Editorial
This piece was written and authorised by the Shout News Editorial Board.
And thus, the 9th congress comes to an end. While the outgoing congress has been surrounded in controversy, what have they actually been up to? How do they compare to previous congress’? We will also take a look into what your fellow citizens are expecting from the 10th Congress, and the concerns they have that linger into the new term.
Governor Key’s Second Term
Damien Key, much like the first term, wasn’t around much. Only five cabinet meetings have occurred since being re-elected, and only seven executive nominations were put forward. So, let’s look at the metrics.
Overall Approval
Overall, approval for the Governor remained in flux throughout the term, with disapproval remaining stagnant. Despite this, overall approval dropped for several months, suffering from co-morbidity from disapproval with the legislature and general mistrust in the government.
In comparison to other governors that we have records of, Damien Key’s second term approval averages out to ~30%. James Paxton, the second governor, remains the most popular governor, with an average approval of ~46%. Vlad Tod’s average approval was ~29%, and Karmen McKenzie’s average approval was ~32%.
In terms of individual commentary, here are a few examples from Politipoll.
Damien Key is a good man, and his heart is in the right place. That being said, he needs a stronger team behind him, and needs to be more bold in setting a vision and showing leadership.
Politipoll Respondent (2/13/2024)
Why didn't Damien Key stand up against President Archbald's invasion of our democracy.
Politipoll Respondent (3/23/2024)
Executive has been non existent despite constant promises of improvement. The Legislature who no one voted for aren't passing any bills or engaging with the public. This whole term has been a farce with absolutely no movement.
Politipoll Respondent (5/24/2024)
Damien Key is an absent governor.
Politipoll Respondent (2/23/2024)
Damien Key's performance is improving. He came back strong with his latest Communication is Key video, and seems to be facing a lot of hurdles just out of his control. I'm sympathetic towards him.
Politipoll Respondent (2/26/2024)
Where is the Governor? Did they resign 'cause its like no one is in the job.
Politipoll Respondent (4/26/2024)
Communication is Key to Success
Communicating with your citizens is perhaps one of the most critical aspects of governance across any jurisdiction. However, what we have seen throughout the 9th Congress is a complete breakdown in the communicative process, to a point where basically no one trusts the government, people are disapproving of law-enforcement at record levels, and the governor's approval rating has completely fallen into tatters.
Communication may be key, but in Key's second term, the public hasn't seen much communication.
The Key campaign revolved around the popular 'Communication is Key' chats or 'CIK' Chats, which were an occasional video series where the Governor, and sometimes joined by another member of the executive, would sit in front of the cameras and talk to the people 'vlog styled.'
These were widely popular and highly anticipated during instances of tension or confusion. However, Shout News is unaware of how many have been published since coming back into office. We are only aware of one video, which was posted exclusively to social media in March, however we cannot find or verify any other examples over the last four months.
Fortunately, press releases remained on a semi-regular basis with very important updates regarding the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Gracie McCoy, and the drawn out debate on who would be our next Secretary of State, being some of the more important releases made by the governor's office. Other departments also stepped up the amount of press releases issued.
The mistrust in government has grown under the 9th congress, and a lack of communication is one part of the reason behind it. Funny enough this isn't the first time I've brought this up, and I doubt it will be the last time but the message remains the same, the departments need to communicate better.
We have seen significant improvements since 2022, (where basically no department would even speak to the press,) however they don't need to just speak to us here in the media, they need to speak to every citizen. This includes the Governor's Office.
Communication is also important when the governor needs to start capitalising on their successes and no one is hearing about them.
Overall, for an administration which campaigned and paraded itself on being able to communicate effectively, it has seemingly failed to communicate for the last four months. I am happy to be proven wrong on this issue, but based on everything I've witnessed or observed, there hasn't been much communication at all.
Executive Orders to Pursue Progress
Just like Governor Ryyan Avery, all Key's Executive work was descriptively 'housekeeping,' rather then using their position to help better our state.
Not a single Executive Order, outside the standard Nominations and Appointments, has been issued since Richard Starr second term back in April 2023.
Executive Orders create committees, create state holidays, address emergencies and designate state monuments and parks. But according to the last two Governors, there hasn't been a single emergency situation which required executive attention through this method or there hasn't been a need to investigate anything with committees.
Nominations and Appointments are obviously essential to the function of the San Andreas Government. Without them department heads wouldn't have roles and a lot of the bureaucracy would ground to a halt. However, without executive orders, a governor can not properly exercise their duties and progress positive change in the state.
It's up to every elected official to try and better this state, but for the last three terms, it seems that the governors have decided that its only up to the legislature.
Legislature
Its no secret that the 9th Congressional Legislature has been unpopular. With a poll on May 12th finding that citizens were rating the 9th congress an abysmal 2.38 out of 10. From a rough start and early resignations, to contentious bills from embattled representatives. The 9th Congress has been a rough ride for everyone but that doesn't mean they weren't completely ineffective.
Overall twenty-eight bills were introduced and nineteen were passed. Ranging from Freedom of Information updates to changing the rules around masks in hospital. Overall there were a handful of representatives who did their jobs and others who... well... seemed to bring a bit of chaos with them. For whatever reason H.R. 327 and 331 were skipped or couldn't be found in the public legislative library or archives.
In comparison with other congresses' the 9th congress ranks equal-second last for bills introduced with the 6th congress, and still more productive than the disastrous 7th Congress.
In terms of completing legislative election promises we run into an issue. This legislature (with the exception of Konrad Knives) was unelected by the fact that the seats had an equal number of contestants. So there weren't any opportunities to make election promises or campaign on any policies.
The Battle for Police Reform
Police reform was the hot topic of the 9th Congress. With Representative Lucas Evans leading the charge in this topic. However based on public opinion, this wasn't the reform the public was looking for. Initially starting off with Police Checkpoint laws, and then progressing to a crackdown on gang violence towards police, these bills were incredibly controversial and sparked a protest at City Hall. We can acknowledge that something needs to be done about gang violence targeting individuals, groups and law enforcement, but we also need to acknowledge that the public is worried about such laws, and how they could be misused and possibly abused.
There remains a lot of controversy and unresolved questions as we head into the 10th Congress, especially around the secretive standard operating procedures of the police departments and certain allegations made where the police were violating civil rights. While these questions wont be answered overnight, the next congress needs to take steps to improve these situations or continue to face growing mistrust in police.
The President and Congress Interventions
The 9th Congress had an on-going spat with the federal institutions. From an amendment to the 'The Crime Crisis Act' being federally cancelled before it could even be amended or voted on, to the annulment of a constitutionally required vote by the President of the United States.
These interventions were seen as an erosion of our state's democracy, and may have irreversibly damaged the trust and reputation of all our government institutions.
Statistically a bill is vetoed by the U.S. Congress at least once a term, but never before has the U.S. President been so directly involved in what was an internal dispute between a nominee and the legislature.
A Very Generalised Round Up
This 9th congress can be described as many things, but I would describe it as "chaotically silent." It was a congress which did some things, hidden in the background, but then every now and then something would happen which sparked a protest or a few angry posts on social media. Communication was poor, the bills were sometimes controversial, and the executive basically did the bare minimum for four months.
However, it has produced a significant improvement in voter turnout and democratic participation. I guess to sum it all up, having your elected officials do something you don't like its a great way for people to show up at the voting both.
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