“…[Y]ou've spent the last year or so not only mostly inactive, but actually actively detrimental to our region. You've worked to deliberately antagonize people, troll pretty weighty administrative announcements, and essentially treat the whole region with disrespect.” – HEM, in response to Rand’s First Minister Platform – February 24, 2019
That quote might seem an odd way to start a post nominating someone for Europeian of the Year, but to understand just how much Rand has accomplished this year I think you need to be reminded of where he started off. When I joined Europeia in very late 2018, I didn’t know anything about Rand. He wasn’t on Discord, and I don’t think I remember seeing a single post of his until mid-January when he advertised a Ten Words of the Week game that I ended up joining. That was how I knew him – a very rare poster who I just engaged with socially.
In reality, it seems that Rand was in something of a self-imposed exile. While I wasn’t around, I understand that the period around the debate and passage of the Executive Split was … shall we say … a bit intense. HEM’s feelings as captured in the above quote are almost certainly related to comments made either about the executive split or as a direct result of the debate surrounding it. Whether or not these comments were meant to be mere jokes or really were trolling isn’t really the point – clearly, some people were in the same camp as HEM and viewed the comments as inappropriate and/or unnecessarily trollish. At the beginning of 2019, then, Rand was perhaps not exactly a pariah, but he also wasn’t high on anyone’s list of potential leaders at the time.
As the calendar turned to February and Europeia finally prepared to split the executive following the very short partial term of Kuramia, standing opened up for the First Minister position. Rather out of nowhere, Rand decided to run – and he published a strong, passionate platform that made it very clear that he had thought hard about the issues and that his absences and snark didn’t demonstrate a lack of interest in Europeia and taking a leadership role in it. Far from being a deterrent to his run, HEM’s comments served as an opportunity for Rand to express his apologies for how he was previously perceived and to reiterate the seriousness of his run. After a remarkably entertaining and consequential campaign, he would emerge victorious and become the first First Minister of Europeia.
Having had the opportunity to work with Rand as his Minister of Culture, I can say that he was a good and conscientious boss who allowed people to do their jobs but who also paid attention to whether you were being active. While his term – like every term – had opportunities for improvement, he nonetheless set a great example as the first person to hold his post. Certainly any concerns that he wouldn’t take the job seriously or with respect were laid to rest entirely. He served honorably and well – and even though I chose to take him on at the next election, it wasn’t because I thought he was a failure in the role but because I thought a change of direction and a fresh face was the best way to get past a bit of a rough patch in the region.
Rand’s graciousness during that time was remarkable. He never held it against me that I chose to run against him, and the campaign that we ran was a positive campaign focused on issues and our plans for the region moving forward. We were friends going in, and we were friends afterward. Not everyone who lost an election handles it with such grace.
Rand did not stay down for long. By May 7th, he had effectively moved into the Senate seat that I vacated to become First Minister. Rand has been a constant in the Senate since that election, regularly contributing clear, substantive thoughts to legislation and clearly not being afraid to propose ideas both to his own legislation and to improve legislation proposed by others. He is a courageous debater who is not afraid to take on big name like Malashaan, Calvin, and Drecq if he disagrees with their positions. That willingness to engage, to innovate, and to dream makes Europeian law better, and the ability and willingness to challenge incredibly talented legislators helps put their theories to the test as well. No one can rest on their laurels with Rand in the Senate, which means he makes all of us better off.
Finally, a discussion of Rand’s year would not be complete without mentioning his role on the Judiciary. In May of 2019, Kuramia nominated Rand to the Court where he narrowly was confirmed. Since that time he has been re-confirmed twice. Time on the bench is not exactly marked by excitement – I should know, having been a Justice for half a year or so now myself with nary a single thing to do in that time. But fate has a way of finding people for big moments, and in November Rand was selected to preside over the case of Europeia v. Bri Shakespeare, by far the most consequential legal case to be tried since I arrived in Europeia. As is inevitable, not everyone agreed with Rand’s decision in the case, but it is certainly true that his reasoning was clear and logically set forth. Above all, it was fair and brought the case to a close in a way that was consistent with Europeian laws, Constitutional principles, and the interests of Justice. When his region called on him to fulfill his role as a Justice, Rand did so.
This nomination has already gone long, so I will not spend significant time pointing out that Rand has also contributed to the region as a Minister and as a contributor below the ministerial level as well. He is a regular recruiter, and he cares deeply about the long-term viability and success of this region.
There are not many Europeians whose success over the past year have stretched across so many aspects of the region. There are even fewer who have done so while rehabilitating their image and proving their mettle as one of our region’s foremost citizens. It is my honor to nominate Rand for Europeian of the Year 2019.
That quote might seem an odd way to start a post nominating someone for Europeian of the Year, but to understand just how much Rand has accomplished this year I think you need to be reminded of where he started off. When I joined Europeia in very late 2018, I didn’t know anything about Rand. He wasn’t on Discord, and I don’t think I remember seeing a single post of his until mid-January when he advertised a Ten Words of the Week game that I ended up joining. That was how I knew him – a very rare poster who I just engaged with socially.
In reality, it seems that Rand was in something of a self-imposed exile. While I wasn’t around, I understand that the period around the debate and passage of the Executive Split was … shall we say … a bit intense. HEM’s feelings as captured in the above quote are almost certainly related to comments made either about the executive split or as a direct result of the debate surrounding it. Whether or not these comments were meant to be mere jokes or really were trolling isn’t really the point – clearly, some people were in the same camp as HEM and viewed the comments as inappropriate and/or unnecessarily trollish. At the beginning of 2019, then, Rand was perhaps not exactly a pariah, but he also wasn’t high on anyone’s list of potential leaders at the time.
As the calendar turned to February and Europeia finally prepared to split the executive following the very short partial term of Kuramia, standing opened up for the First Minister position. Rather out of nowhere, Rand decided to run – and he published a strong, passionate platform that made it very clear that he had thought hard about the issues and that his absences and snark didn’t demonstrate a lack of interest in Europeia and taking a leadership role in it. Far from being a deterrent to his run, HEM’s comments served as an opportunity for Rand to express his apologies for how he was previously perceived and to reiterate the seriousness of his run. After a remarkably entertaining and consequential campaign, he would emerge victorious and become the first First Minister of Europeia.
Having had the opportunity to work with Rand as his Minister of Culture, I can say that he was a good and conscientious boss who allowed people to do their jobs but who also paid attention to whether you were being active. While his term – like every term – had opportunities for improvement, he nonetheless set a great example as the first person to hold his post. Certainly any concerns that he wouldn’t take the job seriously or with respect were laid to rest entirely. He served honorably and well – and even though I chose to take him on at the next election, it wasn’t because I thought he was a failure in the role but because I thought a change of direction and a fresh face was the best way to get past a bit of a rough patch in the region.
Rand’s graciousness during that time was remarkable. He never held it against me that I chose to run against him, and the campaign that we ran was a positive campaign focused on issues and our plans for the region moving forward. We were friends going in, and we were friends afterward. Not everyone who lost an election handles it with such grace.
Rand did not stay down for long. By May 7th, he had effectively moved into the Senate seat that I vacated to become First Minister. Rand has been a constant in the Senate since that election, regularly contributing clear, substantive thoughts to legislation and clearly not being afraid to propose ideas both to his own legislation and to improve legislation proposed by others. He is a courageous debater who is not afraid to take on big name like Malashaan, Calvin, and Drecq if he disagrees with their positions. That willingness to engage, to innovate, and to dream makes Europeian law better, and the ability and willingness to challenge incredibly talented legislators helps put their theories to the test as well. No one can rest on their laurels with Rand in the Senate, which means he makes all of us better off.
Finally, a discussion of Rand’s year would not be complete without mentioning his role on the Judiciary. In May of 2019, Kuramia nominated Rand to the Court where he narrowly was confirmed. Since that time he has been re-confirmed twice. Time on the bench is not exactly marked by excitement – I should know, having been a Justice for half a year or so now myself with nary a single thing to do in that time. But fate has a way of finding people for big moments, and in November Rand was selected to preside over the case of Europeia v. Bri Shakespeare, by far the most consequential legal case to be tried since I arrived in Europeia. As is inevitable, not everyone agreed with Rand’s decision in the case, but it is certainly true that his reasoning was clear and logically set forth. Above all, it was fair and brought the case to a close in a way that was consistent with Europeian laws, Constitutional principles, and the interests of Justice. When his region called on him to fulfill his role as a Justice, Rand did so.
This nomination has already gone long, so I will not spend significant time pointing out that Rand has also contributed to the region as a Minister and as a contributor below the ministerial level as well. He is a regular recruiter, and he cares deeply about the long-term viability and success of this region.
There are not many Europeians whose success over the past year have stretched across so many aspects of the region. There are even fewer who have done so while rehabilitating their image and proving their mettle as one of our region’s foremost citizens. It is my honor to nominate Rand for Europeian of the Year 2019.
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