YOUR 2016 ASHDOWN MAYORAL CANDIDATES

[Silverah]

DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY, AND EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR 2016 MAYORAL CANDIDATES.

• There will be an ORP town hall meeting starting on April 2nd, where you will be able to question the candidates and learn more about their personalities, as well as their plans for the future of Ashdown!
  
• Voting will begin on April 10th and close April 12th.
  
• You have 1 OOC vote to cast. Each of your characters may vote ICly in the form of a solo for whomever they please, but you as a player get 1 pick.
  
• You may pay us RLC for extra votes if you so desire to stuff the ballot box. (jk)
  
• The results of this election will be final and not up for negotiation.
  
• This is a cosmetic decision and will not affect the plot or shop policies in any major way. The winning Candidate may have an impact on future civilian events and the shape of the town, but will not impact the overall meta.
  
• RPs associated with the mayoral election, even shop-official RPs, will count as normal reqs and NOT as event RPs.

 

[Silverah]

lois wong - democrat

IRON LADY

Lifelong resident of Ashdown and something of a local icon, Lois has been involved in Ashdown politics in one way or another since 1984. She is a whip-smart debater, but she holds grudges for a long time - especially against her Republican opponent. Dry-humored and deeply passionate about Ashdown's history, Lois is confident that she knows what's best for the city's future.

PLATFORM

Lois's platform is focused on anti-gentrification measures and preserving the historical character of Ashdown as the town adapts to the 21st century.

• Lois supports comprehensive building code reform, especially around the town green and waterfront, to preserve the look of the town, prevent the development of high-rise or brutalist construction projects, and to ensure that all future waterfront development will stand up to rising sea levels and climate change.
  
• Lois wants all new buildings constructed in Ashdown to meet certain environmental guidelines, and supports giving landlords and homeowners tax incentives for retrofitting older buildings to meet the new environmental standards.
  
• Lois supports regulating rents on both residential and commercial properties in order to keep Ashdown affordable for current residents, as well as to encourage small business growth and to make the town attractive to new residents.
  
• Lois was instrumental in the passing of the city's first LGBT+ protection ordinance in 1992, and would like to further extend the city's programs for its LGBT+ citizens, especially in regards to the recent rise in homeless LGBT+ youth. Lois plans to allocate funds to groups that work with these young people and set aside land for the construction of a proper shelter.
  
• Lois will fight any and all city ordinances she perceives as being prejudicial against minority groups.
  
• Lois supports a $12.50/hour minimum wage within city limits.
  
• Lois supports free wifi in some public spaces such as city hall and the Ashdown green.
  
• Lois supports converting all single-stall restrooms into gender-neutral restrooms, and the installation of infant changing tables in men's restrooms.
  
• Lois would like Ashdown's Summer Night's performance series to continue inviting bands that can be enjoyed by all.
  

ANYTHING ELSE?

Lois is 58 (b. 195 cool . She transitioned from male to female in the late 1980s, while already serving on City Council.
Lois has been married to her wife Angeline since 1985. They have one daughter, Maura (b. 1987)
Lois and George Edwards, the Republican candidate for mayor, first joined city council at the same time and have been colleagues ever since. They have a longstanding rivalry, and Lois intends to kick his a** six ways to election day.  

[shibrogane]

scott free fitzgerald - independent

YOUNG UPSTART

Scott is a 32 year old adjunct professor of classical literature at Rider-Waite. He's intensely immersed in pop culture and his campaign website is written 100% in colloquial English, ******** you so much for trying to make him sound like an old man. He has a spouse and two children and two cats. Raised in Hawaii, Scott only moved to Ashdown to attend college at Rider-Waite. Once he graduated, he just stayed, eventually completing his Ph.D. on Anglo-Saxon and Norse history of homoerotic interpretations. Though he has never held political office, he has been active politically for half a decade now, and seems to know how the game is played.

PLATFORM

Scott Free likes art and wants Ashdown to like and support the livelihood of artists as much as he does. He's also hecks of down with the gay agenda.

• Scott thinks gentrification is stupid, but he also thinks that people who cling to things just because they're old are stupid. So while he supports rent control in order to preserve the vibrant cultural scene that makes Ashdown Ashdown, he really doesn't care about whether your new building is Brutalist or Byzantine or Bauhaus. Variety is the spice of life, and Ashdown will only become more unique and special for the different styles of architecture its melting pot can bring.
  
• Scott thinks the environment is cool, and supports updating the building code to be more green. He also vows to raise door height so people don't run into them as often. But more seriously, he hopes to drive conversion of existing buildings by offering a tax rebate to change out all those old gas heaters for something more eco-friendly.
  
• Scott is a biracial bisexual guy who wears skirts when he wants to and his spouse is genderqueer. While his platform is very focused on art and culture, compared to Lois's, he also intends to sponsor youth LGBT initiatives in local schools. He wants to make it easier for LGBT+ groups to do outreach within cultural events and for LGBT+ youth to get the support they need for their education through mentorship programs.
  
• Scott supports a $12.50/hour minimum wage within city limits.
  
• Scott supports the transitioning of old buildings into artistic spaces and is a sponsor of S.P.A.C.E., an artist's collective that hosts free-to-attend gallery openings in small, usually private spaces. Scott also supports having local bands of all stripes perform at the Ashdown Summer Nights concert series.
  
• Scott supports transitioning all single-stall restrooms into gender-neutral restrooms, and the installation of infant changing tables in men's restrooms. Actually, he doesn't get why restrooms are gendered anyway, but he recognizes change must come slowly. Scott is really upset that men's restrooms don't have changing tables already, since he spends a lot of time with his infant daughter.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Scott is 32 (1983). He has never held political office before, unless you count the student senate at Rider-Waite, where he was very, very loud about all manner of things for all ten years he was a student there.
Scott has been married to his beautiful paramour Kennedy (28) since they graduated from Rider-Waite and it stopped being weird. Kennedy is a civil engineer and also completely gorgeous. (Scott insists they be addressed in this manner.) He has a foster son, Koyomi (12, transgender) and an adopted toddler, Anna (2, who knows).
Scott is known in city politics for being a huge d**k about things which might impact Ashdown's recently-blossoming art community. During a recent kerfluffle over the banning of murals more than ten feet wide, he was a common sight at town hall with astonishingly well-reasoned arguments and, when told to escort himself out, creative invective.
Scott believes Lois Wong is an outdated walnut and George Edwards is a half-baked potato. He has said this. It's in the council minutes.  

[Ashdown Crier]

george edwards - republican
LOCAL CURMUDGEON

Philadelphian by birth, George Edwards moved to Ashdown sometime in the early 80s and never left. He has served Ashdown as a law enforcement officer for over thirty years, first as a beat cop and then working his way up to chief of police. He has also served on city council, and is ready to take his political involvement to the next level, ensuring that Ashdown has a safe and prosperous future.

PLATFORM

George is running a classic Republican platform, focused on deregulating the real-estate market and placing minimal government sanctions on local businesses.

• George plans to get tough on crime, cracking down on the recent spike in graffiti and petty vandalism, which he views as a gateway to something more sinister. He is in favor of ramping up police presence, especially around the college and high school.
  
• George is against rent control and believes that for the town to prosper, property values must be decided by the free market, and that this will bring more money to local landlords and encourage competition to provide better amenities.
  
• George supports building code reform to preserve the historic look of the town. However, he does not think that environmental standards should be a priority - if the old building codes were fine when the old buildings were built, then they should still be okay. George does not place an emphasis on either retrofitting or constructing new buildings to meet Green standards.
  
• George supports an ambitious plan to redevelop Ashdown's waterfront and build several blocks worth of new shops and restaurants, along with a new marina with spots for eighty boats, all of which will bring important commercial revenue to the area. Local environmental activists have warned that this plan will be disastrous for local shorebird populations.
  
• George will not dismantle existing LGBT+ protections but does not have any plans to expand them. He does not think that politics should have any role in mandating how businesses label or outfit their restrooms.
  
• George does not support any increases in minimum wage aside from those mandated by Massachusetts state law.
  
• George supports an increase in funding to the local library but otherwise does not have any specific arts programs outlined in his platform.

ANYTHING ELSE?

George is 58 (b. 195 cool . He has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1987. They have three children - Jessica (b. 1990), Kyle (b. 1992), and Taylor (b. 1997), and a very fat golden retriever named Stanley-Doodles.  

[Silverah]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND OTHERBEINGS

LET'S HAVE AN ELECTION.