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Greetings everyone, I'm Barnes, and I'm running to be the next president of the United States. 🇺🇸

For those of you who don't know me by now, I've been a member of the Wintreath community for about five and a half years. Currently I serve as the Thane of Foreign Releases, where I am universally loved as the Wintrean press secretary. With my position in the Cabinet, I am a representative on the newly-formed Citizen's Council.

I've also previously served in the Underhusen off and on (and presided as Speaker for two terms back in 2016), and authored / played editor to several bills during that time.

I consider myself a member of the Burn It Down coalition. Having witnessed the inactivity in our Storting during my time in office, I believe that the Underhusen's tasks can be replaced by administrative duties in the Cabinet. If elected, I will spend my term championing a replacement for our legislature and judiciary, and will lead talks discussing the best options for our region.

I propose that the Citizen's Council replaces the Storting as an opt-in open-assembly format. The new Council will discuss laws to be drafted and voted on by the Cabinet, whose thanes are already our elected representatives with additional duties.

This matches the de facto Cabinet/Monarch supremacy system already in place, with the Council being an additional avenue for citizens to express their thoughts/concerns and hold His Majesty's Government accountable.

We will remove the need for term lengths and activity for activity's sake, as changes will be proposed on an as-needed basis by anyone who feels the calling for it. If need be, we can create an additional thaneship for legislative affairs under the Office of Regional Affairs to organize the laws page and preside over votes, but this would be a single person in the administration, not four to seven.

In office, I want to see a thriving government and fruitful discussion about the region's needs, not a bogged-down legislature creating busywork for itself. Quite simply, the Underhusen needs replacement, and I will be the one to help guide it. Thank you.

What sorts of laws do you envision the Citizen's Council and Cabinet voting on? I feel like people stand for the Cabinet to do things and participate in the running of the region, whereas people stand for the UH to participate in a legislative setting and pass laws. Wouldn't it be strange to mix the two? At least for me, when I join the Cabinet I'm certainly not looking to vote on laws. Mixing those sorts of responsibilities into the Cabinet seems really weird and feels like it would add unwanted work into positions that people already burn out on, as opposed to our current system or other possible replacements where that work is given to people who are in those positions specifically to do those model legislature-esque activities.

Anything that comes up, really. There aren't really many more laws that need to be passed at this point, more like rules, and that's an administrative (cabinet) function.

You seem to have a concrete idea of what you want with the Storting.

I know you've already posted your thoughts about Wintreath in the Citizens' Council, but as with Sapphiron I also invite you to share them here, since I'm asking that of all candidates.

Anything that comes up, really. There aren't really many more laws that need to be passed at this point, more like rules, and that's an administrative (cabinet) function.

Is there a reason why you want to introduce voting on policies in the Cabinet? Do you have any issues with the current, more consensus-based/Monarch-driven decision making system in place?

I guess I don't really see the appeal of this sort of change. The UH is interesting largely as a model legislature with some modicum of real-world involvement. If it switches to being a place for people to propose new rules but with the Cabinet actually holding the decision-making power on those rules, what would be the purpose of this? Why would people want to go through that sort of formalized process when they can just, like, do things and suggest things as they do now? And on the Cabinet side, what would be the appeal of making it more like a legislature?

I know you've already posted your thoughts about Wintreath in the Citizens' Council, but as with Sapphiron I also invite you to share them here, since I'm asking that of all candidates.

I'll paraphrase my thoughts here.

"While we've had our fights, for better or worse this is the community I've made myself at home in for the last five years. Wintreath to me is all-encompassing, the place where I can open up about pretty much any topic and have some or all accept me for it... Wintreath is an internet family, a family of an eclectic mix of friends... where I can overcome my shyness and invite friends and partners to show how welcoming and nerdy we are "

Do you have any issues with the current, more consensus-based/Monarch-driven decision making system in place?

I don't have any issues with it, it's just a way to formalize the decision-making structure already in place. It also provides a bit more transparency to the actual activities of the Cabinet, so that Citizens can understand what conclusions the Government reaches and why/how.

Do you have any issues with the current, more consensus-based/Monarch-driven decision making system in place?

I don't have any issues with it, it's just a way to formalize the decision-making structure already in place. It also provides a bit more transparency to the actual activities of the Cabinet, so that Citizens can understand what conclusions the Government reaches and why/how.

Interesting. When it comes to making actual decisions for a small community, I personally find voting-based decision-making systems to be significantly worse. Unless you're trying to RP a legislature (with all the procedural and legal weirdness that that entails, a la the UH), I feel like imposing that sort of formalized structure would just get in the way of actually getting things done. And I feel like having the decision-making ultimately be up to a vote rather than via Monarch-led discussion would likely lead to a more adversarial/combative Cabinet, when that sort of drama in the Cabinet chat has already been an issue in the past.

I'm also curious on how what you think should be done with the legal system in this case. What happens to the body of laws? The Monarch currently often consults the Cabinet on Royal Decrees, but those are ultimately up to the Monarch and can't really be merged. Whereas if you have the Cabinet passing its own body of laws (perhaps merged with the existing Statutory Laws), I would worry that this would achieve more confusion rather than transparency, since then you have two different sorts of policies coming out of the Monarchy, one of which might be confused with old laws that served under a different system.

When it comes to making actual decisions for a small community, I personally find voting-based decision-making systems to be significantly worse. Unless you're trying to RP a legislature (with all the procedural and legal weirdness that that entails, a la the UH), I feel like imposing that sort of formalized structure would just get in the way of actually getting things done. And I feel like having the decision-making ultimately be up to a vote rather than via Monarch-led discussion would likely lead to a more adversarial/combative Cabinet, when that sort of drama in the Cabinet chat has already been an issue in the past.

I'm also curious on how what you think should be done with the legal system in this case. What happens to the body of laws? The Monarch currently often consults the Cabinet on Royal Decrees, but those are ultimately up to the Monarch and can't really be merged. Whereas if you have the Cabinet passing its own body of laws (perhaps merged with the existing Statutory Laws), I would worry that this would achieve more confusion rather than transparency, since then you have two different sorts of policies coming out of the Monarchy, one of which might be confused with old laws that served under a different system.

The Monarch would still lead the discussions and head the government. That doesn't change just because the Cabinet is there to ratify his decisions.

Admittedly I haven't seen strife between the Cabinet and the Monarch in chat just yet. It doesn't mean it doesn't exist or that it won't be an issue, but that is something that will be worked out, as will the distinction between Royal Decrees and laws passed by the Monarch through the Cabinet.

I worry that you're asking me to hash out an entire constitutional convention rather than a preliminary slate of ideas. These are the kinds of discussions that take place over an entire Underhusen term, not over three days one-on-one.

My vision is clear, but implementation will take time. The Underhusen will still be burned down either way.

The Monarch would still lead the discussions and head the government. That doesn't change just because the Cabinet is there to ratify his decisions.

Certainly, I suppose I just don't see why you would want to have the Cabinet do that in a voting-based system.

I worry that you're asking me to hash out an entire constitutional convention rather than a preliminary slate of ideas. These are the kinds of discussions that take place over an entire Underhusen term, not over three days one-on-one.

My vision is clear, but implementation will take time. The Underhusen will still be burned down either way.

I'm not asking for specific implementation. I'm just trying to understand your ideas and your reasonings behind them, because right now to me I just don't see how they make sense as a good alternative for either the current system or other UH replacement proposals.

I’ll paraphrase Doc’s statement here. He is correct in that I don’t want the Cabinet to make up laws for legislature’s sake. The Citizen’s Council would handle most of that, and write/suggest bills like commendations and whatever minor topics they wanted on their plate. The Cabinet votes are supervisory at best, because someone has to do it, and provide a record for the off-chance a Citizen disagrees with the decision and wants to vote a Thane out. I do not envision legislation to be a major part of a Cabinet member’s duties.

I’m not opposed to having the Citizen’s Council pass the bills, either, especially if they’re low-impact/non-admin related. But if the Council’s purpose is primarily legislative, it should not be elected. There is no point in abolishing an elected legislature only to replace it with another elected legislature.

Some form of opt-in open assembly for laws creation is best.