The Presidential Election standing can begin as soon as January 16th, less than 24 hours away from the time I am writing this article. I want to get out ahead of things and make my intent clear.
I will not be running for President.
Those close to me in the region know that I had every intention of being a candidate once the election was underway, to provide an alternate ticket against the eventual candidacy of Aexnidaral Seymour. I would say spoiler alert, but this a very open secret at this point, he has even announced his intention to run on Discord voice chat this past week. However, after the events that took place yesterday with the resignations of XIV and Notolecta, and particularly Notolecta’s audio address I have come to the conclusion that the last thing this region needs is a long, bitter campaign that pits the factions against each other. We have seen this in the last few elections, but none more clearly than in the most recent Senate election. In fact, we even saw it with me as a candidate.
During that Senate race I billed myself as the candidate that was going to take on the toxicity that I saw on the Senate floor, and try and bring the legislature back to an issues based, and less personal politics style of debate. My efforts were met with a resounding backlash from the EPP, and I subsequently lost out on the general election by one vote, then placed third out of three in the resulting runoff. It was clear my message didn’t resonate. In fact, I was seen as an agitator, and part of the problem. The Senate election debate shifted away from me specifically and turned into a larger version of what I had argued in my platform about the merits (or even the existence) of a faction based system of voting.
Several weeks removed from the election, I would like to think that it is now clear factions dominate our politics and heavily sway their outcomes. We can have the debate about whether that is good or bad, but I’m not interested in that right now. What I do want to discuss is that the result of this particular factional divide has led to a very harmful environment for many in our region. Many issues devolve into arguments based less on what is in the content of the post, but rather who posted it. Everything is now personal, and it’s become incredibly stressful to either walk on eggshells or risk getting bombarded from the other side of the tracks.
That’s why I’ve made the decision I have regarding the upcoming election. Aexnidaral Seymour will enter this race as the heavy favorite. Polling has shown this, and many of us have known this for a while. We can debate his merits as a candidate, and the content of his platform once he officially stands and posts, but for now I just want to say that I don’t want to fight. This is me giving Aex the benefit of the doubt and extending an olive branch. If he wins this race, it will not be because of divisive party politicking, but because he has the unified support of a wide coalition. I want our next Executive to have the best chance to succeed that it can, and that means starting off on the right foot.
Don’t misinterpret my meaning, though. Just because I am not standing in opposition does not mean I will agree with everything he proposes, nor will I give him a free pass to do as he pleases in the campaign or the Goldenblock. I don’t think anyone expects or deserves that. No, what I am doing is giving him a chance to lead, without me standing in the way. That might not mean much to anyone, but it clears my conscience. I wish this upcoming term the best of luck, and enter it with the best of intentions. Let’s build a better region together.
P.S. For regular Panda's Pen readers, you know this article is rather different from the type of publication I usually come out with. Don't worry, I won't make a habit of it, I just felt this was a rather important time to deviate from the norm. The next issue will be a poll, or legal analysis, more likely than not.
I will not be running for President.
Those close to me in the region know that I had every intention of being a candidate once the election was underway, to provide an alternate ticket against the eventual candidacy of Aexnidaral Seymour. I would say spoiler alert, but this a very open secret at this point, he has even announced his intention to run on Discord voice chat this past week. However, after the events that took place yesterday with the resignations of XIV and Notolecta, and particularly Notolecta’s audio address I have come to the conclusion that the last thing this region needs is a long, bitter campaign that pits the factions against each other. We have seen this in the last few elections, but none more clearly than in the most recent Senate election. In fact, we even saw it with me as a candidate.
During that Senate race I billed myself as the candidate that was going to take on the toxicity that I saw on the Senate floor, and try and bring the legislature back to an issues based, and less personal politics style of debate. My efforts were met with a resounding backlash from the EPP, and I subsequently lost out on the general election by one vote, then placed third out of three in the resulting runoff. It was clear my message didn’t resonate. In fact, I was seen as an agitator, and part of the problem. The Senate election debate shifted away from me specifically and turned into a larger version of what I had argued in my platform about the merits (or even the existence) of a faction based system of voting.
Several weeks removed from the election, I would like to think that it is now clear factions dominate our politics and heavily sway their outcomes. We can have the debate about whether that is good or bad, but I’m not interested in that right now. What I do want to discuss is that the result of this particular factional divide has led to a very harmful environment for many in our region. Many issues devolve into arguments based less on what is in the content of the post, but rather who posted it. Everything is now personal, and it’s become incredibly stressful to either walk on eggshells or risk getting bombarded from the other side of the tracks.
That’s why I’ve made the decision I have regarding the upcoming election. Aexnidaral Seymour will enter this race as the heavy favorite. Polling has shown this, and many of us have known this for a while. We can debate his merits as a candidate, and the content of his platform once he officially stands and posts, but for now I just want to say that I don’t want to fight. This is me giving Aex the benefit of the doubt and extending an olive branch. If he wins this race, it will not be because of divisive party politicking, but because he has the unified support of a wide coalition. I want our next Executive to have the best chance to succeed that it can, and that means starting off on the right foot.
Don’t misinterpret my meaning, though. Just because I am not standing in opposition does not mean I will agree with everything he proposes, nor will I give him a free pass to do as he pleases in the campaign or the Goldenblock. I don’t think anyone expects or deserves that. No, what I am doing is giving him a chance to lead, without me standing in the way. That might not mean much to anyone, but it clears my conscience. I wish this upcoming term the best of luck, and enter it with the best of intentions. Let’s build a better region together.
P.S. For regular Panda's Pen readers, you know this article is rather different from the type of publication I usually come out with. Don't worry, I won't make a habit of it, I just felt this was a rather important time to deviate from the norm. The next issue will be a poll, or legal analysis, more likely than not.