Salvete Cives! I stand before you in the toga candida to announce my 
candidacy for the office of PRAETOR. I am not a stranger to the 
office, or to our system. I have been involved in Nova Roman politics 
since before the official Founding of Nova Roma. I am a Founding 
Senator of Nova Roma, the only one remaining besides Marcus Cassius 
Iulianus. I was the first Praetor of Nova Roma (then called Praetor 
Urbanus), and held this office from the Founding through 31 December 
2751 (1998). When Flavius Vedius Germanicus resigned the first time 
in September of that year, the senate appointed me to take his place 
as Censor, which I held until 31 December 2752 (1999). I was elected 
Consul for the year 2752 along with Lucius Equitius Cincinnatus. When 
Flavius Vedius Germanicus was appointed Dictator by the senate in 
July of 2752, he retroactively declared those elections null and 
void. I was then appointed by dictatorial edict to remain in the 
office of consul. At the end of that year I ran for Curator Differum 
and held that office for the year 2753 (2000). Since then I have not 
sought elected office but continued to serve as Senator, Lictor, 
scriba and accensus. I ask you now to return me to the Curule Chair 
and put my experience back to work in service to the Republic. 

        I am well suited for this position as much of our legal 
system bears my imprint; few in Nova Roma understand our political 
system as well as I do. I was closely involved in the creation of the 
final drafts of the first Nova Roman Constitution, assisting Flavius 
Vedius Germanicus to sharpen that document, rewriting and revising 
sections where needed. During the dictatorship I was instrumental in 
assisting the Dictator in completely rewriting the Constitution, as 
well as aided him with the system of laws he put into place. After 
the dictatorship, as sole consul, and then with my co-consul Lucius 
Cornelius Sulla Felix, I promulgated a series of laws to continue the 
work of making our system function. I am proud to say it has worked 
well ever since. Since my consulship, I assisted magistrates in the 
creation of laws, some of which have borne my name. No one except 
Flavius Vedius Germanicus and Lucius Corneleius Sulla Felix have 
their names on more laws than I do. I was a key collaborator in 
creating many other laws in the tabularium--over 25%. I look forward 
this coming year to continuing the ongoing work of establishing a 
functional Nova Roman legal system. 

I will also serve well in the praetor's role as moderator. While I am 
moderate to slightly conservative politically, I am evenhanded and am 
thought of as fair by people of all political stripes in Nova Roma. I 
have never taken part in the "personal" politics that have 
unfortunately become a feature of our system. I think this reputation 
and the ability to remain above the fray will be an asset as 
moderator. I will not be afraid to delegate authority as needed to 
ensure there is list coverage and I will keep in mind that freedom of 
speech is paramount, as long as the safety of the Republic is not 
threatened. I will use as light a touch as possible to moderate 
discussion. 
        
I ask you to allow me to put my experience to work and continue my 
service to the Republic as your next praetor.  

Valete,

In Service to Rome,

Decius Iunius Palladius Invictus,
Senator Consularis 
Candidate for Praetor

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