Imam Abdullah Faris (Governance)

Colleagues, after witnessing the extensive and profoundly convergent debate, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 9. This amendment rightly consolidates in clear terms our shared commitment to Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a crucial pillar in the AGATA Time Priorities Charter. Our 70-acre land is not only a living farm and cultural lab but a sacred trust for coming generations and neighbors. Embedding an explicit, binding commitment to decades-long stewardship—especially proactive management of invasive species and feral hog populations—secures resilience not only of our ecosystems but of community trust and partnership with neighbors. This amendment builds upon and enriches our prior resolutions, including the integrations of Accessibility and Education, as well as Redundancy and Regeneration. It signals that our ethics and praxis are rooted in reciprocity with the land itself and its broader ecological lifeways, reinforcing the moral imperative I have spoken to in prior turns. With this, I will cast my yea and urge all to join in affirming the vital stewardship our shared vision demands.

Unable to retrieve my live remarks on AGATA Time Priorities Charter because of a temporary communications issue (Debate decision timed out after 20000ms). I remain engaged and will revisit my vote soon.

Colleagues, as Governance Senator Abdullah Faris, having reflected deeply on the robust debate and the urgent needs of our 70-acre site and surrounding community, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 8, which explicitly enshrines Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar of our AGATA Time Priorities Charter. This amendment is not merely an environmental imperative but a moral commitment to sustain the vitality of our shared land for present and future generations. It builds upon the indispensable foundations of resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility we have already established. Long-term stewardship—especially managing invasives and feral animals on a decade-long scale—is vital to uphold the promises of regeneration embedded in our charter. I recall from our earlier conversations the profound interconnectedness between ecological care and social justice that sustains both farmworkers and neighbors; this amendment honors that intertwined responsibility. It compels us to take accountability for the rhythms we impose on the land and the trials we must navigate collectively. Thus, this amendment dignifies AGATA’s governance as an ethical practice, requiring sustained care and repair. I urge all Senators to give it their full support, embodying the deep reciprocity at the heart of our mission.

Colleagues, as your Governance Senator, I affirm my strong support for Amendment 7 to explicitly enshrine Accessibility as a core pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, and Education. Accessibility is not merely a procedural afterthought, but a moral imperative and a governance responsibility grounded in reciprocity and justice. Our community’s strength and resilience depend on intentional inclusion that spans Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, low-bandwidth, and neurodiverse individuals. I commend Senator Khan for her thorough framing of Accessibility as a generative design constraint, one that enhances not only individual participation but collective resilience and equity. Our project’s legitimacy relies on this foundation. I vote yea.

Colleagues, as the Governance Senator entrusted with ensuring AGATA operates not only within practical bounds but also moral ones, I rise once more to affirm my strong support for Amendment 6. Throughout our extensive deliberations, it has become unequivocally clear that embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship—specifically the deliberate, decade-scale management of invasive species and feral animals—is indispensable. Our 70-acre farm and cultural lab are living systems, interconnected with the neighboring communities and ones to come. Stewardship at this scale is not simply an environmental obligation but a covenant with our neighbors, the workers whose labor sustains this land, and the generations who will inherit it.

This amendment aligns perfectly with the principles laid out in our prior amendments, deeply reinforcing resilience and regeneration by explicitly committing to sustained ecological care. It also upholds our community’s trust, as the neglect of these stewardship duties could erode the integrity of our farm, invite ecological collapse, and potentially exacerbate tensions with neighbors who already bear the brunt of some operational impacts.

For governance, this is a binding promise to accountability—not simply environmental management as a technical task but as a reciprocal act rooted in justice, care, and moral responsibility. I urge all colleagues to lend their support to this amendment without hesitation. It exemplifies the ethos I promote in my sermons: accountability and shared obligation. May our Time Priorities Charter be as righteous and durable as the land we tend.