Soap box debate: governor of first province

The official gubernatorial debate is here. That debate thread is restricted to candidates only and includes only questions submitted to the Inquisitors. While that formal debate is weell and good I feel we need a more open forum for discussing the issues.

Therefore I have opened this thread and invite all citizens to grill, I mean, question the candidates running for governor. Almightyjosh has agreedto participate in this debate and I look forward to answering any of questions he wants to pose.

Let the debate begin!

Okay candidates, here goes. What is the optimum size of a province, and why?

Do you favor a tight build or best coverage approach to city placement? Why?

These questions were originally posted by eyrei here.

Is it more important to obey the letter or the spirit of the constitution? Basically, is this document open to interpretation or must it be strictly adhered to?

It is important to obey the letter of the constitution. What is written in the constitution should not be ignored. If what is written is inconvenient and we simply choose to ignore it we undermine the remainder of the constitution that is convenient. That is why it is so important to protect the wording of the constitution now that it has evolved into the good document that it is.

The trouble does not lie so much in deciding whether to follow the letter or the spirit of the constitution. the problems arise when we talk about following the letter of the CoL or CoS versus the spirit of the constitution. IMHO we do have some laws and standards in place that conflict with the spirit of the constitution.

To return to the question, I am not a strict constructionalist. If something is formally prohibited in the constitution then it is prohibited. If something is not specifically prohibited then it can be tried.

Will you submit to the will of the domestic department regarding settler construction, even if it conflicts with your desires for your cities? This is an important area, and one of potential conflict. We did not have this problem in the first game, because the domestic leader was the governor of the first province.

I would submit to the will of the domestic department for settler construction if it has been shown that this is the will of the people. The same would hold try for submitting to the will of themilitary department in time of peace. It all comes down to what the people want.

The role of the first governor may or may not be similar to that of the domestic advisor in term one of the first game. That all depends on how we define our provinces. We have two choices. We can make a core province (as in the first game) that will become the economic and production center of the nation. Or we can combine a core city with border cites so that each province is equal in production/gold overall.

In a game at this level, city improvements must often be put aside in favor of military units for most of the ancient and middle ages. How do you propose to deal with this?

I can tell you one thing, I am against rushing improvements under despotism. Other than that, it comes down (once again) to the will of the people.

Originally posted by Danke
Okay candidates, here goes. What is the optimum size of a province, and why?

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I think five to seven cities is optimum. More than that and things get too unwieldy. This will be even more so if all cities have active mayors.

I think what is more important is how we group the cities into provinces. Rather than make the capital and the surrounding cities into a province we should consider a more wedge shaped or pie approach to provincial borders. Have provinces with a core city and border cities so that overall the production/corruption our initial provinces will be similar. If we make the provinces equal then the governors/senators will be equal.

Another question for the candidates:

Do you intend to post polls for build queues? When there are only a few cities in the nation, it should be feasible to do so.

Originally posted by Shaitan
Do you favor a tight build or best coverage approach to city placement? Why?

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That depends on the lay of the land. It doesn't really matter to me as a candidate for governor. For one thing, city placement is under the jurisdiction of the domestic department. For another, it (once again) comes down to the will of the people. It would certainly be easier for governors if the cities don't overlap. But the lay of the land and circumstances may lead us to choose tight builds or a mixed strategy.

Originally posted by eyrei
Another question for the candidates:

Do you intend to post polls for build queues? When there are only a few cities in the nation, it should be feasible to do so.

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That depends on how things play out. I don't think polls are needed for everything. I think discussion comes first and if there is general agreement on a plan then no poll is needed. If there is no concensus then I would certainly post polls for build queues or the parts of the queue for which there is no agreement.

It also depends on whether we have active mayors in our cities. If each city has a mayor who is gathering citizen support for individual build queues then the governors job will be to balance those queues against national needs. Again, discussion first then polls if there is no clear agreement on city versus provincial versus national issues that impact our build queues.

1) DELETED after it was put into the official debatte
2) Would you stand up and fight openly for the rights of the citizen of your province? For example if a civil war emerges or if the voice of your people is ignored in some place?

3) How would you deal with people openly revolting in your province?

4) How would you deal if some of your citizens do not agree to your proposals? Discuss and try to find a compromise or rather try to push you opinion thru?

5) How do you plan to deal with criminality in your province? Will you implement police and prisons or other measures to reduce robbery of innocent travelers?

6) How will you handle landmark and city-naming in your province? Will you allow citizen participation or do you reserve this right solely for you?

Originally posted by disorganizer
2) Would you stand up and fight openly for the rights of the citizen of your province? For example if a civil war emerges or if the voice of your people is ignored in some place?

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I would certainly stand up for any citizen's constitutional rights. BTW - engaging in civil war is not a constitutional right.

3) How would you deal with people openly revolting in your province?

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As long as they are acting within the laws I would seek to soothe their grievences and restore harmony to the province and our country.

4) How would you deal if some of your citizens do not agree to your proposals? Discuss and try to find a compromise or rather try to push you opinion thru?

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I would try to show them why my proposals were beneficial. Failing to win them over I'd seek an acceptable compromise. If there is no acceptable compromise then the will of the people would have to be ascertained through our polling process.

5) How do you plan to deal with criminality in your province? Will you implement police and prisons or other measures to reduce robbery of innocent travelers?

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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I would focus on measures that would reduce the liklihood of lawlessness in the province. A proactive police force is preferable to a reactive police force.

6) How will you handle landmark and city-naming in your province? Will you allow citizen participation or do you reserve this right solely for you?

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City naming rights are already outlined in our CoS. As for landmarks I would have no objections to opening their naming rights to citizens of the province.

I have a question for my worthy opponent:

Where are you?

He's in Australia. Expect a flurry of response sometime before dawn.

Most of my question answering has so far been conducted in the Official Governor Debate Thread. So please have a look at my posting to get a better idea of my philosophy and to formulate questions.

What is the optimum size of a province, and why?
I think the best size is from 8-12 cities. This number can easily be handled and allows more of a scope for co-ordination of geographical areas and building on provincial identity. While we should have a standard size we aim for, there is nothing wrong with having some smaller provinces, though above 12 cities things can get a bit messy. I was able to micro-manage each of the 12 cities in my province without too much bother (actually, CT probably went through a nervous breakdown attempting to keep up with my request )

Do you favor a tight build or best coverage approach to city placement? Why?
I usually like a best cover approach as it allow significant development later and makes it easier to concentrate resources. However, on Emperor level we may end up with less space then would be optimal, so a tighter build may be unavoidable. If we leave space to begin with, we can keep a best cover if we have a large empire, or fill it in later if we cannot extend our borders very far.

Do you intend to post polls for build queues?
I will be calling for citizen input all the time, and when there is consideable debate I would post a poll. However, as you noted, there will be very few cities to begin with. I will start by posting polls on what general direction to take and then refine these for each city as the need arises.

Would you stand up and fight openly for the rights of the citizen of your province? For example if a civil war emerges or if the voice of your people is ignored in some place?
Always, the rights and will of the people of my province is my primary and feduciary concern. Though I am against civil war, should my province be threatened by enemies (foriegn or domestic ) then I would do everthing in my power to protect it.

How would you deal with people openly revolting in your province?
I would be such a good governor as to avoid this in the first place. I think that revolts can be justified or false. In the case of a revolt which was grounded in a legitimate concern I would do everything in my power to adress the issue. However, ultimately there are democratic means of protest and action which should be exhaused first.

How would you deal if some of your citizens do not agree to your proposals? Discuss and try to find a compromise or rather try to push you opinion thru?
First, to define. Proposals would be what I think should happen, decitions are what is going to happen. When it comes to making proposals, I like it when people come out and disagree with my ideas, because it means they are getting involved. I would never implement my own 'pet' projects against citizens will. However, if after debate it is clear that a certain option is more favoured, and there is no glaring reason no to take it, then I would go ahead with it even if some citizens maintained that it was wrong.

How do you plan to deal with criminality in your province? Will you implement police and prisons or other measures to reduce robbery of innocent travelers?
This is a possibility, though it depends on the budget (if any) that I am granted. I am currently considering a proposal of this kind, but the RPG bank is not yet functioning.

How will you handle landmark and city-naming in your province? Will you allow citizen participation or do you reserve this right solely for you?
Somw landmarks I would like to name myself, but ultimately the province is for everyone, not just me. I would definately like to name a city, but this would only be done with citizen support and would attemt to reflect the nature and culture of the province (thus I did not re-name a city in my last term as governor, as I did not want to ruin the feel of the provincial names.


Where are you?
So many ways to answer...
I am in Australia. I am in Fanatika... although my location is still listed as Thebes!
I am busy posting in the official governor debate thread...
I AM HERE!

As the first governor, you have the right to name the province. What do you plan on naming the province, and why?

I have thought about this and I have not made up my mind definitively. It somewhat depends on the geography.
I like Assyria if hot and dry or maybe Tuscany if it is mountainous, and Bohemia for just about any terrian I also like Lienster, but we would have to be somewhere very green. Java or Borneo if we are on a small island.
I promise not to call it Asphinxia, as much as I would like to!

Originally posted by Octavian X
As the first governor, you have the right to name the province. What do you plan on naming the province, and why?

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I'm not good with names at all so I'd certainly have to start a thread for citizen input and post a poll. personally, I'm leaning towards something with a Germanic flavor. :tank:

There is a stalled Senate vote here.

The measure has received citizen approval in this poll.

If I am elected Governor/Senator I would vote for this constitutional change. I now ask my worthy opponent to state his stand on this issue.

(Yes, I know you already voted for it Almightyjosh. I just want to know if you changed your mind. )

Yes, I already voted for it and was one of the first to do so. No, I have not suddenly changed my mind.

That's good to know, since you're beating the tar out of me in the governor race.