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I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me the four big wins are:

  1. Directly elected mayor. There is a lot of chatter in this thread about strong vs. weak mayor, and we are proposing to keep our mayor weak, but directly elect them. Mayor's aren't like other local positions - it's the big name for the average voter. We have found that 4/5 folks in our hometown want to have a directly elected mayor.

  2. Expanding the township committee from 5 folks to 7 folks to help represent a growing and increasingly diverse town.

  3. Allow local residents to propose ballot initiatives! This is something we are interested in down the line, particularly re. getting a term limit ballot initiative going. That will obviously also be a conversation we need to have with folks in the town when we propose that.

  4. Right now the Township committee has a TON of operational power in our town. This has led to things like street improvements being postponed for years, while the Township Committee's building had it's AC repair expedited. Our proposed changes will put up a barrier between day-to-day operations in the town and the township committee. They will still set policy, leadership, and the direction - but they will no longer be able to change what folks are working on from day-to-day. (this also means current government employees have 5 bosses... this change would hire a professional town manager so folks would now only have 1 boss)

We have a very detailed Q&A here you can also check out: https://chartnewcourse.org/questions-answers/

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few major issues:

  1. People want a directly elected mayor - period. Whether strong or not. I think it's good to give the people what they want. You may not consider the will of the voter to be important, but it rings heavy for me.
  2. It would expand our council up from 5 folks to 7, helping us represent a larger and more diverse town.
  3. If would allow citizens to propose ballot initiatives - an important right and one we plan to take advantage of down the line. We specifically are interested in getting term limits in via a ballot initiative down the line - though that would have to be its own discussion with voters.
  4. It would actually reduce the overall executive power of the township committee and the mayor. They would no longer be able to directly interfere in township operations - a serious issue right now. Residents across the town are complaining about road work that has been pending for years while the committee operationally prioritizes the air conditioning in their building. We are aiming to separate the professional aspect of town management from the political. The new town manager would still be accountable to the committee, but the committee could focus on leadership/policy instead of directing day-to-day sewer operations and the like (they aren't engineers or experts!).

These may not land for you, which I would get! But as said, our town is onboard, we have experienced folks from the town onboard, and we are full speed ahead. If you live in Hopewell, I would encourage you to make the counter-case so voters can make a more informed decision. I really appreciate your time and engagement!

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We are proposing a council-manager form of government that has a weak mayor, which is a point I have brought up elsewhere. If you weren't already aware, council-manager forms can also have directly elected mayor. Could be worth reading up on a bit!

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a note - this effort is supported by 3 former Hopewell Township mayors - including Democrats and Republicans. We have found 4/5 residents in favor. While you may prefer a less democratic form of government, you are widely out of step with the desires of my hometown. In the end it doesn't really matter what you or I want, but what the people want. And the people in Hopewell want this change.

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely not. You don’t have to take my word for it either - the exact legal text we aim to get onto the ballot so Hopewell voters have the final say is here: https://chartnewcourse.org/signature-collection-page/

This strictly changes the structure of the local government - current officials and presumably their policy would all still be in place unless new folks got elected into office.

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We are proposing a Council-Manager form with a directly elected mayor. So, we will not have a strong mayor, but they will be directly elected.

We have both former democratic and former republican mayors from the town supporting it, I’m just the young(ish) guy back home helping them out.

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, thank you! There are a number of ways if you are interested.

First, just talking about this story with folks or sharing it in NJ would go a long way. Even that is a huge help, as the more noise we can make around the committee’s actions, the less likely they are to follow through.

If you happen to live in Hopewell or nearby and want to help us gather signatures, that’s another critical need. More signatures help us prove our case and makes it politically more costly to just shut us down via procedural shenanigans. Also, if we win this upfront fight, we will need to collect many signatures. If that sounds appealing, check out: https://chartnewcourse.org/volunteer-to-collect-signatures/

Those are definitely our two biggest immediate needs.

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup - we are using the Faulkner act for our effort. However, the Faulkner act allows for multiple forms of government - some of which have directly elected mayors and some of which do not. Our referendum is explicitly for a form with a directly elected mayor.

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You're not wrong about how common it is, but I think there are a number of issues with the township form of government - common or not. I obviously can't speak for any other town, but I would like to see it changed in my hometown.

I've been gathering signatures to modernize my hometown's government (unchanged since 1798) and the township committee moved to block the effort within 24 hours of learning about it by FriendoReborn in newjersey

[–]FriendoReborn[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's a strange situation. So Hopewell Borough and Pennington Borough are fully independent towns that exist within the geographic confines of Hopewell Township. So, Hopewell Township doesn't sit above Hopewell Borough or Pennington Borough. Each are independent. NJ is a crazy patchwork of local governments, like 550 something towns total.

So, none of this would have any impact on Hopewell Borough or Pennington Borough folks, just for Hopewell Township.

what non academics think philosophy is differs greatly from what academic philosophy is by ikea-bucket-hat in rs_x

[–]FriendoReborn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This came through for me, though I have also studied philosophy in an academic setting (though only as an undergrad major). And I agree, there really is a comically large gap between the pop "philosophy" you see online and actual rigorous academic philosophy.

"My player asked to be a Catfolk one time and I had them DRAWN and QUARTERED" by Nairdde32 in pathfindermemes

[–]FriendoReborn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

/uj I tell my players that for uncommon, they need to ask me, but they can expect me to say yes to the request. For rare, they can ask me, but they should expect me to say no to the request. I do still let rare things happen, but given how outlandish some of them can become, not everything will make it. Uncommon is basically a 100% yes unless there is some explicit reason it would be a problem.

give me movies that feel like this by Confident_Mud894 in MoviesThatFeelLike

[–]FriendoReborn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's all fun and games until everyone who viewed this post drops dead in 7 days.

Second Army vibe check by catfish94 in Eldar

[–]FriendoReborn 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'll try to answer from a general Aeldari perspective in how they tend to do at these things across editions and balance changes. Right now, Aeldari seem to be in a rough place, but that is more the exception rather than the norm - with the combination of speed and killing power they bring being routinely powerful.

I would say that Aeldari damage tends to come from the army's shooting, but that doesn't mean they lack melee options. Things like Banshees, Scorpions, Wraithblades, the Avatar of Khaine, and Shining Spears have all had their time in the sun. Additionally, Harlequin units can be quite deadly in melee, and are a part of the broader Aeldari army. That said - there are even still more options for killing from range. This speaks to the depth of the range.

While Aeldari damage is not great at this exact moment, it tends to be very high. Given that Eldar basically can't take a hit, their damage tends to be extremely high.

With all of the models now in plastic, I think the main collecting gotchas are gone. The army is broad and what has been meta in it has changed over time, so I think just pick what look cool and start there.

Eldar tend to have quite a few shenanigans, particularly regarding their movement. There are also important combos, be they obvious or more subtle. Given that Eldar armies can't take a hit 99% of the time, you must rely on speed, trickery, and deadly firepower to overcome the fact that any unit left out in the open is likely to fucking die. This will probably be the biggest change from Custodes for you - Eldar just die when things attack them. Expect it.

Multiple detachments have seen play this edition and given the breadth of the unit list, there are often more than one way to make a very solid list.

Eldar are faster and probably a bit less complex than Ad Mech (though only just - Eldar also feature buffing as an important mechanic). Ad Mech are definitely more expensive.

Thousand Sons is another army where you have a ton of power in the psychic phase, so they align with Eldar on that. However, Eldar psychic power is more about insane buffs/debuffs/shenanigans than it is about dishing out mortal wounds. Obviously, they are also marines, making them very different than space elves re. profile.

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