The Metroplex Governor Race of '84
Every sprawl needs a local government. The President of the UCAS would happily drone platitudes on the subject. At the same time, no ruled peoples in a rampaging capitalist dystopia optimistically still dubbed a democracy can suffer the same team for too long. Summer 2084 is the time of mayoral elections in Seattle. Politics, excitement, turmoil and office backstabs - all is permitted in love and war, whereas the opportunity to choose who's going to embezzle public money for the next four years is a traditionally beloved war between the candidates.
Factions
The focus of the metaplot is on various political parties and smaller policlubs in Seattle, but rest assured that other players - mobs, the Draco Foundation and corps - could get involved.
Archconservative Party
The party supports a "return to real, traditional American values". The Archconservatives are roughly pro-business, but their primary focus is on moral and social issues, endorsing what they consider "traditional family and American values". Members are unabashedly Protestant, often with a radical bent, with the majority being WASPs, openly speaking out against magic as "immoral and unnatural", which includes metahumans as a result of magic returning. Humanis and the more radical offshoots love them. There are rumours of ties to the commune of Brother Thomas Nesmith and pariah followers "cleaning" their undesirables up.
Important Members
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Lessen the importance of magic in business and institute laws to restrain it better.
- Attract more followers while simultaneously hiding the skeletons in their closets.
Awakened Workers' Party
Where the Archconservatives hate magic and everything it entails, the Awakened Workers' Party, however small, embraces it. They believe it exists to serve man and only understanding it better will decrease the risks involved. They've got a good rapport with the Draco Foundation, carefully liaison with the Atlantean Foundation and sponsor multiple scholarships for Awakened curricula from the Seattle University and the University of Washington.
Important Members
- Floyd Woo. The Dean of Magical Studies of Pacific University in Fort Lewis, this accomplished combat wujen somehow manages to maintain a healthy balance between endorsing magic and paying close attention to its more nefarious uses. He navigates the Draco Foundation and the Atlantean Foundation mess with much skill. A frequent presence in morning talk shows when it comes to infected and foul magical arts like toxic or insect shamanism. Some in his own party believe he's too soft. Still, Wuxing and Mitsuhama Computer Technologies both view him as overall good for business.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Promote the pro-Awakened agenda.
- Network with Big Ten with a significant magical market (MCT, Aztechnology and Wuxing).
Beautiful Seattle Policlub
More a community club than a political force, Beautiful Seattle wants to promote local unrated corps, neighbourly relations and increase tourism in the Seattle Metroplex. They're active in assorted community projects, moderate in their attitude and a rather easy choice for the average undecided voter. The white picket fence suburban dream they tout is why SpinGlobal took interest. They don't like metas much, but they're smarter than to admit it - it's just a policlub with the majority of members being humans and dwarves.
Important Members
- Sophie Choice. A wealthy dwarven socialite from Bellevue, she's the sprawl's self-proclaimed biggest fan. The motto of "The Choice for Seattle!" fits the slick, sellable campaign she wages. Her family made its fortune on mining, but three generations ago changed the profile to luxury goods. That proved an excellent business decision, skyrocketing Sophie to the very top of the richest UCAS SINners in Seattle. Ostensibly, she wants everyone to get along, but privately, she's biased against elves.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Promote Seattle and local small businesses.
Democratic Party
They lost a lot of ground since the early decades of the Sixth World, so in an attempt to recover the ground claimed by other parties, they've embraced the more liberal and radical factions, such as the Green Party (which they've all but absorbed). Rivals (correctly) accuse them of scrambling to poach any promising politicians, such as their mayoral candidate, Carolina Petrovski. They support metahuman and SURGE rights, active government and assorted social programs. As long as it's not inconvenient or too extreme, they also favour ecological initiatives. EVO, Horizon and Aztechnology feature among their key sponsors. The first officially co-organises the annual SURGE Pride Parade.
Important Members
- Carolina Petrovski. The most recent acquisition of the Democrats, this formerly Republican washout runs on the agenda of extreme charity. The Horizon SINner feels like a fish in water in UCAS politics, which Horizon, with the "We Know What You Think" motto, doesn't mind at all. A few years back, she revitalised Renton, currently highly interested in the Redmond Rejuvenation Project. Those who like her stress her attitude towards security and welfare projects, whereas her political opponents point out her Horizon and Humanis Policlub connections, favouritism and the attitude of "Those poor metas can be like us, just start with metatype reduction!"
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Hide Petrovski's Humanis connections.
International Workers' World
These are the guys oriented towards unionising attempts and whistleblowers whenever a corporation does something heinous. (A Tuesday, in other words, we know.) The agenda of advocating for worker rights makes them quite popular with the lower income families. On the other hand, the Big Ten aren't thrilled with them. Some mobs make quite a killing on breaking their strikes up through double agents.
Important Members
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Worker rights agenda furthered.
- Opposing political forces which focus on work with corps.
Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism and limiting central government power, especially its size and scope. That brings them close to the Seattle Freedom and Justice Party, although they don't focus on a single sprawl. Corporations with extraterritoriality can't be controlled effectively, so they ought to be left alone and shouldn't receive any governmental help. They frequently butt heads with the Republicans and the Archconservatives.
Important Members
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Stick to the non-intervening attitude.
Mother Earth Policlub
It's not a party, even, but a policlub founded by those members of the Green Party who refused to be gobbled up by the Democrats. The typical cuddly pro-eco agenda mixes with feminist views, which various observers consider too radical under the leadership of Sadie Hawkins, a Goddess follower. Their hold is significant in Everett, however, with connections to Amazonia and a hatred of Saeder-Krupp, so the objectively small fry can't exactly be ignored. They hire runners whose views align with theirs and can, for those they trust highly, network with eco-terrorist groups like TerraFirst! and GreenWar.
Important Members
- Sadie Hawkins. Unrelated to the classic character of the same name, she's a Mother Earth policlub activist hopelessly trying to drum up support for her party in her home Everett with one scheme more outrageous than the previous one. People often wonder why her name isn't Karen. (No, she doesn't think more on it than "I must be a trideo star lookalike.") She is an adept of lower strength on Dumas's Scale (a four, although she masks as a five, taking advantage of her one initiation), with no ware, generally healthy, happy and excited. That changes around her political opponents - worse for men and those who identify that way, not unusual for a Goddess follower. She has a weak Healthy Glow spell cast on her every morning, which she believes makes her irresistible - all the better to convince others to side with Mother Earth. This doesn't help a great deal, mind you. Sadie is middle-aged at this point, a Caucasian human with a little tan, bespectacled, with mousy brown hair in a ponytail. Between the hard makeup, high heels and the woman's office costume, the pencil skirt a tad too short, the blouse and jacket a little too unbuttoned, the intense rose-scented perfume, one meeting her can easily catch the air of desperation clinging to her. The most significant initiative of hers is a biannual duck boat race called Street Yacht Battles. It began in the fifties as a community funfair, but she turned it into an event with backyard politics on the forefront. It frequently ends up used by the Seoulpa smugglers to get contraband to the SSC equivalents from the Cascade Ork Tribe. Sadie herself refuses to believe it and races every goddamn year from 2077 in a modded Echo Motors Metaway jeep plastered with policlub slogans and logos under the highly corny team name of Grinding Gears for Gaia.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Further the eco-friendly and feminist agenda.
- Avoid admitting to links with eco-radical groups.
New Century Party
The New Centurists, created when they jumped ship from the Technocratic Party in the wake of the rigged presidential elections scandal of 2057, are progressives and forward-thinkers who believe that the old Technocratic party failed to push the envelope far enough. As they see it, technological and magical resources of the country have to be called upon and teamwork to solve the national woes. The party strongly supports small-business initiative, research and development, innovative thinking and education as key to keeping the UCAS prosperous in the global arena. Thus, their basic ideology calls for a melding of scientific and magical principles to create a happier and more prosperous society. They have a particular distaste for the Archconservatives for being diametrically opposed to them and Renraku Computer Systems (as well as other Japanocorps, Horizon and Wuxing) due to the anti-technomancer attitude.
Important Members
- Angela Darcy. The New Century Party is keen on the plight of Emerged and Awakened, so their mayoral candidate being a known technoshaman isn't exactly a surprise. The Matrix Security graduate from Seattle University, now the youngest dean that apartment has ever had, is full of charisma, arguing magic and the Resonance should be explored for the betterment of metahumanity. Often accused of lacking political experience, she's endorsed by Aztechnology and Seattle's academia.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Raise awareness of Emerged plight and combat anti-technomancer prejudice.
Ork Underground Policlub
Prop 23 making the Ork Underground a recognised district in 2074 introduced a number of changes. The mayoral office isn't exactly thrilled about it, but they had to give the new kids on the block a few seats. Enter the OU Policlub. The pro-metahuman agenda can't win them overwhelming support, especially with the existence of parties which either disapprove or simply view them as contenders to what they want to capitalise on, but the popularity with the blue collar, low-income tusked communities mustn't be underestimated. Sensing opportunity, Aztechnology swooped in to support them, well before EVO did, which also caused backlash from the latter.
Important Members
- Prof. Joseph "Joe" Jacoby. Hardly the oldest of the candidates, he sure looks like one. While vocal and dead-set on his community being treated as equals to "the fat cats in office", Joe couldn't be further from the aggressive, ignorant trog stereotype Humanis pushes. He holds a PhD in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Sociology from Seattle University, which paradoxically makes him the best-prepared in terms of who's the most meritorious. He still gives lectures too. Not a fan of Sons of Sauron, he believes in equal opportunities for metas from poorer backgrounds and frequently attacks the cops for police brutality vs barrens denizens.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Support for causes import for non-human metahumans (especially orks and trolls).
Republican Party
With the sudden jumping ship of Carolina Petrovski in favour of the Democratic Party, the Republicans are scrambling to propose a candidate in time. The usual conservative bent and an interest in economic growth naturally push them towards the UCAS Army, Ares Macrotechnology and Saeder-Krupp. They believe in traditional American values, but aren't quite radical to the degree displayed by the Archconservative Party.
Important Members
- Travis Burningham. He's got a stellar CV from the Electronic Warfare Intelligence in the UCAS Navy where his career in the field was ended by the injuries accrued when saving his unit and the visiting commanding officer from a megalodon during planned cross-training (for which he earned a Navy and Marine Corps Medal for exceptional heroism not involving actual conflict with an opposing armed force). Moreover, serious business connections to Weapons World, Federated Boeing and drone-manufacturing corporations. Pragmatism is a better agenda to run on than hatred in his eyes, so while he cannot be deployed anymore, he focuses on his popularity with his fellow soldiers and the agenda of protection from harmful paracritters.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- An agenda of safety and raising pro-army awareness.
Salish Unionists Policlub
The SSC is a significant neighbour of Seattle, so having a smaller political power in the sprawl surprises no one. Their mayoral candidate emphasises friendly diplomatic relations and a green attitude to business within the spirit of mutual respect. Yet don't ever make the mistake of thinking they'd ever choose Seattle over Vancouver, for example. They spread SSC influence throughout the Seattle government.
Important Members
- Alawa Selah. She's got a great deal of sway in Gaeatronics, Kyuusei Medical and Universal Omnitech, whose shares she owns. Officially maintaining the image of a new and kindly grandmother, she's cunning and quite ruthless in getting what she wants. In the shadows, she strives to keep Knight Errant and Lone Star from messing with the smuggling of the Cascade Ork Tribe.
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Foster positive relationships with NAN countries.
- Quietly spread SSC influence throughout the Seattle government.
Seattle Freedom and Justice Party
Barely a policlub, but very hip these days, it's not quite known what they're after in the longer term. Still, it's a Seattle-centric group running the gamut from city funfairs and art performances through rallies to protests involving the Scatterbrains thrill gang. They believe in something they dub "Free Seattle", but getting them to elaborate on what this is supposed to mean is a titanic feat.
Important Members
- Travis Burningham. ???
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Emancipationist agenda furthered.
Technocratic Party
The Technocratic Party runs on the platform of business development and implementation of new technology to increase profits. They're not exactly afraid of technomancers, but the political connections to MCT and Renraku mean they walk the line of caution. They boast about sponsoring a few scholarships of the IT kind at the University of Washington these days and are a significant presence at tech fairs. Some worry about loss of emolument space for low-skilled labourers to drones they consider capable of work in entry manufacturing jobs. The New Century Party split from them in the late fifties.
Important Members
- Harrison Yuvlicht. The twice-Leónised Regency Megamedia CEO runs for his party with a spry spring in his step perfectly hiding the real age (the Fifth World!). His proponents laud him for values of stability, economic growth, corporate balance and equality. Meanwhile, who dislikes him (correctly) points out his American exceptionalism, privatisation and being part of the one percent of the rich, believing the gap in earnings serves a purpose - he wants to keep it wide. He frequently hires runners on the downlow to help him and the other Technocrats with "little hiccups along the way to prosperity".
Goals
- Have the mayoral candidate win.
- Ensure the rival candidates lose.
- Increase Seattle's importance to Big Tech business.
Runs
News
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Darcy Wins! | 10 August 2084 |
| Expose: Kassandra Hemmingway Ordered Civilians Killed | 5 August 2084 |
| Shocking information Leaked about Democratic hopeful | 29 July 2084 |
| Hemmingway Receives Tir Endorsement | 23 July 2084 |
| Wizgangs Menace the Sprawl! | 22 July 2084 |
| A Good Seattle Morning! | 19 July 2084 |
| Exposé: Who Is Harrison Yuvlicht? | 17 July 2084 |
| Report: Republican Campaign Aide Killed In Street Violence Tragedy | 14 July 2084 |
| Democratic Party Campaign Office Vandalized | 13 July 2084 |