SpinDizzy News – Special Election Issue

Greetings and salutations. This special edition of the paper includes public statements and transcripts made by candidates in the present election, collected in one place for easy reading. There are also transcripts of the two debates held by the election board contained in accompanying post.

Critiques or requests for corrections or additions, especially from candidates, should be sent to Nigel via the MUCK.

We, the election board, hope that these documents will help you, the electorate, make an informed decision as to whom you want to be mayor. Please read on below. Thank you.

BunnyHugger

BunnyHugger was the first to announce the announcement of her candidacy on 2012-01-11 with a post to the bulletin board announcing a press conference:

Dear SpinDizzians,

I will be holding a press conference at City Hall on Saturday, January 14, at 7 p.m. After a great deal of reflection, I am prepared to make an official statement regarding whether I will be a candidate in the SpinDizzy mayoral elections. A brief question and answer session will follow. The conference is open to the public as well as members of the press.

Sincerely,
BunnyHugger

[Underneath, in a small, scribbly hand, someone has jotted this comment: ‘BunnyHugger, you ARE the press.’]

The press conference was duly held, a transcript of which–including Sora’s ‘assassinations’–is available in the election archives. After which, another post was made on the board, officially announcing her candidacy:

Dear SpinDizzians,

After much reflection and consideration, and in consultation with my campaign manager, Chitter, I have decided to offer myself as a candidate for Mayor of SpinDizzy. I believe that my experience, qualifications, and plans make me well suited to the position. Please read on, and decide for yourself:

Experience and Qualifications:
* I helped found the current SpinDizzy News and currently serve as its Content Editor.
* I have organized three major, multi-week events: the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2010 and 2011 World’s Fairs.
* I have organized or assisted with dozens of other events, including holiday events.
* I co-ordinated the building of Edgeworld Park (amusement park and fairground).
* I have contributed three MUF programs to the public library: Karaoke, AltSafety, and DoorCheck.
* I am close to superhero MoralBunny and can summon her in an emergency.

Campaign Pledges:
* I will hold elections again in one year, and will advocate one year election cycles henceforth.
* I will run, or delegate someone to run, an event for each SpinDizzy holiday, and post notice of the events at least four days in advance.
* I will discuss the implementation of a new SpinDizzy Web site with the wizards, and with their approval, seek talented citizens to work with me on this project.

More explanation of my pledges will be forthcoming; please also feel free to ask me about them in person.

Sincerely,
BunnyHugger

P.S. My campaign image: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7217515/

BunnyHugger made a final announcement just prior to the opening of the polls:

Dear SpinDizzians,

As voting as imminent, I want to speak one last time about the philosophy and intentions behind my campaign for the position of Mayor of SpinDizzy.

I love SpinDizzy. I found my way here in early 2008 during a period of painful upheaval in my life. I remember that not long after I arrived, Austin told me that I was doing very well in carving out a place for myself: “Another couple of weeks,” he said, “and no one will remember that you weren’t always here.” That meant a great deal to me, and became my ambition: I wanted to become part of the fabric of life here. I hope — I believe — that I have been successful. Indeed, one of the things I love about SpinDizzy is how readily it incorporates good-spirited people in just this way. I still stop in surprise sometimes as I consider how some of the people I can’t imagine the MUCK without have been around only a couple of years, or even less. It’s not about tenure — it’s about the wonderful way that SpinDizzy finds a place for those who love it.

It’s not a community without strife. A community entirely without strife would be suspect: it would suggest there was nothing there worth being passionate about. I believe that most of the time we are a good-natured and tolerant group of people; I believe that the strife that does sometimes arise on SpinDizzy is a reflection of how much people here care about our little world. If people have at times allowed their passion to push them toward conflict, to spur them into saying things less kindly than they could have been said, it is a forgivable mistake. We should always strive for civility and patience, but we should understand that lapses are caused by our shared sense of the significance of what happens here.

What, then, do I have to offer this community? I already try to do as much as I can, hold as many events as I’m able, spend a good deal of time in public places being cheerful toward newcomers and regulars alike. I will not stop doing any of the things I already do if not elected. Indeed, after my unsuccessful run in the last election I did even more than I had done previously. I hope this speaks well of me; I think it is, in fact, a good reason to vote for me. Someone who has not been very active previously may have the best intentions to start now, but may or may not be able to follow through; someone who has been quite active is not likely to stop, and will probably only increase such commitments.

My promises are relatively modest, in that I do not plan to appoint large numbers of official posts, nor greatly expand the Mayor’s role in terms of event organization far past what I already do as a citizen. Most of the activities on the MUCK have always been, and I hope will always be, initiated by citizens regardless of any title. I do think the Mayor has an untapped potential to serve as an ombudsman between players and staff, and I intend to work on this role if elected. However, this is not intended to bring an undue amount of formality or quasi-legality to the Mayor’s role or to MUCK life. It is intended only to be a service I can offer, that players may take advantage of if, and only if, they wish.

I will conclude by asking for your vote. I believe I am a candidate with demonstrated experience, skills, and enthusiasm, and that I would use the Mayor’s leadership role effectively, cheerfully, and gratefully.

Sincerely,
BunnyHugger

BunnyHugger attended both debates, and her response to the questions are in the associated posts.

Enkeli (running mate: Azure)

Enkeli announced her candidacy on 2012-01-12 in a statement posted to the board:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Announcing the candidacy of Enkeli Vasa for Mayor of SpinDizzy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greetings and ocetations to you all!

The crew of the Freeloader is pleased to announce that our very
own Chief Engineer, Enkeli Vasa, will be throwing her spots
into the ring for the mayoral race of 2012.

The Freeloader will be hosting an event Sunday, January 15th
formally starting at 7 PM PST but probably getting in swing a
little earlier than that so that more people can participate.

Free food and drink will be served, and you’ll have a chance to
not only meet the candidate but get served drinks from her, too.
Ask about our new drink, the “Sweet Ocelot Lovin’s”!

Thank you!

– The Crew of the Freeloader

A transcript of Enkeli’s opening statement at the party mentioned in her candidacy post is available in the election archives.

On 2012-01-26, Enkeli and Azure announced the assimilation of their campaigns, with Enkeli as the candidate promising to tap Azure as deputy mayor should she be elected. A transcript of that announcement is also available and a section of it was also posted to the board:

On Thursday Jan 26th at about 6:30 PM, Enkeli and Azure announced in a joint press conference that they will be merging their campaigns.

To quote the announcement:

Enkeli giggles, “As it turns out, a space ship divided results in explosive decompression. It’s very sad, especially when cute little bloo foxes are involved. Also, to prove that I can work together even with my former and most hated nemesis, I’ve asked Azure to run with me as my Deputy Mayor! Therefore, we’re announcing, a joint Enkeli-Azure ticket, so you know exactly who you’re getting when you vote for us!”

Enkeli further explained:

Enkeli giggles, “True! We’ve both got a keen interest in story telling and growing the RP sectors of the MUCK. We’re both rarely-contravesial, consenus-buildig figures. And Azure here is one of the longest running members of the Freeloader crew, so we work together well and have a solid history of doing RP work together. Therefore! It just makes sense.”

And finally:

Enkeli giggles. “I felt it was also important to pick the deputy mayor up front, because in the past there have been questions of who gets to be deputy. By being up-front about whom I’m going to pick there will not be the awkward “please pick me” stuff to go through. I feel it’s more fair to both the population and my fellow campaigners to just get that choice done out of the gate.”

So vote Enkeli-Azure, and know what you’re getting up front! Remember, you should expectelot from your mayor! And what’s yellow and black and bloo all over — the Enkeli-Azure campaign! Enter more annoying slogans here. 🙂

Thank you for your attention!

— Enkeli, Chief Engineer of the Freeloader and Mayoral Candidate

Enkeli attended both the debates and her responses to the questions are recorded in the associated posts.

Featherwing

Featherwing, of the LunaStar Clan, announced his candidacy on 2012-1-13 with a post on the bulletin board:

A member of the LunaStar clan, Featherwing is throwing his aura into the arena. His candidacy will be made official soon! Make sure to keep an eye on the eventlist! 🙂 Refreshments will be served at the time of meeting.

He also placed a poster in the Rose Garden with the following description:

A poster with a 9’8″ tall Featherwing proudly standing in the middle with several smaller creatures smiling behind him. “Featherwing for mayor: For an entertaining tomorrow!

Featherwing attended both debates and his responses to the questions are recorded in the associated posts.

Azure

Azure Varisha announced his candidacy on 2012-1-13 with the following post/warning/threat:

My esteemed fellow citizens,

We live on a giant spaceship pretending to be a planet. At its heart,
a giant wheel tortures space with sufficient violence to allow us to
travel faster than light. When our world isn’t being doomed, we have
incomprehensible aliens falling out of the sky. Also, there are cats.

A world such as ours requires a candidate who is only acquainted with
fear in the most vague way and who would tell common sense to get off
his lawn if he didn’t hold the idea of lawns in some contempt.

Therefore, you may consider this an announcement that I am running
for mayor. You don’t have to if you’d rather not, but that wuold make
speeches and debates kind of confusing. I will be standing around
the Rose Shore at nineteen o’clock, MUCK standard time, on Monday the
Sixteenth. You may then ask me questions about this or other subjects
which I will answer truthfully or not at all.

When I am mayor, you shall live in interesting times.

Unfortunately, a transcript of his Q&A session is not available at the time of this writing. However, we do have as a matter of public record, one of his attack ads:

There are WOLVES out there…
..okay, there are wolves in here, too. But the wolves in here are
bright-eyed, honourable, noble beasts who are quite pleasant to be
around and sing beautifully. The wolves OUT THERE are dire, ferocious
monsters who eat grandmothers in disquietingly sexually symbolic stories
people tell their children for some reason. You know, the kind of wolf
that makes unwise decisions involving shoddily built real estate and
pork futures.

Some of the candidates in this election may or may not be in league with
the wolves…OUT THERE. They might be officials in foreign governments
or former functionaries of unpopular natural forces, or national symbols
of New Zealand! Can you risk voting for a candidate who may commit
misconduct in the service of a foreign power?

Azure Varisha is committed to only taking bribes from local, Spindizzy
based corporations. He promises that any tax loopholes he creates to
benefit only one person will trickle down and benefit the whole of the
economy as that ill-gotten money is spent on conspicuous consumption.
When Azure Varisha went to work for an evil paramilitary organization,
it was a home-grown, local evil paramilitary organization that employs
your friends and your neighbors.

A vote for Azure is a vote for local prosperity.

Paid for by Citizens for a Bluer Tomorrow.

As previously mentioned under Enkeli’s entry, Azure would later drop out of the election and promise serve as Enkeli’s deputy mayor should she win the election. He ran one additional attack ad on her behalf:

Some candidated CLAIM to have spots. But these simplistic patterns are
blotches, patches, or splotches at best! Only Enkeli Vasa has an
intricately patterned pelt formed in gestation through an oscillating
reaction spread out over her skin and governed by the same mathematics
as ecological phenomena such as the spread of plants in a resource-poor
environment.

Our world deserves a mayor with a complex coat!

Paid for by Citizens Emphasizing Irrelevant Details.

Azure would attend both debates, but he was only a candidate and eligible to respond during the first one.

fluffy

fluffy announced why its candidacy would be a terrible idea on 2012-01-13:

My fellow creatures, critters, and other such organisms:

A vote for me would be utterly wasted. I have absolutely no interest in being a mayor or performing mayoral duties. If elected, I promise that I will approach it with a crushing level of apathy that will dishearten everyone so much that there will be an unending surplus of donor organs.

I promise that if elected, I will do nothing to promote, celebrate, or even acknowledge our rich tradition of holidays and social gatherings. This vibrant world of ours will decay and crumble, and possibly even fall out of the sky itself out of the sheer weight of despair.

If I become mayor, the streets will run red (and then green, and then brown) with the rotten carcasses of the formerly joyful residents.

There will also be free catnip for all.

Yours truly,
fluffy

fluffy would go on to attend both debates and desperately try to convince people not to vote for it.

Ali (running mate: Westly)

Alisande Silverlode announced her candidacy along with a brief Q&A on the board on 2012-1-13:

(At 17:30 Server Time, Ali made this announcement in the Garden:)

Ladies, gentlemen, and so forth! I have chosen this most auspicious of days – the first Friday the 13th of the Year the World Ends – to announce my official candidacy for Mayor of SpinDizzy!

There are several good reasons for this, and they are the same reasons you should all vote for me in the coming election! I promise you holiday reform, fresh events, the repair of the website, and the creation of a true Spindizzian national identity.

(There was a brief Q&A session:)

Ping: Why is pi irrational? I quite like it, I think apple pi should be a thoroughly rational thing?
A: Because the universe is irrational, Ping, and thus so are most of its inhabitants.

Azure: What kind of national identity will you forge? And will you be forging it with fiery trials? Or the fires of passion? Or love’s fiery imbroglio?
A: One built of the things that really make SpinDizzy great, with the fires of joy tempering the steel of resolve.

Azure: And which things are those? And how do you plan to balance that with the need for diversity?
A: Joy and comity; diversity is at its very soul.

Azure: Also, what is the mayoral position on drive-by pouncing?
A: Firmly against in the absence of consent.

Dragoncat: How about fly-by swooping?
A: Broadly against, but that’s more a personal stance than an official one.

(Ali will be intermittently available to answer questions – mostly during afternoons and evenings Server time – for the foreseeable future.)

On 2012-1-27 at the opening of her Danse Macabre ball, Ali would announce that should she be elected she will tap Westly Roanoke as her running mate. A transcript of this announcement is available in the election archives.

Ali attended both debates and her responses to questions are available in the associated news stories.

Squawk

Squawk posted something generally believed by expert ornithologists and anthropologists to be an announcement of candidacy on 2012-01-13:

[ The notice is blank, except for what appears to be the result of Squawk stepping on an ink pad and then dancing around on a piece of paper. There’s a post-it note tacked to the bottom which reads “I think this means he’s running for mayor…” ]

Squawk would go on to attend the second of the two debates, hosted by Mina White, in which he would make it abundantly clear that he had strong opinions, if not always obvious what they were. His performance may be read in the associated news story.

Kefan

Kefan would announce on 2012-01-18 that he was throwing his hoof in the ring:

I shall stand foursquare as a candidate for the Mayoralty this year. No horsing around! It be-hooves you to support me for Mayor!

–Kefan

Kefan ran a quiet campaign and attended neither debate. Prior to the opening of polls, he issued a brief message:

I have been deliberately running a quiet–indeed, virtually non-existant–campaign this election season.
My reason is simple: I am the candidate for those tired of politics. It’s the Un-Campaign. Either you want me to be mayor, or you do not, and I will herewith make the humble request: please vote for me.
I am now done actively campaigning, and await the electorate’s judgment.

–Kefan

JasonRDT

Jason Redford Drifter-Trenner would announce his candidacy on 2012-01-18 with a brief post:

(This letter is written on stationery with letterhead that resembles
two tails. It also bears the initials JDT.)

This note hereby declares Jason Redford Drifter-Trenner a candidate
in the 2012 SpinDizzy Mayorial Election.

Jason would attend both debates and his answers to question are available in the associated news stories.

Gilead

Gilead announced his candidacy on 2012-01-20:

Gilead Otter hereby announces his candidacy for Mayor of Spindizzy.  If elected, he promises to have fun, and hope that it is contagious.  Gilead believes contagious fun is one thing Spindizzy really needs.  Hopefully you agree.  And remember, a vote for Gilead is a vote for Gilead.

He would make an additional announcement of his campaign position prior to the opening of polls:

What makes SpinDizzy?  The setting?  The RP?  The elections?  I think it’s the folks who live here, myself.  Like much of the universe, SpinDizzy has fallen on sad times of late, and some of the people who helped make SpinDizzy the SpinDizzy many of us love can’t be here any more.  It can’t be the same SpinDizzy again.  But it can be as good of a SpinDizzy again.  What will voting for me as Mayor do to help bring that about?  Nothing!  Which is exactly as it should be.  Because elected or not, I can’t make SpinDizzy into anything.  What I can do is stay out of the way, make sure the office of Mayor is about fun, not rules.  Maybe nip a few ankles when things are being steered away from fun, but I’d do that anyway.  And SpinDizzy can take the time it needs to heal and go back to being SpinDizzy again.

And provided a campaign poster: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/03/otter_vote.jpg

Gilead was not able to fully attend either debate, but did make a brief appearance at the second one, hosted by Mina White.