PA2: The Lieutenant Governor Amendment [failed]

[Türkisblau]

The Lieutenant Governor Amendment

Section 8 of Article III of the Pacific Constitution is amended to read:

1. The Governor, upon taking office, shall appoint a Lieutenant Governor, who, upon a vacancy in the office of Governor, shall succeed to that office.

2. The Lieutenant Governor shall be a resident of the Pacific Region.

3. In the declared absence of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor shall assume the responsibilities of the Office of Governor, excluding the right of taking executive action on legislation, on an acting basis.

[Türkisblau]

I do not see any reason for this as this region has been plagued by lack of activity. Is there any reason why we need another office in our Regional Government, Governor Varavour?

[Simfan34]

Indeed, Mr Speaker, that is exactly why this amendment is necessary. Before you, our speaker was virtually incommunicado and more or less completely absent and had to be pushed out of office after several previous, more gentle, suggestions had gone unheeded . Had I for some reason been compelled to leave office, the responsibility of the region's governance would have essentially fallen to an empty seat. Hence, by allowing the Governor to designate a successor based on the prevailing conditions, we would ensure that power would fall into the hands of an absentee legislator.

Now, Mr Speaker, I imagine you must look at this amendment with some degree of suspicion, and I would see why. If I were in your position I would be concerned that this amendment was targeted at myself and was a deliberate attempt to reduce the stature of my office. It would be only logical and quite frankly would be exactly what I would think. Now, and I am aware this can only say so much, but it must be kept in mind that I proposed this change over two months ago:

Governor Varavour spoke to students at the University of Utah on Friday afternoon, where
he also put forth a number of proposals for reforming the Pacific's regional constitution.

Excerpts from Address - "A New Programme of Reforms"
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

[...]

In this vein, I shall also propose an amendment to introduce the position of a Lieutenant Governor. It is important that an orderly succession be maintained, and as we saw during the last session of the Council, with an absentee Speaker, the region would have fallen back into the disarray which we have tried so hard to stave off. It is for this reason I believe it is crucial that we make this change.

I made some proposals, Mr Speaker, and I do intend to follow through with them- I put my ideas on the floor and it would be disingenuous of me to not let them be pursued. I have the utmost admiration for your work, Mr Speaker, and I think the region would be in safe hands you were to succeed me. But the matter of the fact is that we will not always be here, and based off of my experience with the office, the danger of the region falling into incapable or incapacitated hands is too high for comfort.

[Türkisblau]

I note that virtually every office of the Pacific government has become "incommunicado" within the past couple months, with the impetus for my entering Pacific politics being the movement to remove you from office. All I understand this amendment being, if I understand the history of inactivity in the Pacific Region correctly, is to create another office that will likely lie with someone who doesn't care about the Pacific or become inactive.

You talk about the office of governor falling into "incapable or incapacitated hands" however this amendment does not provide any way for the LG to be confirmed or given any check by the People of the Pacific Region. I see it likely that this office will be used to award cronies of whoever is Governor at the time, or a "patronage position". Instead of someone given any check by the people such as the Speaker or someone who was elected by the people on the ticket with the governor, it is simply a designee of the governor.

That is the most troubling part of this proposal. You would rather have an unconfirmed appointee of the governor rise to the position rather than someone who has been elected through the People and been elevated to become leader of the Council. I see this as not an insult to me but an insult to the democratic process.

[Flake]

I note that virtually every office of the Pacific government has become "incommunicado" within the past couple months, with the impetus for my entering Pacific politics being the movement to remove you from office. All I understand this amendment being, if I understand the history of inactivity in the Pacific Region, is to create another office that will likely lie with someone who doesn't care about the Pacific or become inactive.

You talk about the office of governor falling into "incapable or incapacitated hands" however this amendment does not provide any way for the LG to be confirmed or given any check by the People of the Pacific Region. I see it likely that this office will be used to award cronies of whoever is Governor at the time, or a "patronage position". Instead of someone given any check by the people such as the Speaker or someone who was elected by the people on the ticket with the governor, it is simply a designee of the governor.

That is the most troubling part of this proposal. You would rather have a an unconfirmed appointee of the governor rise to the position rather than someone who has been elected through the People and been elevated to become leader of the Council. I see this as not an insult to me but an insult to the democratic process.

ff

[Simfan34]

Well, then let's work on improving the amendment.

Although I encourage you to not look at the region through the lens of assuming permanent and intractable inactivity. This process and of itself is activity. More than any amendment or law, such fatalism will doom anything you and I set out to do. We can and must try to effect a permanent change in our expectations for the Pacific.

If that has not happened then I will have failed as Governor.

[Türkisblau]

Well, then let's work on improving the amendment.

Although I encourage you to not look at the region through the lens of assuming permanent and intractable inactivity. This process and of itself is activity. More than any amendment or law, such fatalism will doom anything you and I set out to do. We can and must try to effect a permanent change in our expectations for the Pacific.

If that has not happened then I will have failed as Governor.

If things are active once again in the Pacific and will stay that way, then I would expect that the Speaker, the position that must be active the most consistently, to be the most ready to assume the duties of the governor. I see no reason why an LG with almost no duties to be more qualified to succeed the governor.

Your new argument for making a new office being that we need to somehow create a new office to change expectations (?) and that we mustn't be fatalist cancels out your previous point that past speakers have been inactive.

It is my position that there is no conceivable reason why this should be something that we ought to change.

[Simfan34]

Very well. I would like to hear the opinions of the other members of the Legislative Council, as well. You have valid points, certainly.

[Türkisblau]

Very well. I would like to hear the opinions of the other members of the Legislative Council, as well. You have valid points, certainly.

I have notified the other councilors about the amendment; I hope that we can get word from them soon.

[Türkisblau]

Debate will end on this amendment in 12 hours.

[Türkisblau]

Voting on this amendment begins immediately and will last 48 hours.

[Türkisblau]

Nay

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Aye

[Türkisblau]

This amendment fails with 1 aye, 1 nay, and 1 not voting.