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To date, the most visible way of participating in Nova Roma has been through politics.In many ways, this was unavoidable, because before we could get to the fun stuff, we hadto have the infrastructure in place. Magistrates, governors, Senators, etc. are all theframework that facilitates the rest of Nova Roma's work. It shouldn't be (and in the nearfuture probably won't be) the center of Nova Roman life. But even once it's eclipsed byother activities, it will always be there for those who wish to devote themselves topublic life, and this brief introduction will hopefully help those interested in doing so.
There are two kinds of political offices in Nova Roma; elected and appointed. Electionsusually happen in December (unless there's a vacancy to be filled), and here is a briefdescription of what each of the elected magistrates do:
Censor. There are two censors. They have two major roles. First, they keep track of all our Citizens, including information such as their name and address, what offices they've held, which tribe and century they belong to, etc. They're in charge of maintaining the various databases to track Citizen information. They are also the conscience of Nova Roma, and can issue reprimands (known as "nota") against people who violate the public morality and honor.
Consul. There are two consuls. They are essentially the leaders of the Republic, charged with advancing the "mission and function of Nova Roma." What does that mean? Basically, they handle the day-to-day operations of the Republic, and few aspects of life in Nova Roma are outside their responsibility. In essence, their job is to help each individual enjoy Nova Roma and get as much out of it as they can, while helping the Republic as a whole to grow and prosper. The consuls also propose laws for voting by two of the comitiae.
Praetor. There are two praetors. They share a dual role. One role is as deputies for the consuls, backing them up in handling day-to-day activities and putting forth ideas and enabling solutions for everyone to enjoy their Nova Roma experience. The other role is as the chief administrators of the law; hopefully it won't happen very often, but if a case comes up in Nova Roma's courts, they're the top magistrates that handle the courts.
Aedile. There are four aediles (two curule aediles and two plebeian aediles). They too have a dual role. Like the praetors, they administer certain aspects of the law, and thus have a role in the courts. But they're also charged with handling large public events; games (ludii), religious festivals, etc. If you have experience in putting together medium-to-large-scale events, this might be the best job for you. Also, once Nova Roma actually gets buildings and land, the aediles will be in charge of taking care of it (of course, since we don't have any land or buildings yet, we haven't quite worked out the details of that yet!).
Quaestor. There are eight quaestors. One is assigned to each of the consuls, praetors, and aediles, and they are the financial officers of the Republic. Even though the Senate makes the actual budget, the questors manage the bank accounts and write the checks. The two quaestors assigned to the consuls are in charge of the state treasury (called the Aerarium).
Tribune of the Plebs. There are two tribunes, and they have to come from the plebeian order. They are the watchdogs over the Constitution, and have the power to veto any action by a magistrate, a comitia, or the Senate they feel violates its letter and spirit. They also keep the people informed about the topics being debated by the Senate, and can bring items before one of the comitia for a vote.
Vigintisexviri. These are the "miscellaneous" magistrates, and they perform a wide variety of very important jobs. If you want to run for one, you have to run for a particular job; you wouldn't just run "for vigintisexviri". What jobs are there? The Curator Araneum is the webmaster for the main web site. The Curator Sermo is the moderator for the main email list. The Curator Differum handles Nova Roma's real-world publications, including the newsletter. The Rogators (there are four) are in charge of handling elections. They count the votes and give the results to whichever magistrate called the election.
There are also several positions that you can be appointed to. There's nothing wrongwith asking to be appointed; the answer will depend on who you're asking and whatqualifications you have for the job. Generally, such appointed positions are an excellentway to get acquainted with the way Nova Roman government works. The appointed positions(in no particular order) are:
Governor. Governors are in charge of the provinces; wherever there are enough Nova Romans, the Senate will create a province so they can get organized, get in touch with each other, make it easier for them to hold events, etc. Governors have their performance checked each year, and can be continued in the job or replaced. Governors are responsible for keeping the people in their province in touch with each other, organizing events, and generally doing on a smaller scale what the consuls do for the entire Republic. They can appoint their own assistants, and have pretty much a free hand in organizing their province.
Scribe. Most magistrates have the power to appoint their own scribes. Basically, scribes are gofers; "go fer this, go fer that". Their duties can vary widely; some handle incoming emails, some do research, some do any old thing that needs doing. It's all up to whoever appoints the scribe.
Accensus. The accensi are basically scribes that are appointed by the consuls. Because they're working with the heads of the state, they get a special title, but the job function is still determined by their consul.
Lictor. The lictors are a ceremonial position, and are appointed by any magistrate with imperium. They really come into their own at live events; they accompany a magistrate bearing the fasces. It's a great way to have a little pomp and circumstance at live events, and to introduce a little pageantry.
Lictor Curiata. The curiata lictors are appointed by the college of pontiffs, and they have the honor of making up the comitia curiata. Its duties are mostly ceremonial (acting as witnesses for wills, adoptions, etc.) but they are also the ones who give new magistrates imperium.
Legate. Governors are specifically able to appoint legates, if they want to divide their provinces into sub-regions. How much authority they have, and what geographic area they cover, is completely up to the governor.
Interpreter. Interpreters are magistrates assigned by the Senate. They are members of the Decuria of Interpreters. Each language may have an official interpreter. They provide official and legal translations for the website, leges, announces, etc. Nowadays we have interpreters for German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and Latin, but we expect volunteers to any other languages.
The Censors and Tribunes will announce when they're ready to accept candidates foroffice. For the regular elections, that will usually happen sometime in November. If forsome reason an office is open in mid-year, it's pretty much open to the magistrate callingthe election how they wish to solicit candidates, but tradition holds that the opening isannounced on the main email list.
Basically, if you want to run for an open office; let the consul or tribune know.They'll let you know when to start campaigning.
The Senate is made up mostly of people who have held higher-level magistracies. Peoplewho win the office of Aedile could be made Senators (it's up to the Censors), but Praetorsand above are automatically made Senators if they're not already. The Senate mainly does acouple of things. It can issue Senatus Consultae; "The Advice of the Senate",which act like laws but can be overruled by any lex passed by a Comitia. It sets theannual budget and doles out the money to those magistrates who need it. And it appointsgovernors and oversees the whole system of provincial administration. Sometimes ordinarycitizens who have done extraordinary things are invited to join the Senate, but it's veryrare, and you shouldn't count on it.
