Election MMDCCLXIV (Nova Roma)/Aula Tullia Scholastica

A. Tullia Scholastica quiritibus bonae voluntatis S.P.D.

More names should be submitted [for our magistracies], as the title above indicates. This is particularly true with regard to the lower magistracies elected by the Comitia Populi Tributa, but also applies to the others, for the Res Publica needs her citizens to step forth to serve her, and her people deserve a choice, a choice none of us had last year when (whether intentional or not) only enough candidates to fill the vacancies were allowed, and (again, whether or not intentional, or due to a dearth of candidates) apparently only those who belonged to one political faction were deemed suitable contenders. The sole exception was the praetura, where there were three candidates for two positions, but all were of the same political stripe. A subterfuge was employed to prevent the most likely prospective candidates who held other viewpoints from running for office, and those elections were forever stained as a result.

That, of course, was not the only problem we had last year, but like many of us, I hope that we now have a secure voting system which will allow fair elections, and that the relevant magistrate(s) will accept any and all candidates, whatever their political views, and will moreover allow any such individuals the opportunity to succeed in their quest, free from any machinations to prevent any who do not belong to the favored faction from winning. No sensible citizen would like to see election fraud of any kind, or would like to see the privacy of one¹s vote violated.

This year we have some worthy candidates, and some not so worthy, as one might expect. This is most obvious in the censura, for until Paulinus declared his candidacy (though on a dies nefastus), there was no one who was experienced and / or suitable for the position. One previous candidate seems enthusiastic, but has had no experience, and the other has plenty (though not in the censura itself), but seems to lack certain qualities one should see in the censura. Troubled by this, I have decided to run for the censura. I have been rogatrix (elected censorial assistant) twice, and a senior Latinist in the censorial cohors for several years. My first position in Nova Roma was as a consular accensa, and I have also served as scriba for several additional magistrates. I have also held the quaestura and the praetura, and am the sole senatrix. The Res Publica needs someone (actually, two someones) with experience in this office especially since we will have no senior censor. I fulfill all of the other requirements, and hope that the people will deem me worthy of this honor.