Katie for Wintreath
Happy Summer, my northern hemisphere brethren, and Merry Winter to those elsewhere! I'm
Katie, incumbent Officer of Information and Speaker Pro Tempore of the Underhusen, Thane of Integration, and Thane of Diplomatic Officers and Missions! This election cycle I'll be running for three positions, and I want to describe, for each one, what I've done, what I plan to do, and some other stuff!
To get it out of the way now, you can find a dispatch listing all of my current and prior regional positions
here.
Skrifa of the Underhusen
I'm running to get Skrifa of the Underhusen (for the 6th election in a row) because I love the Underhusen so much as an institution. I am highly dedicated to making it the most productive and efficient it can be (although I believe a good legislature shouldn't be super active, and laws should be as airtight as possible, but that's an argument for another time.)
For next term, I have several pieces of legislation in the works that might make the Underhusen and Wintreath as a whole a slightly better place. I plan to continue the publication of the Underhusen Weekly Report, posting activity updates regarding UH legislation on the RMB, as well as my other duties as Officer of Information such as posting copies of proposed legislation to the Citizen's Platform. On top of all that, I've been taking care of Wintermoot's "Underhusen Term Membership" spreadsheet and built upon his previous work by completing and maintaining a list of all prior legislation considered and voted upon by the Underhusen.
Finally, I hope to obtain the Speakership this coming term. I have to admit that I'm a rather impatient person with too much time on her hands, and as such, I've always found it frustrating at how long it takes to do simple tasks such as motioning, rallying Skrifa to action, and moving things to vote. Additionally, I've already taken on the responsibility of sending out pings reminding Skrifa to make motions within time limits established in our Procedural Rules.
Thane of Diplomatic Officers and Missions
I am running for this thaneship because I have an undying devotion to Wintreath. I want to make certain that I am upholding our good image by sending only the best to represent our region abroad, and ensuring that no rules or traditions are broken in the process. Naturally, I am human, and sometimes I make mistakes, yet those mistakes have always come as learning experiences to me.
Coming up to this election I'll be finishing my second term in this thaneship, and to date, I have made many accomplishments. I've kept a completely up-to-date list of our embassies, with discord server links, forum links, and even their R/D alignments. Before the election of Clytirrisia as our Thane of Regional Outreach and Events, I had taken it upon myself to reach out to new regions and find areas of common ground. It is because of taking that initiative that we have embassies with Forest, The Empire of Mare Nostrum, and the Grand British Union.
Strictly referring to my mandate, I have been maintaining the points system I established during my first term and handing out points accordingly. I admit I should be more strict as to what constitutes being an "active" ambassador, but before I can define that I must address some core issues about activity under my thaneship.
In the future, speaking of these issues, I want to find a way for ambassadors to have more things to do. The Ambassador Program is, quite frankly, a dull and quiet place. Outside Orendi publications, there is absolutely nothing for ambassadors to do, and it's often challenging to maintain constant immersion in foreign regional cultures. I aim to attempt fixing these issues in this following term and future terms.
Finally, this is the position where I see the absolute most promise in promoting our Summmersend festival in late-August. It has been quite a while since other regions participated in Summersend, and I'd love to have our embassy regions participate in a fun cultural event! Wintreath always seems to make embassies with other regions and then doesn't do a ton with them afterward. I want to change that as a member of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Thane of Integration
I have been in the Integration thaneship since April's elections, and I'm running again because I highly enjoy greeting new people on the RMB and I rarely see other people do that. My prior experience in this area includes being Officer of Outreach in The Rejected Realms for 4 months.
As Thane of Integration, I have established a prominent presence on the RMB as an authority figure that people can relate to and with whom they feel comfortable speaking. I try my absolute best to greet new people on the RMB and the forums every time they come. Furthermore, I've gone above and beyond my duties in establishing
The Wintrean Oracle, a weekly publication outlining short news snippets, new citizens, and birthdays of the week, so that new people can get a feel for our culture. Additionally, I have been keeping a close eye on the RMB when arguments flare, and recently I was in a situation where I had to redirect people to our Discord's politics channel, as our RMB is no place for heated, partisan politics.
I must admit that I was rather inactive, especially on the integration front, in April, but this is due to final exams, which kicked me in the behind rather hard. I will be taking summer classes until the end of June, but after this, my schedule will be relatively open and I will be able to devote my time to all of these positions.
To conclude my campaign, I want to turn my focus to my voters. What do you want to see from me in these positions? Are there areas in which I can improve, and if so, could you suggest any new ways? I represent the people of Wintreath in the Underhusen and the Riksråd, and the opinion of those people is highly relevant.
Any questions you do have can be put in the comments below. If you've reached this point, hooray! I'm so grateful you took the time to read my campaign. It's always good to be well-educated about all of your candidates. Have a great day, and remember to go out and vote on
June 1st!
