MCPR/The Porcupine: Mideast Assembly Debate

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

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More control needs to be given to the individual school districts.  The regional government should act as a helping hand to districs who are struggling.  We should let districts figure out what works for them, while at the same time, providing help and resources to accomplish this.  This being said, some districts may not perform as well as they should, and the regional government needs to be prepared to step in where necessary, but only in areas where it is necessary.  Unnecessary meddling in the school system leads to stopping successful school districts from performing as well as they could.

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At this time, I oppose it because the Speaker of the Assembly fills all of the necessary duties that a Lt. Governor would have.  Without increased activity for a PROLONGED period of time, I don't see why we should add more positions.

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I wholeheartedly support the current system.  In times where we have high activity (like this election), we will have 5 Assemblymen.  I see no reason to deviate from the current set-up.  It allows for more openings when there is high activity without the negative repercussions of having empty seats (or seats filled by people who have to be convinced to fill the seat just so that it's not empty) during periods of low activity.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

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I've been in the Assembly for a long time.  Through most of that the RPP was in control (if not unanimously), but I have never voted on a bill because of who introduced it or what party they are from.  I vote for bills solely on my thoughts for the bill.  I choose a party because I feel myself and my votes match with that party the best; I don't vote how I think my party would want me to.

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Ideally, I would support a law without the rape/incest clause; however, I realize that that does not fit with the will of the people of this region, nor most of my colleagues, therefore, I am content with the law as is.

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If we can successfully pass a budget, we can find wasteful areas in the budget and give tax cuts to businesses and individuals to help our economy.  We can also use some of this money to set up systems that provide education and training to those looking for a job.

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It's something I have wanted to see passed.  Unfortunately, between Governors, Speakers, Assemblymen, and the GM, we've never been able to get everything lined up.  If we have support from the Governor and GM, I think we can have it accomplished by the end of the session.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I misread that last question.  Before we focus on balancing the budget, let's get a budget.  We have to see how unbalanced we are before we start trying to balance it, and that may be something that will take a couple sessions to fix if the deficit is too large.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I think he may be coming from the viewpoint that as that child in the womb is a life you can't punish that child for what the rapist did. This is why I support adoption in these kind of cases.

But you also can't punish the mother for being raped, that's like double jeopardy.

Double jeopardy?  That's a bit extreme.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I think he may be coming from the viewpoint that as that child in the womb is a life you can't punish that child for what the rapist did. This is why I support adoption in these kind of cases.

But you also can't punish the mother for being raped, that's like double jeopardy.

Double jeopardy?  That's a bit extreme.

Double jeopardy is not the phrase I meant to use, but I think my point was made.

From your point of view, possibly.  But if he has the viewpoint of the unborn child being considered a life, then it's nothing like doubl jeopardy.  You're criticizing his viewpoint based on a disagreement of beginning premises.  His viewpoint is only radical to you because you've started off from a different logical point.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

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We need to make sure we're electing active leaders.  Bi-monthly Assembly elections are already a good way of accomplishing this.  We also need to allow for room for new members to contribute, while keeping a system that doesn't allow tolerance of inactivity.  And that is why I support the status quo of the current Assembly eleciton system.  It allows for more members during periods of activity while not leaving the Assembly with inactive members during periods of less activity, something that I think is very harmful to the region.

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Our government is a republic (for the most part).  If the people wanted me to vote by their will, we might as well change to a pure democracy.  But for the most part, I think my views match up with the will of the people, especially considering my length of time in the Assembly.

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I have been in the Assembly for a long time, and I've resided in the Mideast my whole life.  I know our Constitution and statutes inside and out.  I have a record of not voting simply along party lines and I've been dedicated to this region.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I've got a question for all candidates: The work of the Assembly hinges on pieces of legislation that are introduced by the members of the Assembly; if there are no bills to discuss there is nothing to do and the Assembly becomes a boring place. So, if you are elected to the Assembly, what are your legislative goals? Do you have any issues or even concrete bills in mind that you want to introduce as an elected member of the Assembly?

I think we really need to get the budget done.  If this is something our region truly wants, let's get it out of the way first.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

My question to all candidates is this.

What will you do, if anything to preserve LGBT rights in the Mideast?

For the moment, I think our laws are adequate.  To my knowledge, there are no problems with LGBT rights in the region.  If I'm incorrect, or if a new problem comes up, we'll tacle it to make sure that everyone receives fair and equal treatment as we've been doing in the Mideast for years.