Wehnimer's Landing: Frontier Politics 2.0

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GS4-KENSTROM
Subject: Wehnimer's Landing Frontier Politics 2.0 on 05/01/2021 02:39 AM EDT
Category: Cities, Towns, and Outposts
Topic: Wehnimer's Landing
Post: 15058


Introduction

Back in 2015, the structure of Wehnimer's Landing politics was clarified in a document and the first ever Player Mayor was allowed in-game. The original design created a term of 1 year for the position of Mayor, with an election held every spring. The max term limit for any player was 2 years. There also existed a 4 member Town Council that consisted of NPC's only.

In April of 2021, after I ran a storyline in which the mayoral campaign season was put on hold and the old mayor was ousted, I began to revisit the entire Mayor and Town Council positions and decided to change things up a bit. In a nutshell, the Wehnimer's Landing political system will consist of 4 PC Town Council members, with the other positions of Mayor, Stewards, Judge and Regional Envoy all being filled by a GM NPC. The concept behind this change is to open up to be even more inclusive, allowing players to fill more town positions, which helps get more people involved, spreads out the burden, allows for more engagement, and might even create more activity across time zones. It also helps create more voices and sides for players to rally behind.

The roles and rules are defined further in this document.

Mayor (NPC)

  • Beginning again in 2021, the Wehnimer's Landing Mayor will be a GM NPC elected by the players (Landing citizens) on a 2-year election cycle, beginning every August of the year. However, for 2021, the campaign season will begin in June for the first year.
  • There is no maximum term limit on the town mayor, because it is a GM NPC.
  • The Mayor will also serve as the tiebreaking vote when the Town Council is deadlocked.
  • The Mayor will appoint all Steward (NPC) positions of the town. Only a unanimous vote from the Town Council can override a Mayor's appointment of a Steward, or remove them.
  • If the Mayor goes missing, becomes incapacitated for a lengthy time, or is killed, then the powers of the position would fall to a 2/3 majority vote with the Town Stewards in the interim. * A new mayoral election is expected to be scheduled within 60 days of the spot's vacancy.

Town Council (Players)

  • There are 4 Town Council positions, each to be filled at all times.
  • The Town Council position is open to all players who are a Wehnimer's Landing citizen prior to Jan 1st of the current election year.
  • The Judge must review and approve of every application for Town Council. (The Landing Town GM will review the player's in-game warnings, conduct, history of policy abuse, etc.)
  • The term of each Town Council position will be for 1 year. Elections will be held every September.
  • There is no max term limit for players to hold a town council position, however they must wait 2 years after having served 2 terms before running again.
  • Players may be removed from the Town Council at the request of the Mayor (NPC) and a 2/3 majority of the Stewards (NPC). Any removal request must be further approved of by the Town Judge (NPC). This is setup so that if any player is disruptive in the game or wracks up official warnings, they can be removed by the Wehnimer's Landing Town GM with an in-game explanation as well.

Town Council Application Process

  • The character must be a full citizen of Wehnimer's Landing since January 1st of the current election year.
  • The account must have been active for the last 90 days.
  • The character must submit an application to Moot Hall. (GM Kenstrom)
  • The character must pay the council application fee of 500,000 silvers.
  • The account must have had no official warnings in the last year.
  • There are no restrictions based on membership in CHE's and MHO's or based on level, race, profession or Arkati.
  • The elected term is for 1 year, with no limit to number of terms. There is however a 2-year waiting period after a council member's 2nd term.

Town Council Expectations

  • The Player Town Council member is expected to have a clean in-game record. Official warnings of any kind can lead to the position being reviewed and possibly revoked.
  • The Player Town Council member is expected to maintain full citizenship in Wehnimer's Landing during the course of their term.
  • The Player Town Council member is encouraged to put forth ideas for the town, but it will solely be up to the discretion of the Town GM if these projects can be implemented.
  • The Player Town Council member is expected to vote on matters brought before them from the Town Mayor. The Town Council member does not need to be in-game, or attend a specific event at a specific time in order to cast their vote. Voting will be done via Email (Town GM and SGMs), or via the Forums, or via a public event if it can be arranged.
  • The Player Town Council member is encouraged to organize and attend public town meetings to engage the player base and collect suggestions and concerns of in-game topics.
  • The Player Town Council member is allowed to help with smaller town projects such as food/drink design, creating ideas for citizen-only benefits, or other concepts to help improve or update Wehnimer's Landing.
  • The Player Town Council member will have access to a new wing of Moot Hall, including their own private office.
  • The Player Town Council member is not expected to have a high level of in-game hours, nor are they expected to attend specific events, or be online at specific times.
  • The Player Town Council member is expected to serve as a voice of the community and help encourage inclusiveness in the player population.

Town Council Restrictions

  • The Player Town Council member CANNOT use their position to make false promises to other players outside of the scope of game mechanics, or against game policy.
  • The Player Town Council member does NOT have any GameMaster on speed dial because of this position. They must use the same appropriate channels of communication as everyone else.
  • The Player Town Council member title and position is designed primarily to be a "roleplaying" experience, and there remains an NPC Mayor, Stewards, and Judge to help maintain checks and balances.
  • The Player Town Council member can collect and propose ideas for the town, but there is no guarantee of anything.
  • The Player Town Council member cannot use their position to break game policy or harass other players for any reason.
  • The Player Town Council member can not use their position to arrest other characters or appoint deputies.
  • The Player Town Council member will lose their title and position if they close their account. If the character goes inactive for more than 90 days their position can be reviewed and replaced if there is no proper communication.


Other NPC Positions

Steward of the Guard
The role of this position is to organize and maintain the local defense of Wehnimer's Landing through the town guard. This includes recruitment of local militia members and the management of their training as well

Steward of the Coffers
The role of this position is to oversee the treasury of Wehnimer's Landing, including financial accountability, approval of funds for projects, and tax and debt collection.

Steward of the Guilds
The role of this position is to act as the lead representative for the trade guilds and local merchants of Wehnimer's Landing, including supporting fair business practices, instituting worker protection and driving commerce and trade for the town.

Regional Envoy
The role of this position is to act as an official delegate of Wehnimer's Landing, often serving as an ambassador of goodwill to other towns, regions, or nations. The primary purpose of this position is to foster diplomacy while protecting the town's interests at large.

Judge
The judge is elected by the people to serve a life term, and represents the most independent branch of the political structure outside of the mayoral office. The judge has sole authority over the discipline and severity of punishments prescribed, and the manner in which they are to be carried out. The judge has authority to fine, imprison, banish or lessen a penalty to community service at their discretion.

An election must occur within two months of a judge's vacancy. The mayor and each steward may nominate one candidate (NPC) to be considered for the role. Each candidate must receive 3/4 vote of approval from the town council. Those candidates who are approved move onto an official election to be decided by citizens of Wehnimer's Landing.

The constable reports regularly to the Steward of the Guard, however there is also another direct line from the constable to the judge that remains open and active at all times. The constable enforces the laws that are brought forth by the town council, but also works with the judge to see that they are fairly executed, and that punishment is prescribed and followed. To ensure no undue pressure is applied from the mayor or judge, the constable can only be replaced by a public hearing held by the town council, which would require a majority vote of citizens in attendance to be carried out.

Any appeal of a court decision must be petitioned before the town council, if evidence can be brought forth to show that the original verdict was erroneous. At that point the council may vote to overturn the court ruling following standard petition voting rules. Having a hearing to overturn a court ruling would require a great deal of effort on the part of the accused, and a strong case must be made in the petition before the town council would even consider a vote.