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:: INTRODUCTION ::

This article is to announce my intentions to run for the position of Party President of the United Independents Party. I’m very excited about this campaign, as I feel like I have a lot that I can offer the party. Though I’m not even sure I’ll have an opponent in this election, I still think it is right that I lay out a specific plan for what I hope to accomplish if elected.

First off, it should be known that my decision to run has been endorsed by our current Party President, PrincessMedyPi. I was hesitant to run against her, as she is a great leader for our party – and I certainly didn’t want to cause unnecessary tension or conflict within the party. However, after discussing things with her, we have come to the agreement that this move would be for the best. She has decided to not run for re-election. It will put me in a position where I can work hard to help strengthen our party, and it will help free up MedyPi to focus on her priorities.

Finally, if I am elected, I will not run for re-election in Congress. I pledge not to take on any other significant leadership roles for the duration of my term. I want to be completely focused on the UIP.


:: TWO VICE-PRESIDENTS?? ::

I am not going to lay out all of my cabinet choices for my administration before the election has even taken place, as I think that would be in poor taste. Plus, I don’t plan on necessarily just picking and choosing (although I do have certain people in mind for specific jobs), as it is important to me to open up leadership opportunities to any party member who feels like they are up to the task.
However, I do want to announce my plans for the UIP’s senior leadership. As the subtitle for this section indicates, I plan on having two vice-presidents. One will work exclusively to build our relationship with other US political parties, both major and minor. The other will focus on strengthening the infrastructure of our own party.

I would like to see PrincessMedyPi as our first “Vice-President of Interparty Relations”. She has already expressed her interest in this area, and she’d obviously do a great job. As a group of independents, we should be actively working to strengthen our partnership with all parties, especially smaller, non Top-5 parties who, due to unfortunate game mechanics, often have difficulties in getting their party message out there.

Additionally, I would like to announce Joshua Hoss as my choice for “Vice-President of Party Administration”. Josh is an intelligent, diligent guy who has proven his ability over and over. Josh will assist me in overseeing things like our party programs, our recruiting efforts, and will also help organize our congressional elections plan. His current role as head of the UIP Welcoming Committee will be rolled into this job.


:: MY PLAN - PARTY PROGRAMS ::

You will find that most of my plan goes by the motto of “Quality over Quantity.” I would much rather have us focus on a couple of programs and do them well rather than try to over-extend ourselves by doing four or five. With that said, there are two major party programs that I’d like to continue. These are the UIP Wellness Boost Program, and the Mentor Program.

The UIP Wellness program has been recently run by John Woodman, who has been doing a very nice job. We’ve seen a little more activity recently with his “Free Lunch” idea, where UIP members can get free food for a day as a part of the Wellness Program. Because of John’s work, this program needs less of a facelift than most other parts of the party. Hopefully, we will see activity in this area increase as other areas of the party become more active.

The second program is the Mentor Program. This program has, in all honesty, been non-existent for the past two months. Despite that, we continue to have new UIP members asking to take part. A big goal of mine for the next month will be to completely revamp the Mentor Program into being something that will hopefully be a big draw for new UIP members.


:: MY PLAN - PARTY GROWTH ::

Again I return to the mantra of “Quality over Quantity”. A couple months ago, I was pretty focused on increasing the number of our membership, as we were teetering dangerously close to falling out of the Top 5 parties in America. Now, however, we are solidly in the top 5, and even closing in on the number four spot. Therefore, pure numbers are not as important as quality party members.
My dream for the UIP is to see a party where an unheard of percentage of the party membership is highly involved in the party’s activities. Therefore one position in my cabinet will be in charge of trying to increase party activity among those who are already members. This will include multiple PM campaigns to all current UIP members to remind them about our forums and the programs we offer.

Of course, we are always looking to add new members as well, which is why we will also have a recruiting position made available. Rather than trying to “steal” members of other parties or send “blind PM’s” to everyone, we want to recruit people by establishing relationships and showing off the true benefits of our party.

And lastly, we need to increase the UIP’s exposure in the in-game media and beyond. With the help of a Public Relations coordinator, I plan to make greater use of the UIP Bulletin, providing party updates at a minimum of once a week. Additionally, we will provide other tools to help get the word out about the UIP, including banners that party members can include in their newspaper articles. The Public Relations Coordinator will also assist me in a complete revamp of the party’s wiki (and the subsequent advertising of it), as this has not been done in quite some time.


:: SUMMARY ::

There is still more that I would like to say about my plans (especially about the congressional elections), but this article is already too long. I may release another in a few days. The most important thing I want to stress is that I pledge to work extremely hard to get the UIP humming with activity. I intend to surround myself with like-minded people (in terms of diligence), and together, we can make of April/May one of the best terms the party has ever seen. I know this is all very ambitious, but I truly believe that together we can make it happen.

Again, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. I will see to it that we experience growth in member activity, media exposure, and our party programs. To accomplish these goals, I will surround myself with other hard-working party members. The cabinet positions below reflect my goals for the term (if you are a UIP member and would have any interest in the following positions, please PM me):

VP of Interparty Relations: PrincessMedyPi
VP of Party Administration: Joshua Hoss

Wellness Program Coordinator: John Woodman
Mentor Program Coordinator: TBA
Party Activity Coordinator: TBA
Recruiting Coordinator: TBA
Public Relations Coordinator: TBA
Congressional Campaign Coordinator: TBA

I would greatly appreciate your consideration for Party President of the UIP in the upcoming election.

Sincerely,
Ansen
Congressman, KS
Vice-President, UIP