Medicine Cat Elections, Day 7: Voting Begins!

Welcome back, folks! In case you missed it, we’re holding elections to find the new Medicine Cat of BlogClan, the new representative of our community!

It’s finally time to begin the first round of voting!

You have up to three votes which you can use to vote for the candidates who you think are best fitted for the role. At 12am UTC on 10th July, voting will close and we will prepare the final round of voting in which the three candidates with the most votes will be placed head-to-head.

Place your votes wisely and carefully, and enjoy the feeling of democracy!

If you want a recap on all the candidates, click here to see an archive of the hustings posts from the last few days.

Before the poll, the current Medicine Cat, Kat, has a speech to share with all the voters and candidates. Listen now to her sage and wise words, and think about the candidates you want to vote for:

I’m afraid that this isn’t as much a question for our candidates, but more a little reflection from a former medicine cat to our candidates and voters this year. Unfortunately, I don’t think my opinion is too valuable regarding each of our candidates because of my absence for these past few months, but I’d like to just briefly talk about what I think we should all keep in mind while voting and running, or just going about our business. Just a note that I wouldn’t like to make it seem as if my opinion is any more important than anyone else’s; instead, I’d like to add to everyone else’s general ideas and all.

There’s a lot of things I wished I had done better while medicine cat. One of which is recognizing from the beginning how serious a responsibility it is. As a medicine cat, you have to make sure that your face (or, better said, icon) is the first that all new members see. That means that you should not only be very organized about the new members page (yup…my mistake…) but also willing to take the time to greet every new member in a unique way. Not just “hello! I’m _____, your medicine cat!” Instead, “Hi, I’m ___, and I noticed your icon was about Hamilton. I love it, too! Who’s your favorite character?” or something like that but different for new members. Keeping up on this is really, really difficult. You have to be willing to acknowledge that as your responsibility. I was almost going to resign as medicine cat at one point because I felt so awful about my inactivity.

You have to also take the Hug Page as your own, not formally. I was really good about doing this in my first months as medicine cat, but was lacking in the latter. You have to be able to sympathize with people. There’s no way around it. You have to be able to just listen, and respond with “that’s awful about your school day!” and know when to say “that’s really serious, I think you should talk to a parent or trusted adult about that.” That sounds really odd, I know, but it’s just important that you’re able to understand that while you can be good at understanding people and all, you aren’t a professional and shouldn’t be diagnosing someone’s mental disorder, y’know? That can be dangerous. I’d recommend that you almost always encourage someone going through trouble to reach out to someone they love, but also BE that someone at the same time. This can also be very difficult. If you don’t want to accept this as your responsibility, FULLY, then rethink.

This is directed at everyone now. Make sure that you’re running (and voting) for the right reasons. If you would run for this as well as run for deputy if you lose or any other offered position, reconsider. This is a specific task. If you just want a title, don’t do it. You can be just as well-loved and respected by working your way to a senior warrior who contributes often and positively to the blog. And voters, fellow BlogClanners, kiddies, please know that this is not a popularity contest. If there’s one person who you always see working tirelessly but isn’t your friend while someone who is your friend hasn’t done anything, vote for the prior. This isn’t about someone who is friendly when they need to be, or active only one day of the week, or tells really funny jokes, this is about someone who has continuously shown the correct character and work ethic over time. Please examine your vote for the long term.

Lastly, buddies, my loves, my angels, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to be the medicine Kat. If there’s anything I’ve noticed over time, it’s that this place is a team where, at our optimal place, we are loving, supportive, and kind to everyone that has been here and is to come. Elect someone who will take us to that place.

Sorry for such a speech. I love y’all.

Well done to each and every one of the candidates; you’ve worked hard this past week, and you have all done an amazing job. I’m so proud of you all, I wish you all the best of luck. You’ve done incredibly, regardless of outcome.

Have fun and vote with your heart!