Election for Governor: Stanton Campaign Transmission

People of the fleet,

I come to you today, much like Doctor Perseun, as a reluctant aspirant to the post of governor of this fleet. I have never sought power; surprisingly, of late it seems to have been somewhat regularly thrust upon me. Some may say that I have not performed so well in my previous position of authority.

I would hope that any shortcomings that I displayed during my brief stint as commander of the Myriad were not borne from incompetence, but rather from the desire to serve the fleet above anything else; clearly members of the military felt aggrieved that this was the case and that they should have received the lion’s share of my attention. Perhaps in such a setting, they should have. However, my stance has always been, and will continue to be so, that the entire fleet must stand together, as a unified force, or we will not survive. I am not ashamed, despite the ignominious end of my military career, that I have held firm in this belief.

Moving onto more tangible policies, I will give a brief rundown of my attitude towards the major issues that face us. First of all, and perhaps most crucial in the minds of many, the cylons. The race that has destroyed the majority of humankind and has hunted and dominated its remnants. We are all angry, we have all lost so much that we loved; for my part my fiancé, my family – no-one I loved remained alive following the holocaust. Alyssa’s face is- is barely visible in my mind now- [pause, followed by clearing of throat]

So. We are all angry and bereft. But the fact is, with regards to the cylons currently within the fleet, we have to- have to- move past that. We were under enemy occupation and I had to make a hard choice in order to obtain the help of the variants within the fleet. I made that choice, and gave them what they asked for. Without their help, at the very least would have been far more horrific. We needed them; still need them. Without them we would not have found and stripped the space hulk that provided vital materials for the fleet, and they still have the potential to help us many times over. This is an emotive issue, I am not denying that. But if we, as a race, want to survive, we have to use what tools are available to us. The cylons in our company are an extremely effective tool that we cannot afford to discard.

I am not suggesting that they receive voting rights within the fleet. There’s still a lot of ground to cover before such a step could even be seriously considered. But they have chosen to help us, and have proved their worth; I for one, am willing to cautiously provide them with the benefit of the doubt for the moment. To this end they will be granted a fleet-ratified asylum, and members of the scientific community and the military will work with them to pool our resources and promote cooperation.

Of course, one of the ways in which we will need the cylons’ help is with regard to our ultimate destination. The cylons will be integral in helping us reach the other survivors that are almost certainly out there. I want us all to be reunited with our fellow humans, and the information that the cylons possess will be more successfully won from them by cooperation than by coercion.

With regards to the political structure of the fleet, I want, like Doctor Persun and Captain Lianova, to have as democratic a basis of government as is possible. We must all have a voice in our survival, that is without question – the fleet cannot be allowed to slip into a hereditary oligarchy that betrays the ideals of the Twelve Colonies. I am not sure precisely what form Captain Lianova’s Quorum will take, but it seems impractical to me. However, it is true that the Fleet Council has failed us in the past in various ways, so reform should be encouraged. Doctor Perseun has the right of it that we need a cabinet of specialised department heads to concentrate efforts in their areas of responsibility; healthcare, food production, fuel production, education (after all, we must look to the young minds of the fleet), the running of the economy, the defence of the fleet and liaison with the military, and scientific research and development. I believe that each of these posts needs to be elected separately from those who are the most qualified, and to that end I intend that each ship may submit a proportionate number of candidates for each post. The electoral committee that has already been set up would seem the ideal body to whittle these lists down to the two or three most qualified candidates, and the incumbent of each post will then be elected from these candidates by the fleet as a whole.

My final point regards the religious life of this fleet. As many know, I am not a religious man. I was brought up in a military family that never had much time for spiritual matters. However, I recognise that religion a powerful and central driving force for much of our population, and I respect that. However, I do not believe that religion has a central place in the direction of this fleet, as not everyone shares the same beliefs; we have had all to clear a picture of the division, chaos, and destruction that can occur if one minority takes matters into their own hands. I am not pointing any fingers, but I think we all should realise that the divisiveness that such differences in beliefs can engender is not something we can afford in our precarious situation. I would never deny anyone the right to believe what they chose, but it cannot be forced upon others. The will of the people must be just that: the will of all, or at the very least a significant majority of our population.

And that returns me ultimately to the point on which I feel most strongly; unity. If I am elected governor, I will do my best to promote it and to marshal all our efforts as a forward-looking society, and I truly believe that we need to put aside past differences and come together in order to move forward successfully. I hope that whoever is ultimately elected shares this view; even if I am not, I want the cause of unity to be out in the open, so that no-one can ignore it; for without it I cannot be optimistic about our chances in the long run. But if we all strive for it, the human race need not, will not be a lost cause.

Thank you for your time.