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Wintreath Thane Elections
Nominate and Stand for Election!

Members of the Landsraad (all Citizens): In this topic you may stand or nominate someone else to stand for election for one of these thane positions in the Ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs, and Regional Affairs! Only Citizens can be nominated for or stand for elections. Once you have stood for election, you must create a campaign topic before Wednesday, June 1st that at a minimum provides the following information:

1) Why are you running for this position?
2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.
2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?
3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

Once your campaign is posted, I or the Jarl over the position reserves the right to reject your candidacy based on your fit within the current Cabinet or regional security concerns (candidacies no longer explicitly require approval). Please be aware that serving on the Cabinet requires that you be on the Discord server under an account linked to your forum profile. If you're on the server and your name is not white, you're probably good to go. Candidates that don't meet this requirement at the end of nominations will be invalidated.

The list of positions open are below:

Ministry of Culture, led by Michi

Thane of Roleplay (voted on by all Citizens):

• Represent the roleplay community in the Riksrad and regularly take part in Cabinet meetings and discussions;
• Manage and moderate the forums in the Roleplayers' Gathering;
• Encourage roleplay and facilitate its growth in the region;
• Serve as the Patriarch of the RP Guild;
• Work with the Council to manage the RP Guild and its roleplays by helping members start up and host roleplays, helping find a new host for a roleplay if the host goes inactive, and helping decide whether to reboot or archive inactive roleplays;
• Welcome new citizens who may interested in roleplay, introduce them to the RP Guild and the Roleplayers' Gathering, accept new members into the RP Guild, and help out beginners with roleplaying;
• Other duties determined by the RP Guild.

Thane of Gaming (voted on by all Citizens):

• Represent the gaming community in the Riksrad and regularly take part in Cabinet meetings and discussions;
• Manage and moderate the "Gaming Lounge" forum;
• Facilitate the growth of the gaming community in the region;
• Promote playing non-forum multiplayer games together as a region (such as Minecraft, Civilization, Town of Salem, Paradox games, and MMOs);
• Welcome new citizens who may be interested in gaming and help them to join regional games;
• Must set up at least one regional game night per month during its term.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Ruguo

Thane of Foreign Releases (voted on by all Citizens)

• The Department of Foreign Releases is tasked with compiling, organizing, and releasing Wintreath's Monthly Foreign Dispatch, aiding in the improvement of activity within our Diplomatic Missions, and assist in the advertisement of regional events and activies abroad. Additionally, it is also tasked with reviewing Foreign Publications pursuant to Section 3 of Decree 006 for approval.

Thane of Embassies (voted on by all Citizens)

• The Department of Embassies is tasked with managing and maintaing our Diplomatic Officer and Mission Programme to other regions and organizations within NationStates.
• The Diplomatic Officer Programme, as ran under this ministry, is to rank each Diplomatic Officer with a general ranking, which the gaining of higher ranks includes privileges and other incentives for the performance of Ambassadorial duties. The exact specifics of this organization are left to the Thane of Diplomatic Officers and Missions.
• The Department of Embassies is also tasked with: scouting out and finding new and promising regions to reach out to and form relations with, aiding the planning and implementation of cross-regional events, and to extend help to regions that might desire aid from Wintreath in certain manners.

Ministry of Regional Affairs, led by Stigya

Thane of Regional Affairs (voted on by all Citizens)

• Duties as assigned by the Jarl of Regional Affairs

Thane of World Assembly Affairs (voted on by Citizens with a NationStates nation in Wintreath, candidates must have a NationStates nation in Wintreath)

• Determine votes on World Assembly proposals or determine systems to determine their vote
• Ensure that their NationStates nation has the highest number of endorsements possible, at least the highest number in the region.
• Represent Wintreath in communications regarding the World Assembly.

Voting will begin on Wednesday, June 1st.


Candidate Status - Legend
Has stood and completed all requirements to be on the ballot
Has stood but has not completed all requirements to be on the ballot
Is nominated, has not stood
Declined nomination

Thane of Embassies (Foreign Affairs)
TGN
Altrio

Thane of Foreign Releases (Foreign Affairs)
The Ursian Empire

Thane of Gaming (Culture)
Marzipan
Neon Abigail

Thane of Roleplay (Culture)
Svipjoth

Thane of Regional Affairs (Regional Affairs)
Svipjoth

Thane of World Assembly Affairs (Regional Affairs)
Michi
Joslisonoria

I nominate Marzipan as Thane of Gaming,
and Svipjoth as Thane of Roleplay.

Both of them are doing a wonderful job, and should be given more time to innovate and develop their respective areas.
I applaud them in their projects such as the Dungeon Masters and Rollspelskra, and have my full support.

I accept my nomination and would like to nominate @Svipjoth for Thane of RP and RA, @TGN for Thane of Embassies, and @Michi for Thane of WA

1) Why are you running for this position?

Because I’m the Incumbent ToG and  I was promised all of the Pickle-O’s I can eat if I manage to keep my job. I also kinda maybe enjoy hosting game nights I guess. Don’t @ me.

2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.

- I would like to introduce at least one new game into our regular cycle.
- I would like to host another Dungeon Tournament (ideally something a little more engaging than CAH this time.)
- I would like to add at least one more member to the Dungeon Master team.
- Help host at least 1 interregional game night (Planning for this started last term with the incumbent Thane of Embassies!)
- (Stretch goal/Maybe) Have a TTRPG night on the Discord.
- (Stretch goal/Maybe) Introduce a leveling system within the DMs to encourage growth.
- (Stretch goal/Maybe) Talk to the Hearthkeepers about a newbies night on the Discord- something that uses both departments strengths (integration and team activities) to help new Wintrean’s get comfortable in our offsite community.

2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?

I didn’t have a mandate from last election- I rejoined the region afterwards and, after hosting some game nights in my spare time, I was approached by Michi for the position. Honestly, when I took it, I would’ve been happy with the standard “one game night a month” that was required of me succeeding. But those of you that know me know I’m a little extra, so the fact game nights have been well received was icing on the cake! We’ve brought back Monday night CAH, had some awesome late night Jackbox Games with large turnouts, played a lot of Gartic Phone and Among Us, and I had my butt handed to me in trivia a number of times. And the best part was getting to hang out with a bunch of y’all and analyze your play styles so I can beat you next time!

3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?

Well, in terms of specifically handling gaming, this last term is my only practical experience. I’ve casually gamed about as long as I’ve been able to walk and I’ve been a DM for TTRPGs since I finally figured out how to add without counting on my fingers (shhhhh listen I was never the maths kind of nerd, I’m sorry.)

That said, I’ve played NS for years and I’ve been just about everything under the sun- founder, moderator, head of government, legislator, culture minister, integration minister, FA minister, administrator, and even human resources for a prominent NS newspaper. I know how to organize and work with a team. I know the importance of maintaining a chill, safe environment. But the most important lesson was that we should never take these things too seriously- we’re here to have fun and make friends. I have the experience to keep the gears turning and the jadedness from NSGP that keeps me grateful for fun roles like this.

4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?

It’s summer and I am a known night-owl, homies. And I created the Dungeon Masters last term to ensure that the good times could keep rolling even when I have busy days. I thought this through.

5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

Nope, just Thane of Gaming/Hearthkeeper here. Y’all caught me after a retirement stint and you haven’t managed to get rid of me yet!

I accept my nomination and would like to nominate @Svipjoth for Thane of RA, @TGN for Thane of Embassies, and @Michi for Thane of WA

I accept my nomination

Spoiler

1) Why are you running for this position?
2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.
2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?
3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

1. I’ve been loving the job as well as helping Ruguo and I’m the current Thane.
2. To continue to help Ruguo but also to advertise Winbassadors
2a. Once again, I have failed. However, I didn’t think it was a good idea to open embassies with Eurth at the moment.
3. I’ve been Thane for 2 consecutive semesters
4. Doing what Ruguo tells me to do, continuing to scout out regions, and talk about Winbassadors more in the Discord.
5. Nope

sorry if this is a little vague lol, it’s 6am

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I accept my nomination and would like to nominate @Svipjoth for Thane of RP and RA, @TGN for Thane of Embassies, and @Michi for Thane of WA

I accept both nominations, thank you @Marzipan!

1) Why are you running for this position?
I am running for this position because I wish to remain in this position in order to continue encouraging the germination and growth of my creation, Rollspelskra.
Furthermore, in relation to the new position of Thane of Regional Affairs, I want to help moderate and manage the RMB especially in relation to roleplay and the coming shifts in Wintreath RP.

2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.
All of my mandates for this season will concern the evolvement of Rollspelskra

• Monitor the progress of Rollspelskra and dictate the steps of Wintreath's gradual roleplay shift (see Rollspelskra charter for details).
• Manage Rollspelskra as Grandmaster.
• Further promote membership and longevity.

2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?
I fulfilled my mandate (for both the Winter and Spring elections, actually) by officially creating Rollspelskra and running our first roleplays.

3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
I have been Thane of Roleplay since the beginning of this year, having a total of two seasons worth of government experience.

4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
Managing Rollspelskra, primarily. I'll also be monitoring the progress of Rollspelskra and the implementation of Wintreath's gradual roleplay shift.

5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.
Other than this position with Wintreath, I have not participated in any other regional governments, let alone other regions.

I nominate @The Ursian Empire for Thane if Foreign Releases because he’s such a great writer 

I declare my candidacy as Thane of Embassies.

1) Why are you running for this position?
I am running so that I can gain more knowledge on Foreign Affairs, and so that TGN has atleast some form of competition.


2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.

As of writing, I cannot specify what goals I aim to accomplish.

2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?

3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
I serve as a Wimbassador, representing the region at The South Pacific and and The Rejected Realms.
I also hold mutiple positions at other regions under Foreign Affairs, so I think that I have some experience.
4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
I plan to take my time, and take things slow and steady. I believe that Foreign Affairs is something that takes time and patience to avoid mistakes.
I am on vacation, so there will be little to no issues for me to serve.

5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

Yes.
I serve as an Ambassador at The South Pacific, and the Free Nations Region.
I also serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs at FNR.
More info can be found at my signature below.

1) Why are you running for this position?
2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.
2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?
3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

I, Joslisonoria, declare my candidacy as Thane of World Assembly Affairs.                                                                                                                                            1) Why are you running for this position?
I want to run for Thane to learn about diplomacy, enforce Wintreath, and overall interact with the community more.
2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.
I aim to encourage other nations to come into the W.A. body, as well as serve for Wintreath.
2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?
I am not running for a re-election, this is my first time running.
3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
I have studied well, however this is my first position of authority in this field. I know many ways to encourage others into joining the body. 
4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
As many people know, summer break is starting. This gives me much free time to solve problems.
5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.
I have no other office in NationStates or anything. Once again, this is the first time I am running for office.

I hope this is all I need. Thank you all,
                                                                                        -Joslisonoria, Running Canidate for Thane of World Assembly Affairs.

I declare my candidacy as Thane of Embassies.

1) Why are you running for this position?
I am running so that I can gain more knowledge on Foreign Affairs, and so that TGN has atleast some form of competition.


2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.

As of writing, I cannot specify what goals I aim to accomplish.

2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the last election? If not, why didn't you?

3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
I serve as a Wimbassador, representing the region at The South Pacific and and The Rejected Realms.
I also hold mutiple positions at other regions under Foreign Affairs, so I think that I have some experience.
4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?
I plan to take my time, and take things slow and steady. I believe that Foreign Affairs is something that takes time and patience to avoid mistakes.
I am on vacation, so there will be little to no issues for me to serve.

5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

Yes.
I serve as an Ambassador at The South Pacific, and the Free Nations Region.
I also serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs at FNR.
More info can be found at my signature below.

Yikes, someone who has more experience than me 😬
best of luck

Congratulations and best wishes to everyone who is standing for election so far! 

Since campaign topics apparently won't be a thing this election, some questions:

@Marzipan, you've definitely been the most active and successful Thane of Gaming in our history at this point. What do you think the biggest challenge will be going forward, and what are your thoughts on how to address it?

@TGN, in one of your earlier elections we talked about the difficulties Wintreath faces with establishing relations with other regions. Now you've experienced some of them first-hand...what do believe we should be focusing on in terms of our foreign affairs and our outreach to other communities at this point?

@Svipjoth, two questions for you since you're running for two positions! On the RP side, the rollout of Rollspelskra has been a big success so far, but it's no secret that you'd like to eliminate RP from the NationStates RMB, which still sees a fair amount of RP. Besides just banning RP on there, what do you plan on doing to encourage or convince people to move their RP to the forums and the guild? On the Regional Affairs side, besides moderation and supporting the RP shift, what would you do in the position to make it your own? For example, the last person in the position ran weekly "fun" polls, etc.

@Altrio, you are one of the rare people in Wintreath who comes with experience from other regions, and even rarer that that experience is in foreign affairs. I'm very curious to know your thoughts on the unique difficulties Wintreath faces in our foreign affairs, and any ideas you may have to overcome them.

@Joslisonoria, it's very exciting to see a new Citizen throw their hat in the ring! As a new member of our community who has studied the position and could be running in a competitive election, what are your thoughts on Michi's performance as Delegate right now? How would your delegacy be different from his?

@Marzipan, you've definitely been the most active and successful Thane of Gaming in our history at this point. What do you think the biggest challenge will be going forward, and what are your thoughts on how to address it?

Thank you for the compliment! It’s been a pleasure serving so far. I would be happy to open an AMA if there’s any interest- this is actually my first Thane election I’ve participated in so I’m a little new to the conventions.

I think the biggest challenge I’m going to face moving forward is one that most regions face in ebbs and flows- keeping inertia / burn out. It’s something I’ve become painfully familiar with during my time on NS and it’s something I’ve been setting up means to avoid since the beginning. 

I think there was a bit of confusion as to why I set up the Dungeon Masters after what I can only think to describe as a dry spell in Wintreath’s gaming community. It seemed counterintuitive- if Wintreath was already struggling to get casual hosts interesting in getting things going, how this going to work? 

The answer for that is simple- people thrive on recognition. For their efforts, for their successes. It’s why the Dungeon Masters exist. It’s even why I want more tournaments like the CAHpocalypse. They’re small, simple, and effective ways to offer support and recognition to people who want to participate in our gaming scene without the burden of overly strict scheduling that you find in a lot of NS ministries.
 
That’s often what stalls civil service commitments, in my opinion, because people don’t join games to work generally, much less without acknowledgement of that work. The DMs exist to make an important job within the region not feel like a job at all while still recognizing folks who take the time to help us foster organic growth. 

My goal this season to combat burn out is to continue to build upon the bricks I started to lay with my wonderful team and explore new ways to entertain and integrate our citizens into our social gaming scene. New games in our cycles, more polls, more friendly faces to bring in fresh blood. Same loosey goosey vibes for our team. 

@Joslisonoria, it's very exciting to see a new Citizen throw their hat in the ring! As a new member of our community who has studied the position and could be running in a competitive election, what are your thoughts on Michi's performance as Delegate right now? How would your delegacy be different from his?

Personally, if it is a competitive election, I think Michi would be a perfect candidate, and would have a good term as Thane. However, what I would do, is try and encourage others in the RMBs to shoot for an endorsement. If this position is about the WA, then maybe we should try and have as many endorsements as possible. That's what I would do, but most Michi does is good.


                                                                                    -Thanks for the encouragement, Joslisonoria.

@TGN, in one of your earlier elections we talked about the difficulties Wintreath faces with establishing relations with other regions. Now you've experienced some of them first-hand...what do believe we should be focusing on in terms of our foreign affairs and our outreach to other communities at this point?

Well this is tricky. There is quite a bit that goes into the opening of a embassies, let alone getting both regions to want the embassy. Plus it’s just another region for Silver to check up on. The most important thing would be time to reach out or have a region that both regions staff teams like. (I’m rambling now lol). But in conclusion; in my opinion there isn’t much that we could it should be focusing on, one of the things I wanna do this cycle is help Silver and one of those ways would be to help check up on regions.

Please take this with a bowlful of salt as I am basing that off my terrible memory lol 

@Altrio, you are one of the rare people in Wintreath who comes with experience from other regions, and even rarer that that experience is in foreign affairs. I'm very curious to know your thoughts on the unique difficulties Wintreath faces in our foreign affairs, and any ideas you may have to overcome them.

First of all, thank you very much.
As for now, I can't say much about my thoughts and plans about Wintreath's issues with foreign affairs, I've yet to observe them more clearly before I can start thinking on how I will approach them. The last thing I want to achieve after all is solving a problem that doesn't even exist. If you ask me about what I know about FA in the region at the moment; I'm still that one ambassador that floats around aimlessly.  (Wee)

I apologize if anything I said didn't make any sense, I'm usually not good at explaining stuff. (My English sucks)
Best of luck to TGN.