Thank you all for the chance to speak here today. I am proud to be here in front of the members of your party. The Liberals have been my allies in the assembly throughout my term. Our parties have cooperated better in the Mideast than in any other region. Here, we sit in a formal coalition, through the Mideast People's Liberal Labor Caucus. I was very happy to serve with now-Senator Mr. X while he was a member of the assembly, and he and I agreed on almost every issue discussed there. I was sad to see him leave but at the same time I am glad he was elected Senator. I hope that I will be able to serve with Clinton1996 next term as well, whether that is as Governor or as a member of the assembly.
When I declared that I was running for Governor, I knew that I was a definite underdog. I'm sure you are all familiar with ZuWo's quote about even the Dalai Lama not being able to beat Tmth. At the time, it looked like the Governor's reelection was going to be uncontested, with no other candidate having declared. I can understand why this is; Tmth is a good, honest person who has made real, legitimate progress as Governor. I have been proud to work with him on a number of significant issues, including the transition to PR-STV and the (unfortunately unsuccessful) attempt to expand the assembly to seven members to account for increased activity in our region. I do not and have never questioned the Governor's character or integrity or that he is seriously committed to our region.
But at the same time, I believe it would be a deep disservice to this region to have this campaign be uncontested. While the Governor and I agree on many issues, we also have had our disagreements as well. We have had good, substantive debates in the assembly over many real issues (and no, not just abortion, as some have suggested
), ranging from labor law reform to promoting fairness in education. And I fundamentally believe that Mideasterners deserve to have these issues debated in this campaign. That is why I am running; not out of opposition to Governor Tmthforu, not out of personal ambition, but to give The People a real choice to make on the issues that matter to us.
I have laid out my proposals for the region in
my campaign platform, which I hope that you will all read. I know that some of you may disagree with some points on there, but I hope that you will find that on the whole my ideas will help improve our region. I firmly believe that these proposals are the best thing for The People of the Mideast, as well as consistent with the Liberal Party's center-left, progressive views.
I know that many of you may not support me, and some here have already expressed their endorsement of Governor Tmthforu for reelection. I do not fault any of you for that at all. But I do hope that I can earn your support in achieving our parties' shared goals. Together, the Liberal and Labor parties can win this election and bring real, progressive change to the Mideast!
Thank you,
-Drj101
