[Groot Gouda]

In the next year's city council elections, I have been nominated for the 4th place of my party (the "greens"), who has 3 seats (of 35) now, and hopes to get 4. So I can test all my nationstates debating tactics in real politics

[Lawtonia]

Congratulations Michel!! What an amazing opportunity. I do hope you and your party are successful in the upcoming elections. :wave:

[Antrium]

Congratulations! :wave: :worship:

I would vote for you if I lived there and was voting age

[Mikitivity]

Groot GoudaNov 22 2005, 06:38 AM In the next year's city council elections, I have been nominated for the 4th place of my party (the "greens"), who has 3 seats (of 35) now, and hopes to get 4. So I can test all my nationstates debating tactics in real politics [/quote]
That ROCKS!
:pisang:

[Malabra]

Good luck! B)

[Sober Thought]

Michel, while the IDU wants you, the Dutch youth would benefit from you, the Netherlands needs you. Have you considered making campaign references to your NationStates governing experience?

I think a likely Green voter might be impressed with this in a way even Socialist or other voters might not. This is especially true since there are years of documentation online showing your opinions and constructive cooperation on political matters long before you were ever a candidate and thus could be considered your true convictions rather than mere regurgitation of party policy.

If so, I would be honoured to give the greatest testimoninal from a foreigner that any municipal candidate has ever seen. Seriously. And given my Canadian citizenship, it might carry a little more weight. My great uncle Harry was a Spitfire pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, but he was not in northwest Europe during the starvation winter and liberation.

Good luck!

[Grosseschnauzer]

Good luck!

[Ecopoeia]

Congrats, Michel. Hopefully there will be cause for further congrats after the elections.

[Keeslandia]

My deepest heartfelt sympathy. If political campaigns and terms in office are anything at all as twisted as they are in the U.S., then I'm truly sorry for your loss of freedom and privacy.

I know, I ran political campaigns for too many years. It's a sick, twisted way to make a living.

[Groot Gouda]

We stayed at 3 seats, so I'm not in

(unless we can join the coalition)

[Mikitivity]

Groot GoudaMar 8 2006, 11:37 AM We stayed at 3 seats, so I'm not in

(unless we can join the coalition) [/quote]
That sucks!

Is there a chance that after the next election that you can get a seat???

[Groot Gouda]

Sure, work hard, be seen, and next elections there will probably be at least 1 seat available for me in the top-3.

[Mikitivity]

Groot GoudaMar 9 2006, 12:07 AM Sure, work hard, be seen, and next elections there will probably be at least 1 seat available for me in the top-3. [/quote]
B)
That is the general model for success!
When is the next election? 4 years???

[Keeslandia]

Wow! Top 3 position for anyone within a seated party is pretty damned significant. Congratulations (if that's the path you decide to take). As Miki asked, is there a set frequency to Dutch elections? A maximum period in which they must occur? May they be called earlier? Etc.

[Groot Gouda]

Both parliament and local elections are every 4 years. Locally, it isn't really an achievement to get high on a list - being capable and wanting to do it is enough. Not a lot of people desire to represent the people in the local council, because it's a drain on your social life (mostly meetings in the evenings), takes a lot of hours (a full time job is out of the question combined with it) for relatively little pay (except at my age ).

This year we had 4 candidates who were willing to go into the council and I was the number 4 of them. That's the story basically. And I made a good impression on the commission who selected the candidates and ordered them onto The List.

There's no reason to assume election before 2010 (usually they just form a new coalition if an old one breaks up before that, so you don't need the whole hassle of elections. Most intermediate elections are because several muncipalities are combined into 1), so my only hope currently is that we'll be able to join a coalition. In that case, our number 1 becomes a "minister" (don't know the english word for it, but it's the same function as a minister only on muncipal level) and I would take his place as council member. There are more parties who are serious candidates for a coalition, so I'm depending on the outcome of the negotiations.

[Jonquiere-Tadoussac]

Groot GoudaMar 15 2006, 09:21 AM Both parliament and local elections are every 4 years. Locally, it isn't really an achievement to get high on a list - being capable and wanting to do it is enough. Not a lot of people desire to represent the people in the local council, because it's a drain on your social life (mostly meetings in the evenings), takes a lot of hours (a full time job is out of the question combined with it) for relatively little pay (except at my age ).

This year we had 4 candidates who were willing to go into the council and I was the number 4 of them. That's the story basically. And I made a good impression on the commission who selected the candidates and ordered them onto The List. [/quote]
Don't sell yourself short. I've seen some fine work from you here; if you display as much in RL city politics, I don't see why you couldn't go far. Sure, maybe there isn't much interest, but that doesn't mean the candidates aren't of a good quality.

I'd still say this is a major acheivement, and I hope the negotiations work in your favour!

[Groot Gouda]

The negotiations have worked out in my favour. We're getting a green-social-christian coalition with my party in it, which means I'll go into the council!

[Fonzoland]

Congratulations Groot!

[Jonquiere-Tadoussac]

:yeah: Good to hear! I hope your city council benefits as much from your input as we do here!

[Antrium]

Congratulations!

[Groot Gouda]

And I'm finally starting to make news There's some controversy over the voting computers in the Netherlands, upon which I have asked questions to the local government about them (are they safe, can we discover fraud, how can one check whether the result represents the actual votes). This has been picked up by the regional radio as well as the local/regional newspaper. Which is nice.

Oh, and you gotta love the babelfish translation:
Quote: Greenness-left votes will with red pencil

GOUDA - greenness-left in Gouda wants vote with pencil and paper.

Votes by computer be would check not well.

voice computers are follow Council member Klijmij easily Michel to influence. Also according to him it would be simple on distance scan on which party votes someone. Greenness-left will of knows b and w how they handle the voice computers and looks at against the safety problems which have come to light recent.

, of the most important disadvantages of the current voice computers being lacking a paper ?trail,???thus is Klijmij on the Internet site of the party. , this only keeps in that a voice is stored in the voice computer and of it no papers duplicate are, what makes checking difficult.?? [/quote]

(note that "vote" and "voice" are indeed the same word in Dutch)

[Baranxtu]

Woot! Go you !

And some more-or-less off topicness:
Quote: (note that "vote" and "voice" are indeed the same word in Dutch)[/quote]
Same with German Stimme
And on a related note, it amazes me time and again how I often can understand so much of written Dutch, and then it throws a word like veiligheid at me and I go WTF