Equitius Cato G.- offstat (Nova Roma)

The following declaration has been held on Nov. 15, 2763 auc, towards the People in the Forum romanum, by Candidate Equitius Cato (G.) :

I have been asked privately, by several citizens, to voice my intentions here in the Forum.

The office of consul carries with it the responsibility - on a day-to-day level - of carrying the work of the Respublica forward.

To me, this means several things.

First and foremost, it means the building of a true community based on mutual respect for our common goals and our law.

I have advocated strongly for many years that we must clean up our tabularium and free our macronational by-laws from our internal law. As consul, my first goal would be to separate the Constitution and tabularium from our by-laws, allowing us the freedom to act as a Roman respublica under our own guidelines with minimal interference from the outside.

I have advocated strongly for many years the necessity of building, fostering, encouraging and supporting the religiones Romanae - the cultus Deorum - for it is the soul of the Respublica and without it we are simply an animate shell. My private cultus notwithstanding, I will, as consul, do everything in my power to make the sacra publica live again, giving every possible aid and support to educating our citizens and supporting - even subsidizing - our pontiffs and sacerdotes.

Just as ancient Rome embraced and ruled over a multitude of peoples, so can we learn to understand and encourage our peculiar local attributes while using them to make the whole stronger.

I am often gruff to the point of rudeness, but I have always spoken my mind exactly as I felt necessary, and always to the benefit of the Respublica as a whole, with the health and strength of the Respublica my primary objective; I have agreed and disagreed with just about everyone at one time or another, but have always held true to what I feel are the essential strengths and purposes of our life together.

If elected consul I will continue to do so, but with the gift of the authority that only the People of the Respublica can give.