Last week, interview questions were sent to all six Senators. Five responded, and we have put their answers in this article for you to see. The results of the Senate poll will be released shortly.
Interview said:1. What do you feel was the biggest accomplishment of the Senate this term?
Anumia: Definitely the Criminal Code; we haven't finished it just yet, and certainly it is not only the work of this Senate, but I am very pleased with how things have gone there.
Calvin Coolidge: The biggest accomplishment is obviously the progress made on the Criminal Code. This term was completely overshadowed by that, as it should have been. By the time this term ends, if the Code is not finished, it will be extremely close.
Drecq: Finally finishing the Criminal Code Overhaul.
Rach: Compiling the Criminal Code. It will be the biggest accomplishment for a few terms and is a testament to our ability to be able to transcend terms and stay committed to a project.
Writinglegend: I feel the progress we made on the Criminal Code is the biggest accomplishment of the Senate this term, and it was an honor to be able to work on the wrap up of it, and all of the hard-work that was put into it by this Senate and previous Senates.
2. What do you feel was the biggest accomplishment you had as a Senator this term?
A: The rewording and re-evaulation of some parts of the Criminal Code, and the changes to our classification system.
C: Other than getting elected?I would love to say working on the Aide program was the biggest, but I don't think anything can really outweigh the impact of the Criminal Code. Not that I had a huge impact on it, but I feel my contributions at least made an impact on the discussion, if nothing else.
D: Read answer to previous question.
R: Offering input, unfortunately I didn't have a whole lot of time to pursue a strong agenda but I felt I was active for the most part.
W: I feel getting a small Senate Aide sharing system up with Calvin and PhDre was one of my biggest accomplishments this term, and we shared a bunch of aides (3, maybe four?). But, there was something that was bigger, and that was working on the Criminal Code with fellow Senators. I believe my comments did, indeed, help impact the discussion going on, and it has been an honor working on something of this magnitude.
3. Who would you like to see run for Senate next term (not limited to those already in office)?
A: I want to generally say every newcomer who has been in the Citizens' Assembly for a term or more should absolutely give it a go; specifically though I'd like to shout out to Marnip and Seladuir to think about raising their candidacies for the Senate.
C: I hope all those currently in office choose to run again, but if the last election has taught me anything, it is that we need more people to seriously consider running. I expect Kraketopia may throw his hat into the ring, now that he's no longer President, Notolecta will probably run again, too. On the newcomer side, Angelus is showing some promise, and so is Grenmark. I'd like to see both of them involved in this race, and not just because they are my Aides.
D: No idea.
R: Everyone who can and is able.
W: I won't give out any specific names because I don't want to discourage others who may want to run and who may not be mentioned, but I do know we have lots of newcomers out there that could be worthy of a Senate seat if they ran. They do have the spirit, and a lot have shown that they have the potential to be a bright Senator.
4. What do you have to say to those who may be discouraged to run next election?
A: If you run an earnest and professional-looking campaign, you can only do well for your political career and eventual election to the Senate, even if you lose. If you run a joke campaign or a really unprofessional one (and then refuse suggestions to improve) you might not do so well, but anyone who genuinely tries, even if they don't think they will win, -will- gain notice and respect. Give it a go - the worst that can happen is you get some practice in campaigning!
C: Look at the previous Senate election. While that is, by no means, a typical race, it shows that these things can be very unpredictable. Even further back, in the by-election, I ran a couple weeks after I came to the region, and I almost won the thing. Don't count yourself out before it even begins, because you've got a much better chance than you think you do, regardless of who you are.
D: Don't be stupid. Everyone always has a chance of getting elected to the Senate. Some elections a brain dead otter could get elected. Other elections it is a sh*it storm though. Always depends on how everything plays out. But if you let that dissuade you from running then you likely will never run and that is just sad.
R: It's better to have run and lost than to never have run at all. Or to quote Don Cherry "Do it your way, go down blazing".
W: Run anyway. There is no way to lose in this situation. When I ran my first time it was in a by-election (I was only in the region for a month) with Calvin and Imperium, one former Senator and another current Senator, two very top-notch ones as well, I lost by a gigantic margin. In fact, I came in dead last, the only vote coming on my side was my vote
5. Which Senator (other than yourself) do you feel has done the best work/Which Senator has best fulfilled the duties of their office over the previous term. (and, of course, why)?
A: Drecq has done a solid job as Speaker, and PhDre has provided good insights on most of our legislation - generally between the two of us I feel like we can usually find pretty much any potential loopholes or issues. I am really pleased also to see the strong showing from the two relative newcomers, Calvin and writinglegend. Love Rachel too; don't think I've missed her out deliberately or anything.
C: Drecq. No doubt about it, he was born to be a Europeian Senator. He provided more analysis, more debate, and more advice than any other Senator this term, and is a very successful Speaker. I'd also like to give an honorable mention to Anumia's work this term, which has also been very comprehensive.
D: Anumia has done well.
R: I thought everyone did a pretty good job.
W: There are a lot of good contenders for this one as all have been fantastic Senators this term, so this is tough. I would probably say Drecq, as he has done lots of work including bringing together the Criminal Code Overhaul into a piece of legislation, guiding discussions, being very active in the Senate, and contributing his hardest.
6. What are you most looking forward to working on during the remainder of your term?
A: Hopefully we can finish the Criminal Code soon, although the huge list of things to consider that I posted might take some chewing through...
C: The main goal is getting the Criminal Code done, but I am also looking forward to Skizzy's election legislation, and seeing how the AG contribution will work out.
D: Finishing the Criminal Code Overhaul so that the answers I gave to the first two questions don't become inaccurate.
R: Finishing off the criminal code hopefully.
W: Finishing up the Criminal Code.
7. What goals did you have for your work in the Senate upon your election? How do you feel you've done at accomplishing those goals?
A: It's hard to specifically answer this question, other than to mention my desire to change the Line of Succession. I'll give that another go next term if re-elected, but other than that I generally want to bring an attitude of excellence and precision to the Senate, which is hard to measure by any metric except looking at the legislation that is or soon will be passed. Going on that, I am fairly pleased with not only my efforts, but those of all Senators this term.
C: My goals were to work on the Aide program, and on committees. As soon as I was elected, I talked to the other Senators about how the Aide program should move forward this term. What I ended up with was a partnership with PhDre and Writinglegend, and we now have four Aides on the team. Granted, there has not been much for them to do other than examine the Criminal Code, but I think the groundwork has been set, and I have fulfilled my campaign promise. In regards to committees, this was another thing I fought for at the start of the term, but the majority opinion was against me, so no progress was made here. I hope we can use these in future terms, but it was just unable to work out this time, despite my efforts.
D: I don't really have goals anymore as such.
R: Well, I knew I wouldn't have the most time currently and my goal was simply to be active. I had been hoping we could expand our purview a bit but that was shut down early.
W: Some goals focused upon Senate Aides and the committee system. As we know, the committee system was shut out this term (although I did try and keep the committees alive
8. How do you feel about the lack of committee system this term? Do you think such a system should be reinstated for next term?
A: They weren't the most successful when tried recently with HEM; though I was willing to participate in the Committees once more had we had them, I don't feel like we lost anything by not having them.
C: As I said in the last question, I am disappointed there was no committee system this term, as I feel this system would be a good way to ask for specifics from the Executive, and get more than a (sometimes) weekly update from Ministers who are reluctant to share what is going on.
D: I don't particularly care for or about committees. As far as I am concerned they never need make another appearance ever again.
R: I felt it was a bit sad really. It was effectively shut down by the administration, some of us battled but in the end it was hopeless. It pretty much killed some of the more creativeness of the term. I felt it was disheartening and I'm not sure if it should be. The momentum was kind of killed.
W: I feel that the committee system could've been utilized to communicate more with this Executive, and I would've enjoyed seeing them utilized. I don't think such a system should come back next term if we have wavering attitudes towards it in part of the Senate, but I would encourage it coming back anyhow.
