A GOVERNMENT FOR ITS CITIZENS, 1780

[monkeypoacher 8053]

 

A GOVERNMENT FOR ITS CITIZENS

1780

The election of 1776 was an unprecedented event in our city’s history. Jermaine J’mault, through extensive political patronage, claimed the office of Lord Mayor by a single vote. Just as abruptly as he became mayor, Jermaine disappeared, leaving the city in the hands of an unelected and wildly incompetent government.

 

In times of crumbling central authority, ambitious parties arise to fill in the gaps. Political families, Imperial bureaucrats, and businessmen have all tried their hand at correcting Helena’s course, to varying degrees of success. A Livery Board full of empty chairs has done little or nothing to address the issues our city has faced. The Ministry of the Interior has slowly gained control over everything from taxation to the public works, leaving citizens with little control over the functions of government.

 

Now more than ever, Helena needs a strong, efficient government. A government that can face threats to our security and economic prosperity. A government that represents Helena’s citizens, encourages public participation, and rewards civil service. This is why I am running. Working with the Josephite party and the city commissioners, I believe we can build a more prosperous, representative government for Helena.

 

-- Achille Nicephore

 

THE ISSUES

 

A FARM IN RUINS

 

Earlier this year, residents woke up to the sight of our city’s commons on fire. This vile assault on our city’s integrity, allegedly the work of netherspawn, speaks to deep flaws in Helena’s security. Achille Nicephore will rebuild the farm, while encouraging working yeomen and tenants to plant crops. Working with the Ministry of Justice, a Nicephore government will secure the sewers and respond rapidly to future attacks.

 

ECONOMIC CATAPLEXY

 

The abortive war with Sutica has left Helena in a disjointed state. Our nation’s brave soldiers returned to a capital with a sluggish economy, falling immigration rates, and a stagnant oligarchy. The Nicephore government will create jobs through an unprecedented public works program. Investment in education and incentives for new parents will build a strong start for the next generation.

 

INEFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT

 

As a long-time member of the city’s Livery Board, Achille Nicephore is intimately aware of how poorly the current municipal government represents Helena. The Livery Companies have been gutted, deprived of their ability to protect trade or represent Helena’s citizens. Public participation is at an all-time low. The Nicephore government will open new posts in municipal government, hold regular elections for Livery masters, and create a system of popular representation.

 

POLICIES

 

CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY:

 

It is said for any rightful government there can be two sources of power; the people, or God. The City of Helena Corporation represents neither. As a quasi-governmental private entity, it is vital that the City is held accountable by a body of its citizens.

 

To this end, the Nicephore government will open Livery meetings to the public, with citizens able to present legislation. A council of representative Aldermen, elected from each Helena neighborhood, will approve or veto Livery Board legislation. 

 

EMPLOYMENT AND CIVIL SERVICE: 

 

The Nicephore government will establish a Civilian Conservation Corps., a public entity tasked with the maintenance of infrastructure, construction of new public works. A Commission of Employment will be established to offer careers in academic, military, and private-sector service. Funding will be secured from the city’s cash flow for the police and the Saint Amyas Hospital. 

 

ZONING AND TAX POLICY:

 

Helena is plagued with an outdated system of zoning and tax assessment that burdens families while giving favored merchants a free ride. A Nicephore government will enstate a new zoning law, one which shifts the lion’s share of the tax burden from family residences to revenue-generating properties.

 

Taxes levied from Helena citizens should benefit Helena first and foremost. The tax burden on a citizen should represent what they can fairly offer to the empire, not the arbitrary value of the land they chose to live on.

 

If elected, Achille Nicephore will ensure that taxes are raised equitably and that revenue flows to municipal programs. First-year residents will be offered leniency on missed taxes, as will soldiers on campaign. A sweeping program of rezoning and reappraisal will ensure that citizens only pay what’s fair.

 

CLEAN WATER: 

 

Helena deserves a secure supply of clean, potable water. To ensure our welfare and create jobs, the Nicephore government’s Commissioner of Sanitation will work to expand the sewers and drainage lines, and rebuild the Helena aqueduct. 

 

The sewers have been a backdrop for some of our city’s most lurid crimes. The Nicephore government will secure sewer entrypoints and initiate regular patrols of the undercity. 

 

EDUCATION:

 

Helena’s citizens deserve the best opportunities we can furnish. Under the Nicephore government, funding will be set aside to establish a world-class university in the Pontian Place neighborhood. As the first educational institution of its kind in the Crownlands, the University of Helena will attract talent to our city and ensure all citizens have access to education.

 

AGRICULTURE:

The recent destruction of our common farm has shown us that we can no longer rely on a single plot of land to feed our entire city. A Nicephore government will rebuild our common farm, and create financial incentives for the freeholds surrounding Helena to plant crops.

 

CONCLUSION

 

This year’s election is vital for the long-term prosperity of Helena. It is important that we make the right choice. If you are a citizen of Helena, ensure that you register for the census and vote in your local elections. 

 

[!] Instructions for registering for the Imperial Census are enclosed.

[SerFinnick 445]

“Holy ****. Nicephore really is detached from our city, considering half of what he’s ‘proposing’ is already being discussed by Government. Odd.” says Philip, tossing the poster into the hearth and going back to his meeting with the actual concerned leaders of Helena. 
 

“What a joke” he adds, as they overlook the new plans for canals, roads, farms, aqueducts and affordable housing. 

[CasualNuker 1113]

Elene bursts out laughing reading this poster! “You really don’t understand my plans for the new district!” she then proceeds to throw the missive in her restaurants ovens.

[rukio 8924]

“At least he’s never murdered a child in cold blood, eh Lucille, eh Elene?” Retorts Adelith quietly, ever the witty one. 

[monkeypoacher 8053]

 

Achille Nicephore gazed across the bifröst separating the material world from the world of telepathic fireside mumblings. He furrowed his brow, watching paper crumble and blacken in the hearth. 

 

“Affordable housing, new roads, canals, a new aqueduct, — and yet, evidence any of these words have ever fallen out of Elene Komnenos’s mouth? Nothing. Mere whisperings from the cabal. It would be helpful, perhaps, if the Komnenos government did any of these things, instead of waiting for the election cycle to vaguely suggest they might be on the table.

 

I dream of a city where aqueducts are built, not discussed. A city where each citizen works for the betterment of his neighbor, a city that can and will survive. I dream of a politics of action, not backdoor discussion. Where the people lead, and bureaucrats follow. 

 

Notice how these charlatans did not mention two of my proposals - a representative assembly and a robust institution of public service. Public participation would threaten the precious sinecures of the political elite. It would call into question their dreams of comfortable country manors and court darlings for wives. Will you vote to fulfill these people’s fantasies of power? Or will you vote for the citizens’ assembly?”

[Beamon4 1690]

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