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First of all, I'd like to thank @tatte for coming up with the idea of these debate threads. I personally love them and would like to continue the practice, although this edition is certainly not as flashy.

I've a feeling that as Speaker, my vote will be a contentious and influential one, seeing as how it will indirectly represent the whole Underhusen and its constituents, and thus I would like to make this vote as informed as possible.

Please answer the following questions as honestly and completely as possible:

• Do you believe the Underhusen/Storting needs reform? If so, how and why?
• Historically, a main complaint of the Underhusen has been inactivity. This term, however, has been more active than most. As such, do you foresee any activity problems that would prevent you from engaging in lively debate?
• In the Underhusen, we welcome other members' ideas openly, especially if they have been already prepared enough to be immediately written in bill form. How much experience do you have drafting such bills?
• As said by most of the candidates here, you all have no problem with the requisite experience here in Wintreath. However, what as a legislator makes you unique?

My other questions have already been echoed by tatte.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to seeing one of you work with us starting next week.

Do you believe the Underhusen/Storting needs reform? If so, how and why?

I personally don't think so. However I would support exploring ideas apart from the OA idea.

Historically, a main complaint of the Underhusen has been inactivity. This term, however, has been more active than most. As such, do you foresee any problems with activity that would prevent lively debate?

No.

In the Underhusen, we welcome other members' ideas openly, especially if they have been already prepared enough to be immediately written in bill form. How much experience do you have drafting such bills?

Well I've drafted a lot of laws in Wintreath...I've proposed a decent amount of our legislation (whether or not is passed is another story). I'm also explicitly mentioned in the Code of Criminal Laws as I drafted the first version of it, which Weiss later used to draft the current version.

As said by most of the candidates here, you all have no problem with the requisite experience here in Wintreath. However, what as a legislator makes you unique?

I know a decent amount of our laws, and I have written a decent amount of our laws as well. Like I mentioned before I am, AFAIK, the only person named in a Storting Act that is not a Commendation Act or Paragon Act.

@Pengu is it just me or is your audio/video cutting off occasionally?

It does occasionally do a sudden lag at places, though I haven't figured out why.  It might be my webcam.  <_<

Thank you both for answering the questions. However well done your answers may be with the wording I had given you, for the second question, I believe I had misinterpreted myself, so allow me to revise it both here and in the main post: do you foresee any activity problems that would prevent you from engaging in lively debate?

1. Yes. The newer members might not know what the UH can be like, but in a nutshell, it can be petty, fatiguing and completely ineffective. Sapphiron, one of our most skilled, diligent and responsible people, declines to run for a reason. Point Breeze, also one of our most skilled, diligent and responsible people, only accepted the nomination "to destroy it from the inside," much like Reon before him. All of them would do a fantastic job while in there, of course, but hate a lot of their time in it. So it definitely needs reform, and after being involved with the Constitutional Convention since it's beginning, I believe Wintermoot's Open Assembly idea is the best. That said, we still have to look at it closely and make sure it's completely ready for when the time comes to make the transition.

2. I'm still not clear on what is being asked here. Are you asking whether I see any problems in my own life that will prevent me from being active, or any problems that will make the UH as an whole inactive, thus making me inactive as well? I'll answer once clarification has been given.

3. Somewhere between "a lot," and "a shit-ton."

I don't exactly keep count, because it just doesn't matter to me once something has passed. I will say that it's rarely a one-man-show, however. Many of the bills I write get heavily modified and altered by the UH as a group effort, and I do the same with others' bills. I therefore measure our success more as a team, than keeping track of only those bills I write.

4. I take the initiative, and I don't care about popularity. If I see something that needs doing (or, well, that needs legislating) I jump right in and do it. I easily take charge when I see the ship is merrily sailing toward the rocks too. My various positions in Wintreath also gives me quite a broad view of how a bill will affect us. I may not be as detail-oriented as someone like Sapphiron (or I suspect Weiss), but I see the big picture quite clearly.

Thank you both for answering the questions. However well done your answers may be with the wording I had given you, for the second question, I believe I had misinterpreted myself, so allow me to revise it both here and in the main post: do you foresee any activity problems that would prevent you from engaging in lively debate?

2. I'm still not clear on what is being asked here. Are you asking whether I see any problems in my own life that will prevent me from being active, or any problems that will make the UH as an whole inactive, thus making me inactive as well? I'll answer once clarification has been given.

I thought I reworded the question to specifically clarify. I meant the first one: if you foresee anything that will prevent you from being active.

Oh, alright, thanks for clarifying again.

In a word, no, I don't see anything that will prevent me from being active.

Q1.
Whilst I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been that active for a while, I've got to say I am in favour of a reformed unicameral and open chamber rather than the current set-up. During my various stints as a Skifra and as a member of the Overhusen, I've seen our legislative system work well, and oftentimes not quite so well. I think, at the root of it, the drop in efficiency relates to a general trend towards higher activity in the region, and a desire by more of our members to actively participate.

The Underhusen as it functions now does the job, but I think many would agree with me in saying that doing the job doesn't quite cut it. With the proposed reforms we've an opportunity to turn our legislative body into something special, something that involves everyone in the region and allows us to maximise the potential of Wintreath through the induction of new skill sets and varied opinions. Laurentus already made the point that some of our most valuable individuals are for their own reasons unwilling to get involved, and by maintaining the current system I feel we're really restricting our potential development.

Beyond the opportunity reform presents us, I think it wise at this point to note that I have in the past clashed with Mootles on the relative freedoms our legislative bodies have over their respective domains. Whilst we - eventually - came to an agreement and settled our differences, my personal preference has been and always will be for a more direct form of representation of the people. The proposed Open Chamber reform allows this whilst safeguarding the region from outside aggression or internal takeover with sensible and well-defined Founder Privileges. There's room for improvement in the Bill, that much is certainly true, but what we have currently is an excellent foundation on which to build the future of Wintreath.

Q2.
My job is a fickle one and I'm often given assignments that'll take up weeks of my time with little to no warning. That said, I think if one takes into account the volume of legislation I either drafted up myself or introduced for others with my own modifications during my previous terms on the Underhusen, it's not difficult to see that I will make time for the region, and do my utmost to ensure I'm informed and capable of fulfilling my duties.

Aside from my work, there's nothing I can think of that would keep me from doing everything I can to serve Wintreath to the best of my ability

Q3.
Well, apart from my work with real-life legislative bodies, I've drafted, helped to edit and introduced several bills in the past. I think, and please correct me if I'm wrong, Mootles referred to one of my Bills as one of the best crafted pieces of legislature he's seen in his time in NS. I'll let that speak for itself rather than trying to boast.

Q4.
An interesting question all-round, this one...

What makes me unique as a legislator? I honestly couldn't say. I'm passionate for the region, for the culture and the potential we have to turn that culture into something fantastic - beyond what it already is, and that's quite fantastic as it stands. I've been involved in formulating our judicial system and the code of criminal laws it draws from (although for some absolutely unfathomable reason people still don't seem able to understand it...), and I see a lot of room for development on my work with the upcoming reformation of the Underhusen looming just around the corner.

I think, if I had to say one thing that really did make me unique, it wouldn't be my real life experience (although I'm certain that helps bring a fresh perspective not only to my own drafts but to the drafts others propose) but how much I'm invested in Wintreath. I know my job hasn't always allowed me to appear that dedicated, but I always come back, and I always make note of what's changed. I'm one of the oldest members on the forums and I've seen the region go through a lot of growth and evolution. I know, or at least feel I have a strong grasp of what makes our community tick, what we need and what we'd simply like for the thrill of it, I've seen how things are run and I can think of ways to improve upon the groundwork that already exists.

I'm not a leader, nor would I wish for such a position, but I feel I do good work when a part of a strong team - give me people to bounce off of, people to perfect ideas and debate with, and I can guarantee you'll not be disappointed with the result.

Everything else aside, I'm really looking forward to publishing the Lineage work I've been doing (the Houses system) and putting ito ut for public appraisal. This pre-election period is already looking like being one of the more hard-fought battles we've had since Wintreath's inception some years ago, and I can't wait to be a part of it come victory or come loss.

If you do lose (which I don't think is likely) then I hope Wintermoot might take you on in the OH again.