Campaign Debate

[Grayson]

I would like to request a Town Inventory be posted here and then like to hear what the 2 candidates will do to moderate the market, upgrade the town hall and what they wish to do in the term that they will be filling.

[Aishe]

Grayson, I respect you and consider you a friend, however I don't think it would be a good idea to publicly post the Town Hall's Inventory for all eyes to see. It could lead to trouble down the line. However, ultimately, that is Thoughtless' choice as he is Mayor.

As for some of the other things you've asked for, you can find them in my Mayor Campaign thread. Then, if you'd wish for me to elaborate on something more, just let me know.

- Aishe -

[balerion]

I remember when Lt. Faw, mayor under whom I was first mentor, posted the entire towne inventory that he placed into a secure grant simply because I, the big bad dragon, walked into towne. There is precedence for a display of the towne inventory if one is desired.

http://www.secfenia.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4412

[Aishe]

That's completely different, Bale.

I still stand by what I said. Yet, up to Thoughtless.

- Aishe -

[Grayson]

ok true I did not think of it like that. Then just work off the three things then and lets compare nots on how each of you wold do in the same discussion instead of seperate ones

[Aishe]

Alrighty... Well, instead of me phrasing everything I've said, I'm just going to quote it into here and maybe add some other things for you.

Things I intend to accomplish during this upcoming term, if I win, include the Market (which is my top priority), citizen activity in both taverns and forums, town level upgrades, and the town laws. I'd also like to get the "Level Assistance" program active again, something I wanted to during my last set of terms, but forgot.

About the Market:

In this upcoming term, my main priority is to focus on the Market. When I started my terms in January, it was in very bad shape and together we all managed to fix it up. Yet, it's crashed again and desperately needs some attention. The initial fix is 'easy', but the long term fix will take some time and help throughout Bravia City.

Right now, the Market's supply is alright. (Both Logo and I have worked together with helping Thoughtless repair.) But it's far too temporary. The Town Hall has too many items up. Important items at that, that could easily be supplied by citizens. (i.e. corn, eggs, milk, buckets) I thought, in my last term, that the Market would be able to hold together, but I was wrong. I don't think it had enough time to reach the "self-sustaining" mark, so the change in leadership lead to a downfall. Which isn't necessarily Thoughtless' fault, I'm not trying to say that at all. He's a new Mayor and him and I think very differently. So, the way I maintain the Market is different from him. The Market will always be a struggle and is something that always needs attention.

The first three steps of the solution for the Market:

The first step would be to closely examine the market and how much on the Market is up by the Town Hall verses the citizens. Step two would be to get anything from the VR that isn't present on the Market that we need (i.e. steaks and fish) and to help take care of anything we have far too much of. Step three is to talk to the citizens once again about selling their products and harvests on the Market instead of keeping them. Sometimes citizens don't even realize that what they have is needed. I've already asked Hawksmoor to make some more butcher knives for the Market a few days back. Communication to the citizens is key, especially when fixing something like the Market -- because the Market is a collective between all of us. The Mayor doesn't hold ultimate power over it, the citizens do. The Mayor can just unite and direct for a better Market. Or at least, if you want a self-sustaining Market that won't suddenly crash like it did this term.

Activity is a hard thing to get going, but constant encouragement and things like Town RP's could help promote forum and tavern activity.


About Town Level Upgrades:

Only one upgrade. (Currently Level Two - unless Thoughtless upgraded it, though I don't believe so.) After that initial upgrade, our resources went into upgrading the walls, Temple, and Market upkeep. I wanted to upgrade it to Level Three and got a decent amount of the jobs done, but we were short on wood still, making the completion not possible.

Completing the upgrade to Level Three is a good, achievable goal with the help of our citizens. (Especially now that there is more wood to go around.) Before, after the initial upgrade to the Town Hall, our wood supplies went into the Walls and Temple.


The Town Laws:

I also want to tighten up some of our laws - I've already been contacted by a creature with concern about our laws and I share them. I also believe that the recent court cases and discussion with the PP have showed some flaws in our laws. So, if elected, this is something I definitely intend on working on with the Town Council.

In the Level Assistance program, the Town Hall helps eligible citizens with money to level up. Although some may think it's a bad program, I have always thought the pros outweigh the cons. The TH gets a little bit of money every time someone levels, for one. And the more advanced our citizens are, the better off Bravia will be.


I hope this helps. Any other questions, just ask.

- Aishe -

[Thoughtless]

Was busy most of the weekend with family stuff and didn't have time to reply to everything that I wanted to because of it. I'll reply on my thoughts about the categories she mentioned.

About the Market:

Right now, the market is doing okay with some work here and there. The best way to have the market get better is from the citizens. I have been trying to encourage those with items to put them up. The town hall puts up items for one of two reasons:
1) a stop gap measure meant to encourage people to go below them. (This was done with the corn at 3.15)
2) a resell from someone who has been putting items up as a reward/encouragement for them to do so typically done with a mail thanking them and encouraging more items to be put up.

It is something that won't be changed over night and will take time to create the right environment. Part of the problem has been a mentality encouraged in the past that if people put their items up they won't sell and that they shouldn't bother with it. It's my hope to break through that mentality and show people that whether someone else will buy it, the town will ensure that there is a flow by buying it and reselling it either on the town market, the viceroyalty, or even through trade. I have been in recent contact with a few other mayors who were suprised that Bravia town would trade with them and so it may take a while to convince them that we are serious. Some items may not be able to be sold on the Viceroyalty Fair, because of the price.

I have personally not put up fish on the Bravia town market right now because of the price that I would have to pass on. It's my hope that we'll be able to get cheaper fish or more milk from our cow fields. If I purchased Fish from the Viceroyalty, the minimum price I could charge is 17 freznics.

Also, it is my feeling that the Mentor who has direct listings of all professions and fields should be an active participant in trying to get those with goods on the market.

About Town Level Upgrades:

I have not updated the town hall as it would require a total of 231 bushels of wood. It is not the area that needs the most work. We are able to maintain the soft limits without any problems. Upgrading the town hall would mean having to pay the clerical staff more. This is an unnecessary waste of resources especially since we have enough other things to keep our people busy.

About Town Laws:

After many terms of the laws being stagnant, I have worked with the Town Council rewriting the laws into a more logical and clear set. I have also asked the people of Bravia their opinions on the laws even polling them on how laws should be passed. I am a bit surprised to hear that someone contacted Aishe about a concern with the law and that she did not forward it to myself or even discuss it with council. Even more surprising to me is that she hasn't encouraged the person to discuss it with myself or post their concern either. This seems to work against the very notion of trying to get people more involved. I would have been happy to bring the discussion up in chambers or even talk about it publicly.

There are two current cases going on regarding our town law. The PP has shown ineptitude in his attempt to not have a trial started for our town laws even trying to hint that he can't file anything on town laws. I had to educate him on his responsibility. I am unsure what his concerns were on the town law, but based on his recent wording in the public chambers, it is obvious that he has not fully read them nor understands them at all. I have seen no example of where the law was flawed, but again if Aishe was serious on this matter she would have specified what either publicly here or brought the matter up for discussion in the town hall.

It is a bit disconcerting that she isn't willing to work on this matter in Town Council right now and is waiting for... what? Is she waiting to see if she can use this as a way to become Mayor? I don't know, but it's a bit odd that I have to hear it first through her campaigning.

[Aishe]

About Town Laws:

After many terms of the laws being stagnant, I have worked with the Town Council rewriting the laws into a more logical and clear set. I have also asked the people of Bravia their opinions on the laws even polling them on how laws should be passed. I am a bit surprised to hear that someone contacted Aishe about a concern with the law and that she did not forward it to myself or even discuss it with council. Even more surprising to me is that she hasn't encouraged the person to discuss it with myself or post their concern either. This seems to work against the very notion of trying to get people more involved. I would have been happy to bring the discussion up in chambers or even talk about it publicly.

I apologize for not doing this, it was more of a passing comment of sorts when talking about the council lists, the towns of Bravia, and such. I am more than happy to share the exact comment with you, but in a rephrase, the creature believes that our laws aren't specific enough, if you will. At first, I didn't entirely see what he meant -- which is why I didn't share. I thought our laws were fine. But upon some more peering and pondering, I've recently come to agree.

There are two current cases going on regarding our town law. The PP has shown ineptitude in his attempt to not have a trial started for our town laws even trying to hint that he can't file anything on town laws. I had to educate him on his responsibility. I am unsure what his concerns were on the town law, but based on his recent wording in the public chambers, it is obvious that he has not fully read them nor understands them at all. I have seen no example of where the law was flawed, but again if Aishe was serious on this matter she would have specified what either publicly here or brought the matter up for discussion in the town hall.

It is a bit disconcerting that she isn't willing to work on this matter in Town Council right now and is waiting for... what? Is she waiting to see if she can use this as a way to become Mayor? I don't know, but it's a bit odd that I have to hear it first through her campaigning.

The flaws in our laws it that, as mentioned earlier in this post, they aren't specific enough. They don't mention deadlines (in the case of Audits), some don't have any mention of possible punishment, ect. Clearer laws will make things cleaner in the future. The main reason I haven't said anything yet is because I haven't had the chance. I don't want to just throw it out there, I want to be able to sit down, go through the laws, pick out problems, THEN present it to the Town Council. What use is it if I just say, "Our laws are flawed, fix them."? Would you even take it into consideration if I were to do it in that manner? [It is finals week IRL, I have nearly sixty people visiting me this weekend and another twenty or so next weekend. I'm cleaning like crazy, studying, and trying to get everything done. This is why I haven't had the time to sit down and really go through the laws. I'm not trying to be sneaky, but there are so many hours in a day.]

I'm not using this as a way to become Mayor, but it is part of my goal if it isn't done at the end of this term and I take Office. It wasn't a part of my initial statement, no, because at the time, I thought our laws were alright. Time has proven to me otherwise. My campaign doesn't need to be set in stone, I can merrily add to it if I please.

- Aishe -

[Thoughtless]

In the case of the law regarding Audits, there is a built in time limit. Audits are only available for a week after being finalized. This is the reason why I never felt we had to restate this. While it's true that we could restate that it must be done within 7 days, there's no real need for it to be redundant. Anyone who has ever accessed any audit here knows the limit.

I disagree that you didn't have a chance. If you can take the time to mention it publicly, then you have the chance to do so with everyone involved. You don't have to propose a full list of things that you want to change. We can always start on a few things (or even one!) and add them as the discussion continues. This is how we updated the laws so far and is a good process to make sure things get done. No one has to do it by themselves.

I don't think that punishment needs to be included in every law either so long as we don't have a corrupt judge. Part of a Judge's job is to weigh in on how things are based upon the Viceroyalty's scale of punishments.

If you do win, I do want to say that I wish you the best in office. I hope that you will continue to review the laws and do things to help our town. I only stepped up for office this past time as recommended by Sandra. My hat is in the ring just to try to make sure that people have a choice on whom to vote for. I hope that I can win.

[Aishe]

You were a good opponent, Thoughtless. Thank you for your term as Mayor and thank you for running again.

- Aishe -