New Speaker Election Thread

[Joseph Cao]

For Speaker of the House:

[ 2 ] Elcaspar
[ 1 ] Encke

[Joseph Cao]

Nominating myself for speaker.

The one quality a speaker absolutely needs if they are to preside effectively is activity. I think I’ve shown through my actions over the past Congress both here and on the AFE board that I will be able to maintain the required standard of activity, with all that that entails, including keeping a strict schedule for bill introductions and votes, updating the noticeboard daily, keeping you all updated through PMs and DMs, and streamlining the passage of bills between houses.

The Speakership shouldn't be a partisan job for this reason – partisanship impedes their effectiveness and the efficiency of the legislature as a whole. I would hope as well that we decide on a Speaker based on their dedication rather than through partisan considerations, and if elected my first action will certainly be to appoint a deputy speaker with as high a commitment to activity and to the good of Congress as I have. Whatever the outcome of this vote, I wish Sev and Laki well and am sure they and all the rest of my fellow representatives will likewise hold themselves to the best standard that our legislature deserves.

[Joseph Cao]

For Speaker of the House:
[    ] Lakigigar
[    ] SevenEleven
[ X ] Rep. Joseph Cao

[Joseph Cao]

Voting begins now and will continue for 48 hours or until everyone has voted

It's been more than 48 hours, and everyone has voted. Are we done here?

[Joseph Cao]

Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. My thanks to you and the Dean for keeping the House running while this election proceeded, and may we all have a productive Congress filled with reasoned and amicable debate.

Let's hope this goes better than the last time we had a House Speaker from Illinois.

*bangs gavel* Back to business!

[Joseph Cao]

We have just passed our twelfth bill of the 26th Congress (and are continuing to debate several more, as well as having failed or tabled six bills after spirited debate). It's a step forward for the House, but there's still some way to go on other aspects, most notably on amendments and on debate and involvement from each and every member. We've had a good uptick in participation for votes and I'd like to keep this up now that we have a couple of active new representatives. There has been progress made; there is more still to make.

I mentioned in my nomination remarks in September that there is a required standard of activity and competency that the Speaker of the House must meet. Now that the 27th Congress is convening, I hope to keep up that standard for the good of the House and of the people whom we serve; we do call it the People's House, after all. Therefore, I hereby declare for another term as Speaker.

[Joseph Cao]

Voting begins now and will continue for 48 hours or until everyone has voted.

Rep. Joseph Cao as Speaker of the House:
[ X ] Yes
[    ] No

[Joseph Cao]

I accept the nomination.

When I was first elected Speaker, I mentioned that activity was essential to the effectiveness of whoever sat in the Speaker’s chair – the competence, fairness, and efficiency that the job requires must come from a commitment to show up on a daily basis. When the Speaker fails in this, and fails to administer the House as they should, our governance suffers and the people suffer as a result. The record of our past two sessions will show that I’ve done my best to hit the targets I set for keeping the House functional from an administrative standpoint; to give a voice to each of our representatives so that all Atlasians can have a voice that properly represents them in the People’s House. And if elected again, I shall certainly continue to do so.

Whatever the outcome of this vote, I will continue to hold myself to as high a standard as this august chamber deserves, and I hope that each of us will likewise do so throughout the coming session: in activity, in fairness, and in dedication to competence over partisanship. Change must first come from within ourselves, after all. The Speakership is not a partisan office, and whoever ends up in the big chair – me or Sev or Poirot – would do well to remember that when executing their duties. I wish all of you the best of luck with meeting that standard this session; the standard that the People’s House and the people deserve.

[Joseph Cao]

For Speaker of the House:
[ 1 ] Rep. Joseph Cao
[ 2 ] SevenEleven

[Joseph Cao]

To add on to my previous message to Sev: once again, my congratulations on becoming Speaker. I wish you the best in leading the House into a session of productive and amicable debate and trust that this chamber will be in good hands as you take the gavel.

[Joseph Cao]

I'm going to go ahead and bump this to the top, and while I'm at it I nominate Joseph Cao for speaker.

Thank you for the nomination, and I accept it.

I want to begin by thanking Sev for keeping the House running well despite having to deal with what must have been difficult RL issues. For this new session, my goal is pretty much the same as it always was: to promote activity and continue to push papers as well as the House deserves. That naturally includes PMing you all for votes, keeping the noticeboard up to date, clearly publicizing all decisions made as Speaker, mandating a competent Deputy Speaker, and so on and so forth. I'm confident that our new members will help to provide a productive session, but that requires a Speaker who has demonstrated the necessary competence required to make capable use of its activity.

And I will reiterate, again, my sincere hope that we come at this from an angle of what is best for the health and activity of the House rather than any partisan considerations. We are gathered here to consider legislation on its merits, of what helps the citizens we serve, and for the first vote of this session I hope we will all be voting on the merits of what ultimately helps the House the most.

[Joseph Cao]

By the way, while I'm hopeful this vote will be over with quickly we do still have a number of bills and procedural motions on the floor to be dealt with, and so I urge the Dean to appoint an interim Speaker to handle business while the Speakership vote works itself out.

[Joseph Cao]

For Speaker of the House:
[ 1 ] Rep. Joseph Cao
[ 2 ] MB298

[Joseph Cao]

Rep. Joseph Cao will be the interim Speaker until the position has been filled officially by the House.

Just for the record, by the way – as interim Speaker I will focus on clearing up any unfinished business remaining from Sev's tenure rather than starting new discussions, as that will be more easily handled by whoever gets an entire term at the dais.

[Joseph Cao]

Bumping.

I will not be running for Speaker.

[Joseph Cao]

MB has been doing a competent job of keeping the Speakership active and stimulating activity in the rest of the House thus far. While I have similar confidence in Jimmy’s abilities as Speaker, my vote has always gone to the candidate I believe is best placed at the current point in time to fulfil its duties and that isn’t about to change.

[ 2 ] Jimmy7812
[ 1 ] MB298

[Joseph Cao]

Oh why not. I'll nominate myself.

[Joseph Cao]

For Speaker of the House:
[ 2 ] Blairite
[ 3 ] Ishan
[ 1 ] Rep. Joseph Cao

[Joseph Cao]

Thank you to the Dean for managing and overseeing this snap vote with all commendable promptness. And thank you to the House for placing your confidence in me one last time. I'll get right to work.