INTRODUCTION
I am very proud and humbled to be so accepted by such a fine community as CDS. What a noble, rich history this community has carved and nurtured over the years and I fail to understand why anyone, with any sense of civic duty within them, would not want to actively and wholeheartedly embrace CDS and contribute to it.
I well remember the days, and probably so do you, as most of you are old-timers like me; when SL was as wild as was the American wild West just as they are portrayed in the cowboy movies. It still is in many parts, of course, but not here in the CDS sims because many of you sacrificed both time and money and arduously went to work to organize and to change your little piece of SL for the betterment of its citizens.
Who would have ever thought that a democratic experiment such as this—a mere utopian notion held in common within the minds of friends and neighbors—a totally unique and radical idea that some have termed Internet utopianism—would ever take off? Not only did it take off, it soared and today is flourishing like a tiny, beautiful flower in an overgrown, ill-tended garden called Second Life.
Look for a moment what our founding Mothers and Fathers have accomplished via much hard work and wise negotiation and thank them for it if you ever run across one as you’re walking the streets of CDS. There is positive news. The sims look nice--they are well kept. The tiers are reasonable. Many buildings are simply stunning in their beauty. There are convenient walkways and open countryside for us to ride our horses. One can just walk down the street and run into people they know for a quick conversation almost any day one chooses. There is always something to do. If you are bored, it’s your fault.
They managed to carve out a community consisting of people of different races, differing religions, some with no religion at all, people that have different sexual orientations and people of many professions and of extravagantly differing cultures and even discordant moral values. They live largely in harmony here, albeit with a dash or two of healthy fussing and fighting which occurs in any democratic society. When we disagree, which we do often, we do peacefully.
So….. look at how far we’ve come and then ask yourself this question: is this all there is? My answer to that question is a resounding no. We’ve come quite a distance but this is not all there is because we still have a way to go.
We need to grow and take democracy to every corner of the virtual world that would have it. But if we are to grow, we must have tighter organization of what we’ve already created in order to progress smoothly and efficiently.
That means we must have better laws, more clearly written ones, a tighter constitution, very clear building codes and covenants watched over by a real planning and zoning board just like they do it in major cities around the world. We must institute long range planning committees. We need an events board that meets regularly to plan and coordinate quarterly events of the type that will draw people in from all over SL. We need a mediation board established where people can take their complaints, have the board hear those, and have them efficiently resolved via board recommendations to the Chancellor.
And even more important, we must work hard together to keep our community a true democracy recognizing that every one of us must have a clear and powerful vote and voice. It must be our credo that our citizenry must be fairly and equally treated no matter who they are, what office they hold, or if they’ve been a CDS resident for 10 years or for 10 days.
THE LOGISTICS
I have read with interest some comments of late asking a very valid question. Is too much power vested in one person when we elect a Chancellor? And I have an answer to that question: yes, I think so.
I believe that the Chancellor has too many duties and too much power for any one person to possess and to properly administer. But there are ways to fix this through proper organization of that office.
In short, I’m going to get the government out of your face.
But how can this be done when only one person has all duties, powers and responsibilities that are normally assigned to the entire executive branch of most democracies? I’m going to get the government out of your face, my friend, by greatly expanding it.
Does getting something out of your face by making it bigger sound like an oxymoron to you? It isn’t. Because this massive expansion of the executive branch is an organizational one designed to streamline line this agency, and to place key people sitting on boards and committees into positions where before it was just the Chancellor herself who personally handled these matters.
Don’t be surprised when, in the next few short weeks, someone contacts you and asks you to be a part of this government. Because win or lose, this executive branch is going to be ready to go by Election Day. There is a lot of organization to do, and we must be ready to govern if and when we win it.
Of course, these are not paid positions they are advisory roles. Heck, any of us that have sat on a local schoolboard or home owner’s association know that these aren’t paid positions even in real life. They are public service positions. And, all boardmembers will answer directly to the Chancellor. It is still the Chancellor that was elected, will have the final say in all matters relative to that office and each of these positions will serve at the pleasure of the elected Chancellor.
Let me introduce you to the first agency with a little more detail.
Recently we had a big hullabaloo over a secret petition that was presented to the Chancellor because some people were unhappy with certain actions and inactions of other people. This ultimately led to the resignation of the Chancellor and is why we are in the mess we are in with a by-election.
In the future, citizens that have problems similar to those who signed this petition, or any dispute at all, can simply file a notecard with the Chancellor’s Board of Public Service, and it will be resolved with no drama.
All boards, including this one, will consist of 5 people, 4 members and a chairman appointed by the Chancellor. And once a complaint is received by this board, they will consult and decide how to handle it. Perhaps the best way to handle a matter might be to contact those mentioned in the complaint and resolve the conflict via negotiation. Other times the issue may be more complicated and hearings would be held and a vote taken among the commissioners to the settle the matter.
Next, meet the Events Commission. This is how the Chancellor’s Office will promote CDS. The Events Commission will hold monthly meetings to plan events that promote our regions. These events will be held quarterly and must be the type of well organized events that the Lab will be glad to place on the destination guide where CDS will have people literally dropping out of the sky. Then, once new people come in, we will have kiosks that directly promote democracy and CDS in particular. We will also strive to see that each event is designed to promote businesses that operate within CDS.
Onto the Building Commission--I want the Chancellor’s Office to actively and continuously reach out to the Artisan’s Guild and I will begin right now by throwing them an olive branch and by letting them know how much they are appreciated. I’ve seen the work that some of these guys have done and they are master builders at a level far beyond me. I want them to have a direct voice within the Chancellor’s Office so that we can all work in harmony to have the greatest builds possible in CDS—even the best in Second Life. I will appoint the best builders to this board, mostly members of the guild, they will envision the architectural design, I will approve it, and then they will go out and build it.
And here is one of my pet peeves, you have probably figured this out by now if you’ve been reading my posts. Meet the Planning and Zoning Commission. We need building codes and building inspectors. Who has ever heard of any city of any size without one? These commissioners will be charged with coming up with written codes in consultation with the sitting RA and then keeping citizens in compliance with them. Don’t want full bright? These codes will just say it in English……No full bright textures are permitted and the matter is settled with no drama.
Finally, meet the Legislative Committee. This committee is charged with bettering our laws by drafting legislation, clarifying legislation, repealing outdated legislation, etc. At first glance one might think this is an infringement into the legislative branch of government. No, these commissioners are simply liaisons of the Chancellor’s Office with full understanding that it is the RA that drafts and implements legislation. But we can petition them to act on certain things, suggest how to word a given law and offer them the support of the executive branch as they go about their sometimes difficult duties.
So there you have the logistics. The one-person executive branch just morphed into about 30 people all working for, and being closely supervised by the elected Chancellor. There will be no one person telling you to tear down that wall or replace that texture, instead you will be helped by a board of qualified people who wish to serve you. And, if you don’t like the way that turns out, ask for a hearing before the full board. What could be more fair to the individual citizen than this system.
ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS
I feel I’ve answered many of these questions above. However, I will note those I feel I answered and perhaps add some clarifications.
Given the current controversy surrounding covenants and covenant enforcements, how would YOU as Chancellor handle covenant enforcement, complaints, and inspections of new builds? If something is to the letter of the covenant, but deemed "ugly" by some - how would you handle that situation?
I would refer each situation to the proper board of authority after ascertaining and dissecting the complaint. If it were a building code or covenant violation it would go before the Planning and Zoning Commission. And if the matter is a complicated one, every citizen shall have the right to a public hearing on the matter before this board if the issue concerns building codes and/or covenants.
The power to affect the actions of a citizen when they err in private decision making should not reside in one person and it won’t in my administration. Let’s get the opinion of five people who specialize in a given area into this process rather than just one. People will feel they are treated fairly when issues are resolved professionally and competently and all citizens are treated exactly the same.
Would the mayor of any real life town you are familiar with attempt to handle all of that personally, without codes to rely on? No, and CDS doesn’t need to go there either. Let’s move this government into the new millennium where it belongs.
2. Given publicity of CDS is an important function, what is your plan or vision of what you would do to promote CDS?
This one I believe I answered in detail above. The Events Commissioners will be working diligently and concentrating on one agenda: the promotion of the CDS sims and the businesses within them via organizing promotional events to be held at least quarterly.
3. The re-build of LA has not been without controversy and itself remains incomplete to its plan. What would you do as Chancellor to complete it? Would you change it at all?
It has not been without controversy and I’ve scratched my head a few times wondering why something as simple as a sim build has to be so divisive to our community. It should be a fun and exciting project!
It seems that eminent domain and silly squabbles over parceling out land to favored individuals has somehow crept into that project. I am already on record as stating that the use of eminent domain has no use in a free society as that is simply a form of abusive government trampling on the freedoms of individual citizens. I will have no part of that and I will use my office to vigorously defend any citizen who is subjected to that abuse.
Let’s allow the free market to govern all land sales and acquisitions. If our government did not have the foresight to hold back a portion of land they would need for future development, then let them buy it at the seller’s price or simply change the development plans. It’s not the citizen landholder’s problem. That’s called capitalism and it’s a system that works.
I am also very pleased and supportive of the RA member who today announced that she will introduce legislation to prohibit these land grabs before the RA. It is direly needed legislation.
As to the ongoing building in LA itself, I feel it simply needs to be completed. I’m totally on board with the Tuscan theme and I have personally spent time watching the building proceed as a builder worked in real time. The great care in detailed construction using textures taken from authentic Tuscan buildings found on-line was impressive.
With this said, I also intend to fully represent ALL citizens of CDS. I attend RA meetings and there was a complaint at one recently wherein a citizen had noticed several problems with recent construction. I believe one statement was along the line that some of the work, if I recall, it had to do with textures, looked amateurish to him. OK, let’s take a walk and look at them, maybe they do and if they do we’ll fix that.
The building in LA is also the quintessential example as to how and to where I will apply the skills of the Building Commission. Let’s let the building artists use their imagination to envision something well beyond what most of us have the ability to fabricate in our minds. I will authorize these builds either personally or via delegation, then let them go do what they love to do: build using their artistic bent.
And we need to finish this build post haste. LA property is now sold out according to my last update on it. We need another sim, guys….Let’s begin to look at new horizons in the expansion of CDS.
4. What would you look for for your staff? If there is a disagreement between you and your staff, as happens in any organization, how will you handle these disagreements?
I will look to hire quality, intelligent, mentally well-balanced personnel that compliment my own personality and that I feel will treat each citizen fairly and equally. In fact, I’ve already talked to a few because I intend to win this election and when we do, it will be time to shut up, put up and govern. I will be ready to go and begin that government the very minute I am sworn in.
Those who know me well will have little doubt that I will treat this staff amicably. I will listen to them, take advice from them, party with them, give them a hug when they need it and share their second life with them if they will let me close enough for that to happen.
When it comes to disagreements, there will be some. There always are in every relationship. I will try to resolve these as they arise via dialog. However, again, there will be disagreements that are not easily resolved by dialog and when these occur, there is a paramount point that each staffer needs to have in the back of their mind before they come to work in the Chancellor’s Office.
If I’m elected, I am the Chancellor, they are not. I am the person that the public has voted into office to represent them and to bring their wants and needs to fruition. With this in mind, these staffers serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor and they will be closely supervised.
So will I fire a staffer that I feel is not doing the will of the elected Chancellor and therefore the will of the people, if counseling them in this area seems not to work? Yes, in a New York minute. Or, as my grandpa used to say, so fast it will make your head swim.
5. Is there anything a Chancellor should or could do to encourage a more harmonious community? If so, what?
I think it is up to the leaders in every community to foment harmony in that community. After all, what good does it do if the trains run on time, the garbage is collected and there are no potholes in the roads if the people that live in the community are not happy.
I recently attended a meeting of some folks who are interested in starting a grievance committee. The purpose of this committee is to serve as mediators in disputes that might arise among the citizenry. And, after chewing on that for a few days, although I might have come off as a skeptic in that meeting, I began to see a real need for that in CDS.
But I’m not sure that committee will ever come into being. So please note that I have also provided a mediation vehicle in the Chancellors office. It’s called the Board of Public Service and any citizen may file a dispute with that board and they will be heard and the issue hopefully resolved and as best it can be, to the benefit of all parties.
Also let me share another pet peeve with you. Ban lines. What is up with those, as the comedians like to say. It seems there are many citizens who cannot go for a stroll down the streets and across the countryside without running into ban lines that resulted over some vague dispute they had with someone in the past, usually over something silly.
While I agree that this may be approaching a fine line between propagating harmony and infringing on the rights of freedom of expression and we have to be careful here, perhaps there is a way to regulate them. Perhaps ban lines need to be allowed to stay up only for a very limited time and then the parties must seek mediation, or the ban lines have to come down. I feel we ought to at least look at this.
6. Is there anything else that you feel you bring to CDS if you were to be elected?
I will bring experience and fair, strong, capable leadership.
I’m no stranger to politics. My close friends know that I have served as the state campaign manager for a U.S. Presidential Candidate in the 2000 elections. They also know I have run and won and ran and lost for public office myself. I ran for our local school board, won that office and served my term in it. For my British (and other) friends in CDS that are unfamiliar with U.S. politics, our public school systems are governed by elected representatives of the people that sit on these boards and supervise the schools.
Shortly after winning that seat, I then ran for a higher seat within that same school board, won, and served my term as the board secretary.
I also have run for what we call presiding commissioner of a county in the Mid-West that houses one of the top tourist attractions in the United States. Presiding commissioner is really just very similar to the Chancellor in CDS. I lost that election by a lousy 300 votes, but the run was a fun challenge for me and quite the learning experience.
I also bring years of successful business experience to CDS. In one position, I directly supervised 180 employees. In my last position I supervised the producers and directors of a major metropolitan area television station that was tied to 3 other transmitter towers across the Mid-West U.S. This television network had close to two million viewers. This company also owned 10 radio stations that I directly supervised answering only to the president of the company.
I say all this not to toot my own horn but because this is an election, I’m running for public office and I believe the public has a right to know who they are voting in or out even though this is Second Life. BTW, once you get to know me well, you’ll discover I’m pretty much an open book. In fact, my name in real life is Jerry Don….many of my SL friends, even some here in CDS know my real life last name as well.
CONCLUSION
Fellow citizens, won’t you join us?
Join us to bring much needed change to CDS. Positive change—change that offers hope for our future and fulfills dreams of freedom that I know many of you harbor just as I do. Let’s unite and accept the gift of democracy that is no longer just a dream but a reality our founding Mothers and Fathers have handed us after expending much labor to obtain it. Let’s take it to new heights. Let’s expand democracy in Second Life together.
I’m a uniter, not a divider and the reason I’m running for public office is that I feel this is exactly what CDS needs at this particular time in its evolution.
The rumors that JerryDon Lane has been brought into CDS to further the political aspirations of other people are simply not true. They are just that, unfounded rumors. The truth is, I’m my own man, I think for myself and I want to represent everyone equally and fairly from the most long-term resident in here right down to the incoming new citizen on her first day in CDS. I want to represent you, the average citizen and also you, the office holder from the Chancellor’s perspective.
American statesman Thomas Jefferson, the founder of Jeffersonian Democracy in my country once said: “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
Let’s act together by bringing the much needed change I have delineated above to the fine citizens of the Confederation of Democratic Simulators.
The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. Patrick Henry
Draw straws, Bromo.....I'll live with the results....