people are elected at once.

[Kingpoleon]

Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[5] 5 seats; elected at-large
[1] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional
[3] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional
[4] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional
[2] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional

Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity:
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[X] Abstain

[Kingpoleon]

Aye

[Kingpoleon]

I'd like to let the Lieutenant Governor run the Assembly if the Speaker takes over twelve hours.

[Kingpoleon]

Are we going to do a special gubernatorial election in post-July 5 or before June 28?

I'd slightly prefer the latter, and doing it between June 28-July 5 would probably encourage low turnout due to the holidays. While that might benefit me a bit, I'd prefer a high turnout for democratic sake. Either way, this Committee may be the effective governing body unless we establish something else temporary fast.

[Kingpoleon]

4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 19, and 22 need amended in my opinion. "Only in a manner consistent with the law" and all variations thereof is far too broad for the first four.

18 should not in the Constitution.

[Kingpoleon]

OFFICIAL BALLOT

R001     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R002     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R003     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R004     [  ] YES   [  ] NO   [X] Abstain
R005     [  ] YES   [  ] NO   [X] Abstain
R006     [  ] YES   [  ] NO   [X] Abstain
R007     [  ] YES   [  ] NO   [X] Abstain
R008     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R009     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R010     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R011     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R012     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R013     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R014     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R015     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R016     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R017     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R018     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R019     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R020     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R021     [  ] YES   [  ] NO   [X] Abstain
R022     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R023     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R024     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R025     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R026     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R027     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R028     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R029     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R030     [  ] YES   [  ] NO   [X] Abstain
R031     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain

Some reasons:

4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 19, and 22 need amended in my opinion. "Only in a manner consistent with the law" and all variations thereof is far too broad for the first four.

18 should not in the Constitution.

Once voting is over, I motion for the Committee to go over all rights with five or less AYE votes to consider amendments.

[Kingpoleon]

I nominate New York City, New York.

[Kingpoleon]

1. New York City, New York
2. Boston, Massachusetts
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania