Mac in my day the City Council worked very hard to legitimize itself...
Much of that vision, that view of the City Council as a breeding ground for Senators and an outlet for the voice of the people has been lost, in my opinion. Although it has, more recently, produced great Europeians like Asperta and Abbey Anumia, there seems to be a general loss of decorum and of purpose. This is problematic in several ways. First, if the City Council doesn't follow its purpose, a movement could easily and justifiably form to get rid of it. It's not like it hasn't happened before, and the removal of the CC would leave a gaping hole in Europeian society. Secondly, when the CC is seen as a joke, all legitimate arguments against the Senate are seen as a joke. For instance, with the passing of the AG Act, when I first came to the Council, there were a group of CC radicals who were upset that the Senate hadn't passed an act that passed with unanimous Council support. There was even talk of overriding the Senate. Due to this, the City Council was seen as a bunch of nuts, and it caused problems for the CC for terms to come, not to mention that those radicals included porn-spammer Aexnidaral. If the CC doesn't become a serious lawmaking body sooner rather than later, all of these warnings could come to fruition, and then where would Europeia be?
A question we must ask, however, is why this is all happening. In my view, the Council does not have a clear direct purpose of leadership. While it has been headed up by great Europeians such as Aurora, Ogastein, and Oliver Grey, each of them seemed to have a different view of the purpose of the body. Ogastein saw it as a trail-blazing law machine, while Oliver wanted to focus on Charter reform. While every Mayor for the last several terms has been an able administrator of the Council, and none of their approaches have been "wrong" per se, they weren't consistent, and this has caused those in the Council to be unsure of its purpose. The City Council needs to define a purpose within itself before it can go about fulfilling that. The SHIT Act is a great example. If the CC wants to be a bed for joke acts, which it has been before and very well could be again, that's a perfectly fine direction to take. They will lose many members and be looked at as a theater rather than a legislative body, but will nevertheless have a place for newbies to come in and have something to do, and I respect that. If it does not want to be a theater, however, joke legislation should, when proposed, not be taken seriously, and certainly not be passed to the more sober and serious Senate.
So, how can the City Council get its legislative mojo back? First, bills must start to filter through. Old members who have gone there to die, start writing some amendments or something for new members to look at, critique, and vote on. New members, don't be afraid to get out there and share your ideas. Perhaps a thread for idea discussion could be made so that new members who may be skittish about writing a whole bill by themselves could get a little help. Only two bills have passed this entire term, and both were DOA in the Senate. We can do better. Secondly, Senators, set an example for what the CC should be like. Not only should Senators take their jobs very seriously, but use the Senators lounge to point out something where you see the CC has slipped. It wasn't a very long road to the current state of affairs, it can't be a long road out. Let's not despair at this slight lack of purpose, let's go into this term with a renewed sense of vigor! That's how I see it, and if you disagree, feel free to yell at me below!
"Mac In the Day" is an EBC opinion column and has no bearing on the opinions or actions of the President or the Ministry of Culture.
Much of that vision, that view of the City Council as a breeding ground for Senators and an outlet for the voice of the people has been lost, in my opinion. Although it has, more recently, produced great Europeians like Asperta and Abbey Anumia, there seems to be a general loss of decorum and of purpose. This is problematic in several ways. First, if the City Council doesn't follow its purpose, a movement could easily and justifiably form to get rid of it. It's not like it hasn't happened before, and the removal of the CC would leave a gaping hole in Europeian society. Secondly, when the CC is seen as a joke, all legitimate arguments against the Senate are seen as a joke. For instance, with the passing of the AG Act, when I first came to the Council, there were a group of CC radicals who were upset that the Senate hadn't passed an act that passed with unanimous Council support. There was even talk of overriding the Senate. Due to this, the City Council was seen as a bunch of nuts, and it caused problems for the CC for terms to come, not to mention that those radicals included porn-spammer Aexnidaral. If the CC doesn't become a serious lawmaking body sooner rather than later, all of these warnings could come to fruition, and then where would Europeia be?
A question we must ask, however, is why this is all happening. In my view, the Council does not have a clear direct purpose of leadership. While it has been headed up by great Europeians such as Aurora, Ogastein, and Oliver Grey, each of them seemed to have a different view of the purpose of the body. Ogastein saw it as a trail-blazing law machine, while Oliver wanted to focus on Charter reform. While every Mayor for the last several terms has been an able administrator of the Council, and none of their approaches have been "wrong" per se, they weren't consistent, and this has caused those in the Council to be unsure of its purpose. The City Council needs to define a purpose within itself before it can go about fulfilling that. The SHIT Act is a great example. If the CC wants to be a bed for joke acts, which it has been before and very well could be again, that's a perfectly fine direction to take. They will lose many members and be looked at as a theater rather than a legislative body, but will nevertheless have a place for newbies to come in and have something to do, and I respect that. If it does not want to be a theater, however, joke legislation should, when proposed, not be taken seriously, and certainly not be passed to the more sober and serious Senate.
So, how can the City Council get its legislative mojo back? First, bills must start to filter through. Old members who have gone there to die, start writing some amendments or something for new members to look at, critique, and vote on. New members, don't be afraid to get out there and share your ideas. Perhaps a thread for idea discussion could be made so that new members who may be skittish about writing a whole bill by themselves could get a little help. Only two bills have passed this entire term, and both were DOA in the Senate. We can do better. Secondly, Senators, set an example for what the CC should be like. Not only should Senators take their jobs very seriously, but use the Senators lounge to point out something where you see the CC has slipped. It wasn't a very long road to the current state of affairs, it can't be a long road out. Let's not despair at this slight lack of purpose, let's go into this term with a renewed sense of vigor! That's how I see it, and if you disagree, feel free to yell at me below!
"Mac In the Day" is an EBC opinion column and has no bearing on the opinions or actions of the President or the Ministry of Culture.
