Mideast Citizens for Progress and Reform

[ZuWo]

That's interesting. I'm looking forward to learn what the ideology referred to as "Mideasternism" entails and to look into your reform proposals.

[tmthforu94]

I have a couple of reforms I would like to propose. As I think some could certainly pass and others could be a stretch, I'll begin intrdoucing them individually.

If an Assemblyman could please sponsor this so it can be brought to the floor, I'd greatly appreciate it!

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I will make my case for this amendment, as well as the others I plan to introduce, in their respective threads. I will also link this in the MCPR thread for discussion.

I have introduced an amendment that will increase the Assembly back to five seats. After reading the current version of our Constitution (which I just updated on the wiki), I'm quite opposed to the recent change. I don't think the number of Assemblymen should be based on the number of candidates running. If we have four Assemblymen who mesh well together and no one else runs, one of them should not be punished by losing their seat.

I think our region could soon develop a problem once again of having a large amount of zombie voters, and that could be because they don't have opportunities to get active. Should this pass, I would personally encourage new members of the Mideast region to try running for Assembly.

I do plan on introducing another amendment later that would help solve a potential problem in uncompetitive Assembly elections.

Discuss!

[tmthforu94]

Here's another amendment. We've done a lot of talking about establishing a Lt. Governor. The Governor's poll showed that just over half of Mideast citizens would be willing to support the position, so I think it's certainly worth discussing. Like my other amendment, I will outline what the changes are and why I think we should do this in it's debate thread. This will certainly be a working amendment, as I expect many changes to be made.

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Here's a second amendment, which basically tries to accomplish this:

How about this:

- The Assembly expands to 4 members.
- Whoever places first in Assembly elections becomes Lt. Governor. This guarentee's that there will always be at least some competition for the Assembly seats, and also takes away the fear some have that creating an entirely new Lt. Governor position and vote will be uncompetitive.
- Should the top vote getter not want to be Lt. Governor, it keeps getting passed down until someone wants it.
- The Lt. Governor will pretty much hold the same responsibilities the Speaker currently has: Lead the Assembly, fill in if Lt. Governor is vacant, etc. Their vote will also break any tie.

So basically, base it off the Northeast system.

I did address several of Shua's concerns, as he's the only Mideasterner who commented on it by creating an odd number Assembly (that's actually in a seperate amendment) and not letting the Speaker break ties (I actually didn't spot the clause where that is established, but I believe it is by the Governor).

[ZuWo]

I don't support this amendment

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because I believe the current system of flexibility which was tested at the last Assembly election is better. In June there were not many candidates running for a seat so we only elected 3 Assemblymembers. As a result, we had a competitive and exciting election.
Now it looks like we will have 6 candidates running for Assembly in July, which means that the new Assembly is very likely to consist of 5 members. I like the flexibility the current state of affairs guarantees because it promotes competitive elections.

However, I am in support of the Lt. Governor amendment. You may want to have a closer look at Section 4, though:

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If, according to clause 1, the Lt. Governor is responsible for updating the wiki but fails to do so, then why should he be rewarded by becoming acting Governor as stated in clause 2? Did you maybe intend to write "Governor" instead of "Lt. Governor" in clause 1?

[tmthforu94]

Haha, you're right on the Wiki section. That's something we can work on when debate rolls around - whether the Lt. Governor, Governor, or both should have the responsibilities.

Now, on to expanding the Assembly back to 5...

You yourself said via PM that the Assembly isn't too active right now because two are pretty busy and RogueBeaver is just starting. Imagine how much of an improvement it would be if JCL had also been elected? We have all of these new members, many of whom you recruited to build up the Whig Party. Shouldn't we give them an opportunity to become involved in the game rather than just become a zombie voter?

If there are 5 active Assemblymembers, one should not be punished because more candidates didn't run. There could always be someone, me for instance, who runs as a sacrificial lamb to ensure the others are elected. Actually, that may be a good idea...

[ZuWo]

The problem that we have too few active Assemblymembers will be solved more or less automatically in July: We have three sitting Assemblymembers who I think are likely to run for re-election. Then we have Oldiesfreak and JCL who are officially declared candidates. Add A-Bob, who may run as well once he returns from his trip, and Cathcon, who has given a hint that he may return to elective office in the near future. Then we have 20RP12, who has formed an exploratory committee, which means that we may have up to 8 people running for a seat in the Assembly come July. This way, the next Assembly will consist of 5 members anyway.
Therefore, I don't think we need to amend the constitution again. The current wording of the section in question also has the advantage of creating competitive and interesting elections should there be too few candidates next time; we don't need an Assembly that theoretically has five seats but only has four members because we didn't even have enough candidates for the five seats.

[tmthforu94]

On the contrary, the way I have proposed to re-implement the Lt. Governor would also erase fears of uncompetitive Assembly elections, as it'd be a battle to see who would finish first and become Lt. Governor.

I think some consistency is good, just like in RL. Not sure if I'm crazy about the Assembly potentially changes size every session.

[ZuWo]

The question regarding your idea of making the candidate with the most votes Lt. Governor is: Would that really motivate more people to run for Assembly and prevent us from getting into a situation where we don't have enough candidates for the five seats? I agree with the idea of electing the Lt. Governor in this way but I doubt it would lead to more citizens running for Assembly; a person who doesn't want to run for Assembly is probably not going to change his mind simply because he could become Lt. Governor if he finishes first in the vote count.

I have no problem with the imagination of an Assembly which changes size every session. This is actually not an uncommon principle in elections around the world. In Germany, for example, the number of seats in the "Bundestag" varies in every election depending on the number of "Überhangmandate".

[Simfan34]

I would like to invite your chair to join the Tripartite Commission.

[tmthforu94]

I would like to invite your chair to join the Tripartite Commission.

For now, I'll call myself chair.

We have no bylaws, but just to make sure, do any MCPR members object to us joining the Tripartite Commission? A few hours for an objection.

[ZuWo]

Reform and progress in the Mideast are a key priority of my governorship. Thus, I will join this movement as an "other member".

[Napoleon]

Awkward....

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I too will join as a non-party member as I am committed to championing the Mideast should I be elected to Federal office.

[Napoleon]

I too will join as a non-party member as I am committed to championing the Mideast should I be elected to Federal office.

That isn't our goal.

[tmthforu94]

Welcome to both Cathcon and the Governor!

[tmthforu94]

Some idea's I have come up with:

- Create a committee, not government-run, just focused on updating the Wiki. Each person will be responsible for a certain job, such as updating statue, keeping main Mideast page up-to-date, creating pages for new citizen's, etc.

- Publish a monthly "newsletter" which citizens can easily access to see what's been going on in the Mideast in the past month, from bills passed to arguments to election results.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

idea's

You're in college, mate, what's this?!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I too will join as a non-party member as I am committed to championing the Mideast should I be elected to Federal office.

That isn't our goal.

I can't remember everything, but I do remember a comparison to the Imperial Bloc and I'm going on that. Don't hate.

[Napoleon]

idea's

You're in college, mate, what's this?!

I'm Some idea and Tmth belongs to me!

[Napoleon]

I too will join as a non-party member as I am committed to championing the Mideast should I be elected to Federal office.

That isn't our goal.

I can't remember everything, but I do remember a comparison to the Imperial Bloc and I'm going on that. Don't hate.

It isn't hate, but that is the exact reason why I said we shouldn't be compared to the Bloc.

This about enacting reforms at the regional level.

[tmthforu94]

I too will join as a non-party member as I am committed to championing the Mideast should I be elected to Federal office.

That isn't our goal.

I can't remember everything, but I do remember a comparison to the Imperial Bloc and I'm going on that. Don't hate.

It isn't hate, but that is the exact reason why I said we shouldn't be compared to the Bloc.

This about enacting reforms at the regional level.

You're both right - this is about creating more regional pride as well as coming up with common-sense reforms for the Mideast.

idea's

You're in college, mate, what's this?!

No I'm not. I still have a little over a month.

[HappyWarrior]

I shalt join.

[TJ in Oregon]

I think it would make sense for me to join as a member of the Whig Party still, as I may or may not already have put myself in the middle of the Mideast's reform discussion.

In short when it comes to assembly numbers, I think:
-5 members is preferable to 3. That has always been my position from when it changed and I was lonely in opposing it to now when it has become popular again. The main reason is that having more members spurs more activity because having more new people involved in the game means bringing new perspectives into the discussion, new ideas for bills, etc that the same old crew who have been in the assembly for years may have exhausted their supply of. I agree that this is at its heart an election game and potentionally causing non-competitive elections is a potential a downside, but I believe in this case it does more to exclude new members from becoming active than it does to generate interest in the election. I also think that even if it means you have one extra inactive assemblyman, having more people means each inactive assemblyman does less to shipwreck the game.

-I don't really see the point of having a Lt. Governor who is the assemblyman that receives the most 1st preferences. Due to the quirky way Mideast Assembly elections are counted, the candidate with the most 1st preferences is often a weaker candidate an organized drive is trying to help out or a political outsider relying only on 1st preferences. I also don't see the point of having a Lt. Governor who is actually an Assemblyman just for the point of having a Lt. Governor.

That's my 2¢.

Edit: Interpret that first part as me wanting to join as a non-party member.

[Napoleon]

TJ makes a good point; we ought to move to a cumulative voting system.

[TJ in Oregon]

I'm fine with the assembly voting system in general; I just think that if we're going to have a separate office of Lt. Governor it should be based on someone actually running for that office and not who gets the most assembly 1st preferences.