Ramelia for WA Delegate

Hello fellow Member States!

In my five years since joining the Social Liberal Union, I've been consistently impressed by the community and solidarity our region consistently fosters. It's unlike any other region I have found on NationStates, and it is something I have been glad to be a part of. The SLU has shaped my development in terms of politics and frequently been a place where myself and others have shared the happenings of real life, good and bad. For all of that, I'm thankful and feel lucky to have found the SLU.

I suppose it's best not to obfuscate the obvious here: I am running for World Assembly Delegate of our esteemed region, and hope you'll consider voting for me. In this platform, I will try to outline where I think the SLU is as a region, what I've done to justify seeking such a high office, and where I hope we can go if I am elected.

Where We Stand

The SLU is at a pretty unique and opportune point right now. Thanks to extraordinary recruitment work by North American Republics (and maybe a bit of Youtuber intervention) we've grown our membership by a factor of more than two in the last few months. This has translated into quite a bit of activity by our newer members, which is a great sign and speaks well of our existing involvement programs.

Outside of sheer numbers, the SLU is pretty well set for an era of prosperity. We have just joined the NSLeft and our ties to other leftist regions in NS are as such better than ever. Thanks to the consistent and careful work of Goncar, we also recently were able to open embassies with The East Pacific, the first in-game embassy we have had with a GCR in memory. Our laws have been tuned over the years to be fit well for an expansion like the one we're seeing. NAR's building this new forum and the elections portals has been a further boon for us.

Overall, we are at a crossroads, where we can grow into a better and greater region if we choose. Such a moment is quite rare, so I hope we can make the best of it and would like to a part of that.

What I've Done

I have been in the SLU for quite a while now, and have spent around half that time serving in governing capacities as Speaker of the Union and Minister of Domestic Affairs. In my two Speakerships in particular, I have seen in very significant legislative change. In 2017, this meant coauthoring our Third Constitution with Anaaxes at a time where it was necessary to start fresh. In more recent years, I've tried to ensure our laws are appropriate, modern, and helpful for governance, while not being especially burdensome. In that time I also managed and improved accessibility in the Library of Parliament, a massive resource for our laws and history, and assisted with the creation of the Bar Exam. Not all of my tenure in government has been perfect, and I fully and freely admit I have made mistakes. However, I can confidently say that my effectiveness in governance has improved over the years; a lot of that is thanks to the community in this region.

I realize that experience with the SLU's legal system does little on its own, especially with a role like the Delegacy. It is nonetheless helpful in terms of active management (which the Delegate does). Additionally, my consistent activity in official capacities would serve me well as Delegate; we're best served by one who gives frequent updates and can readily give explanations.

Where We Can Go

In past years we've seen several campaigns (especially for the delegacy) where good promises were made but not followed through with. In some cases, the promises (like a new forum) actually did come about organically when the campaigner's term had ended. There's a reason for this: the role of the Delegate is fairly limited, and plenty of that promised is simply beyond their hands. A good Delegate coordinates and encourages practices that are working well; that is what I would seek to do.

To the end of coordination, our Constitution provides a potentially powerful tool—setting a Cabinet doctrine after the Ministerial elections. While burdensome regulation is not my goal, doing this would give the region a chance to hold their leaders accountable and an outline for that leadership. I would have Ministers submit plans for their terms soon after their election to compose the Cabinet doctrine, and through roughly monthly updates it could be maintained and Ministries remain on course.

As Delegate, I clearly would have an important hand in molding Ministerial function beyond collating their input. I think, first and foremost, having fully staffed Ministries would be helpful. Our Civil Service Act provides a neat outline for the executive branch that I would encourage Ministers to utilize—Domestic Affairs handling a variety of roleplay and non-roleplay engagement, especially with new recruits; Foreign Affairs continuing to help us keep involved with our allies; and Immigration looking for more people with the time or technological prowess to help with our highly successful recruitment program. (A couple of issues have come up with the Civil Service Act in the past year, and I would have Ministers suggest revisions to the departments in their Ministries as part of the Cabinet doctrine so that maximum effectiveness is possible at the departmental level.) I would further ensure my availability to fulfill tasks as requested by other governmental officers as necessary.

Besides dealing with the Cabinet, the World Assembly Delegate has a few other responsibilities and powers. One of those, obviously, is handling World Assembly affairs and votes. At a minimum I would be careful not to miss votes, but I would like to provide explanations on each vote I take and make open discussions on our region's position more common. Checking resolution proposals for those I should approve would also be an aim of mine. Otherwise, I would try to make public updates and encouragements to join government (by running for office or applying for department roles) more frequent to boost activity.

I freely admit that this component of my platform is mostly taken from my opponent, Helvurium, but I agree strongly with it and think it is important to include. Over my years here, there have been a number of people who come to or are residents in our region at a time of particular need for them. Taking a more active approach to helping them, especially in finding organizations that can provide aid, should be an aim of our government. I also think we should more frequently provide information and opportunities for donation for those who can about relevant humanitarian projects and organizations. Building solidarity, on and outside of NationStates, is crucial and needful in this world.

As one last thing, I would like to bring back the weekly fireside chats of a few delegates prior. They provide an opportunity for all Member States, in and out of government, to get involved with the happenings of our region and suggest changes, and deserve to return.

Thank you for reading! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to ask them at your convenience and I would be more than happy to respond. Whoever you think is best fit for the Delegacy, please do vote! Our region has been fortunate to have a large number of fantastic members and candidates for office over the years, but our democracy is far more important than any given campaign. Cookies!