Office of Former President Tmth

[Senator Spark]

Congratulations to a true FF!

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Congratulations on a well-earned victory!

[Joseph Cao]

My sincere and fullest congratulations!

[tmthforu94]

I want to thank everyone for their support and am thankful for winning. After initially declaring, I decided to withdraw my campaign for Speakership. We had two quality candidates running for Deputy, both who I felt were deserving of being in Chamber leadership. I am putting my money where my mouth is and doing what I can to support giving newer members the opportunities to serve in leadership roles.

I want to extend my congratulations to Tim Turner on winning the Gubernatorial runoff, as well as congratulating Spark on a well-ran race. While I didn't vote for Tim, he is a great Southernor and I know our region is in great and capable hands. I also want to endorse WB to get the replacement seat in the Chamber - he was an excellent Delegate in the last session and will work very hard for the region.

[tmthforu94]

I have decided to seek another term as Southern Delegate. Should I be elected, I will also run again for a leadership position in the Chamber. I made the decision to take a backseat at the start of this term to support others' ambitions in the region, and while we got off to a good start, I've been disappointed by the level of activity and lack of agenda we've seen the last month. I hope to work with the incoming Governor to craft a legislative agenda that helps advance the region forward.

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

endorsed!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsed!

[Sirius_]

endorsed!

[tmthforu94]

Statement from Speaker Tmth

Koopa has resigned as Speaker, and I have taken over once again. I thank her for her continued service to the region. My focus will be to ensure all legislation is wrapped up before the end of the session in a timely manner, as well as ensuring the Wiki statue is updated.

[tmthforu94]

My friends, another election is upon us and I ask for your vote so that I secure another term in the Southern Chamber. I work very hard for the region in the Chamber, serving as Speaker and ensuring our governing body runs smoothly and efficiently, while keeping the Wiki maintained and working closely with each of the delegates. I hear a lot of talk about "I want to rank you high, but the party bosses don't want me to/partisanship/etc." Don't let the haters dictate your vote! I humbly ask that you consider putting partisanship aside and instead voting for what is best for the REGION.  Please elect me to another term, voting ends tomorrow night! Thank you!

[tmthforu94]

Thank you to everyone who voted for me, it looks like I have been elected to another term. I plan to run for Speaker again and look forward to continue serving the region, alongside our new Governor LT! Thank you.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Congrats! You're a very important asset to the South, and I look forward to this upcoming term!

[tmthforu94]

Speaker Update:
The Legislative Noticeboard has been updated for this term. On the note, something I would encourage any future legislative leaders is to do whatever you can to keep your noticeboard updated - it may seem like unnecessary work, but it will help so much down the road in terms of keeping things organized and ensuring things don't slip through the cracks, as well as being a tremendous help to whoever updates the Wiki (me).

We have one bill still under debate and I am expecting it to be wrapped up before the end of the session. In the coming days, I will work on making updates to the Wiki Statue since it has been neglected for a couple months, as well as updating the Civic Information thread with updated information. It is my mission to ensure everything is up-to-date and ready for Governor-elect LT to take office on Friday.

[tmthforu94]

Speaker Update:
We are on the verge of passing two very important bills in the Chamber, the Southern COVID-19 Vaccination Act and the Southern COVID-19 Regulations Act. Despite a slow rollout by the federal government, we are moving quickly to make the vaccine widely distributable across the South while also maintaining practical guidelines surrounding COVID-19 that keeps our communities and most vulnerable safe.

This week, we also confirmed Spark to the Senate - I congratulate him on his nomination and confirmation. In addition, one of our own, Koopa, declared her bid to be the next President of Atlasia. I wish her the very best of luck. I also want to send best wishes to Ted - he works hard for Atlasia every day, but real life and mental health always come first, and I thank him for his continued service to our game.

The next few months are pivotal for Atlasia - we must continue to remember what makes this game great and how it has lasted for so long with much success. It is a strong institution and as we elect new leaders, we must remain committed to protecting the integrity of the game and ensure that it continues to thrive for years to come. Sometimes ensuring this means casting aside party affiliations - we should never be afraid to take a stand for what is right.

Speaker Tmth

[tmthforu94]

Speaker Update

I am calling on the federal government to pass legislation increasing posting requirements to register for Atlasia. The recent influx of offsite and zombie recruits (that part which we see nearly every cycle) is alarming and increased use of these tactics will be detrimental to the long-term functionality of the game. Having high poster requirements will make it less likely for people to join the forum just to vote.

Additionally, in the South, I plan to introduce legislation imposing minimum posting requirements in order to be eligible to vote. We are the only governing body who hasn't passed this requirement, and while we have been fine up to this point, I worry going forward that some of these offsite/zombie recruits will just show up on election weekends to vote, and no posting aside from that.

I've seen far more extreme proposals, but I find these changes to be pragmatic and reasonable. A higher posting threshold at the federal level is something we have seen work in the past, and imposing a minimum in the region would simply align us with other regions which have requirements.

Speaker Tmth

[tmthforu94]

Statement from Speaker Tmth
First, I want to congratulate all election winners last weekend. In the Chamber, I introduced a bill this past week that would allow first-time homeowners in the South to contribute to a fund, similar to a 529-college savings plan, and claim it as a tax deduction to help them prepare for a great financial investment. It is looking like it will pass, which I am grateful for. Unfortunately, my common-sense bill to align Southern posting activity requirements with the federal requirements failed. This was inspired due to recent offsite recruitment - as it stands, anyone who voted in the election last weekend can make ZERO posts and never log on from now until our April regional elections and be able to be sent a link, log on, and vote. I hope this is an issue the Chamber will reconsider in the future.

There is currently a proposal out there for another Constitutional Convention. I have always been supportive of reform to the game if it is right and makes sense. What worries me here is that since being mentioned during the campaign and during the last few days, I haven't heard a clear vision as to what the purpose of the ConCon will be and why it is needed. To me, it just seems like a group of people thinking "hey, this would be fun." Without a clear vision, like the last one had, my concern is that the ConCon is going to wander aimlessly on for several months with no significant change happening, and during that time, we will see both our federal and regional legislative bodies suffer, as the ConCon is a drain on activity. The most discussion I've seen is what a possible 4-region map would look like, and while I enjoy hypothesizing and know that our voter rolls have seen a significant uptick, I don't see any regional legislature (mine included) being super active right now, and also haven't seen an issue in any region of too many candidates running for too few seats. Until that happens, I don't think increasing the number of regions is a worthwhile venture. 

A Constitutional Convention should be reserved for times when there is a need for significant changes to the Constitution. As it stands, I haven't heard a clear vision for what those are, so encourage those looking to implement change seek it out via the legislative process. I will not be signing the petition, and should it reach the Southern Chamber, I will be a Nay vote until further notice.

[tmthforu94]

Statement by Speaker Tmth
The comment made by Governor DeSantis of Virginia was racist, inappropriate and completely out of line. Comments like this should have no place in politics or our society. I join the growing list of Southerners from all stripes calling for her resignation - she has lost the trust and confidence of her constituents. We deserve better.

A Chamber resolution condemning her comment will be forthcoming.

[tmthforu94]

Statement from Speaker Tmth

As I have shared previously, I made the decision NOT to seek reelection. I enjoy serving The People of The South, but my RL work has been very busy, working 60+ hours a week, and I don't feel I can adequately serve the region for another term at this point. I am very grateful to Deputy Speaker Reagente for stepping up and helping run the Chamber for the past couple of weeks - thank you.

Regarding the upcoming election - we have a contested race for Governor between LT and Koopa. I have known both for a long time and have great respect for each. When both announced, I brought up concerns to each privately (and publicly) about the needs for an active Governor and concerns I had with both of their records on that front. I told them both the same thing - I'd carefully be evaluating their activity levels in the final weeks of the campaign and would use that to determine how I would vote.

With just a couple days before the election, and after careful review of both of their activity records in recent weeks, I am endorsing Governor LouisvilleThunder in his reelection bid. I believe that of the choices, he is the more active candidate and will work hard in his second term to move the region forward and get a budget passed. While both wrote legislation following their announcements to show their commitment to activity, LT has made more of an effort to follow through on the legislation he has written until the very end. This is a trait we need in our Governor, which is why I have confidence in voting for him for another term.

I look forward to continuing serving The People in the final days of this session, and will always strive to serve, whether in elected capacity or something else!

Speaker Tmth

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

I appreciate your support for me and your service being an active Speaker this term!

[tmthforu94]

Good Morning.

Today, my 9 month tenure as a Southern legislator (the vast majority of the time has Speaker) has come to a close. It has been a pleasure working with so many of you.

In the coming weeks, I will work to get the statue updates as my updating fell off for the past term. Aside from that, I will be taking a break for a while as I have become very busy IRL.

Best,
Tmth