elections 2086

A quickie history on TS4 world building: 

In America of my imagined future, there are six districts. We are following three of them in this story—Mid-Atlantic (states bordering the Atlantic from about DC to South Carolina), Lakes (states bordering the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior and Lake Michigan), and Pacific (states bordering the Pacific, as you might guess). The districts we are not following are New England, Gulf, and Mountain. (You can sort of see on my map how my played towns are clustered in the south-west, north, and south-east.)

I set it up this way because of, in part, the way TS4 is designed with towns that are pre-designed and not editable. If they ship me a world that looks like South Carolina or Arizona, there is very little I can do to change that. So they are what they look like, and that's that. That was the main reason that my story was written at first between two regions—Fort Palmetto and Sierra Nova—working from the first two towns we had, Willow Creek and Oasis Springs. Then they shipped me Windenburg that looked like Europe and I had no freaking idea how to fit it into my story. I ended up knocking down some mountains and opening up the water, and now it's become Copper County, my third region. As best it can be without world editing tools, anyway.

TS4 is still being developed and they're still making new worlds for us. That's great, because we desperately need the space! But it means that my game is still constantly changing, so new areas come along all the time that I need to figure out what to do with. I have decided that three districts is well enough for me to keep track of (since each district needs its own schools, communities, leadership, and economy), while having some variety and space for my towns. The three areas that I chose are differentiated enough in climate and landscape that I think I should be able to find a good fit within for whatever kind of world they give us next. (The world from the new Pets EP will fit nicely in Wisconsin for me!)

We will imagine the other US states of 2086 are doing just fine and carrying on off-camera. Just, none of my sims will ever be allowed to move to Florida or Colorado or Maine, lol!

Anyway.


Now, the law of the lands: 

I know it's always fun to put up public elections for you guys to vote on, but since this is my first round of elections in TS4 and since I have 15 positions to fill and somehow not enough sims even though I have freaking 219 of them (!!!), collaborative elections will have to wait until next time. The problem is that I still have a lack of older qualified sims in my towns since I remade the younger generations first, many who were former townies and had no parents. Their non-existent parents would have been the generation in leadership at the moment. So I'm struggling to fill those gaps without making even more sims. In future elections as these sims age and gain experience in their fields, I expect there to be plenty of sims available to contest some of these positions. This time around, I was lucky enough to pick one for each spot.

As for politics in my world, it's mostly made up for my own purposes here. Each district has a Governor, and that position is the highest it goes. No presidents, just three governors, and their three votes hold the most power. Each district will also have a certain number of council members to represent the individual towns, depending on its population size. At the moment, it's roughly one council member for every ~36 sims. At the moment, Mid-Atlantic has three, Lakes has one, and Pacific has two. This will likely change as sims move around, as we get new worlds for sims to live in, and as the census is recalculated.

Those (currently) nine elected positions are the only sims who are allowed to enter the Public Service branch of the Politics career in my game. To enter the Lobbyist branch, their job would need to be sponsored and paid for by a company in my world.

In addition to those nine, there are six more cabinet positions. These are:
- Secretary of the Treasury (Business/Taxes/Public Benefits)
- Education Minister (Education)
- Secretary of Defense (Military/Astronauts/Secret Agents)
- Chief of Police (Law Enforcement)
- Justice of the Courts (Law/Politics... until we get a proper lawyer career)
- Secretary of Development (Science/Construction/Preservation/National Parks)

These sims all have specific jobs and responsibilities, as well as staff to assist them.

While the elected positions are chosen by a vote of their constituents (or else a blog vote, if I ever do one), the cabinet positions are appointed by the governors. (As gameplay, that could be whoever each of the three like best on their friendship panels, whoever has the most friends in the world, the most job experience, or whatever.)

Governors hold office for terms of four years at a time, as do cabinet members. Council Members are up for re-election every two years.

***

November 12, 2086, Election Day


Governor, Mid-Atlantic: Cecil Martin


Cecil Martin, age 49, came to Potomac Heights to serve as Justice of the Courts, where his rulings were described as firm, but fair. Although he has little experience in politics, he is held in high esteem by his friends and neighbors, who all felt that his sage guidance would benefit the Mid-Atlantic District well.


Cecil has one daughter, Juliette, who is in middle school. His wife, Sloane, has devoted her life to raising their daughter and lending her time to the local schools and charities.


The Mid-Atlantic Governor's Mansion (not built by me) is located in Fort Palmetto, South Carolina.

Also congratulations to the following Council Members from the Mid-Atlantic District:

District #07: Fort Palmetto: Chantal Powell
— Chantal Powell, age 38, is an entrepreneur, owner of the Powell Building in Magnolia Park, SC (#22), which houses Powell's Finery, The Hope Chest, and Bytes Cafe. She has one son, Eric, who is in high school.

District #11: Fort Palmetto: Edith Collins
— Edith Collins, age 66, has spent her life serving her church and family, and now she looks forward to serving the community of Fort Palmetto. Wife of Rev. Matthias Collins, mother to Bruce Collins, and grandmother to Jacob and Susie.

District #23: Potomac Heights: Dorothy Banks
— Dorothy Banks, age 46, was a proud leader of the PTA for many years while her boys were in school, and now she looks forward to representing Potomac Heights. Her husband, Reginald Banks, is a nominee for Chief of Police, and her two grown sons are Calvin and Desmond.

—

Governor, Lakes: Toby Harris


Toby Harris, age 46, is a lifelong resident of the Lakes District. He was born in Lakeside Heights, Michigan and studied Political Science at Sim State University. He returned back home to serve first on the Lake City Council, then later as representative of Lakes District #30: Lakeside Heights for twelve years.

He moved his family north to Copper County in 2084.


He has two grown daughters, Sarah and Lucy, and his son Samuel is in high school. His wife, Angela, taught high school for sixteen years, and university for four years. She has been nominated this year for Education Minister.


The Lakes Governor's Mansion (built by me) is located in Old Town Ironwood, Michigan.

Also congratulations to the following Council Member from the Lakes District:

Lakes District #31: Copper County: Sharon Coolidge
— Sharon Coolidge, age 32, owns Coolidge House Country Inn in Copper Hill, MI, known for its Sunday Brunch, Supper Club, and many popular seasonal festivals and celebrations. She is excited to bring her zest for leadership and community engagement to her role as representative.

—

Governor, Pacific: Fallon Pickett


Fallon Pickett, age 45, hails from Simtown, Florida (my SFP game) where he served at Mayor for four years. He then moved to Fort Palmetto, serving as Council Member of Mid-Atlantic District #07 for six years.

He moved with his family to Sierra Nova two years ago when his daughter, Emaline, earned a place in a gifted high school program through Sierra Nova University. Although the family has only been out west for two years, Fallon feels his experience and enthusiasm to lead will be a great benefit the district.


Pictured with his family: youngest daughter Penelope, oldest daughter Emaline, and son Wylie. His wife, Angel, is a pediatrician.


The Governor Pacific's residence is in Catalina, California. (In an apartment because I was so out of space in Sierra Nova and had nowhere else suitable to put them, lol! I hardly have any sims rich enough for these uptown apartments anyway, so might as well give one to the governor!)

Also congratulations to the following Council Member from the Lakes District:

District #62: Sierra Nova: Blake Miller
— Blake Miller, age 41, was born in Lake City, MI and moved to Sierra Nova with his family in 2085. He graduated from Sim State University with a degree in Political Science. He was a member of the Lake City town planning board for six years. His wife, Clarice, runs the Sierra Sun magazine, and he has two school-aged children, Elliot and Emily.

District #74, Catalina: Wesley Grant
— Wesley Grant, age 28, was born in Sunrise Shores, FL, and moved to Catalina in 2082, where he worked as a lobbyist for the Speak for the Trees Foundation. He is passionate about the environment and animal rights. He lives with his girlfriend, Cleo.

—

Cabinet Positions appointed, 2086:

- Secretary of the Treasury: Aurora Miguel-Jackson, serving since 2083. This is her 2nd term.

- Education Minister: Angela Harris, 1st term. Taking over from Alice Nova.

- Secretary of Defense: Cabe Deppiesse, serving since 2079. This is his 3rd term.

- Chief of Police: Reginald Banks, 1st term. Taking over from Micah Phoenix.

- Justice of the Courts: Jennifer Beech, 1st term. Taking over from Cecil Martin.

- Secretary of Development: Levi Bachman, 1st term. New position.

All elected and appointed officials will take office in January of 2087.

— campaign picspam —

* Sorry, there was no way I was going to take pictures of everyone! But I got picspam from some.

Blake Miller, giving his speeches on the campaign trail.


He wanted to give a shout out to the environmental groups to secure some last minute votes. He hears that environmental causes are popular with the people of California.



With his lovely wife, Clarice, who may have posted a few gleaming articles about him in her newspaper. That doesn't hurt.


Madison Riley lent her endorsement to Reginald Banks for Police Chief. He is a good friend of the family and experienced police officer.

For undisclosed reasons, after two terms as governor of the Lakes District, Madison Riley did not seek office of any kind this year. She has not said whether this marks her official retirement. 

Sharon's face when she found out she won the council position, lol!

Also, a timely trait to add to her resume. It looks like leadership is in her future after all! 

True story: I think Sharon may be the very first of any of my TS4 sims to ever complete an aspiration! The poor things, I play them so freaking slow, many of them will probably never get to complete theirs. But this "Leader of the Pack" one is pretty easy to finish in a short amount of time. Some, like the family ones that require children to grow up, could take a lifetime to complete. Which is the point, I guess. But that's why I give them at least two to work on at a time. 

"Ugh, Mom, can we change out of these clothes now? This shirt is so hot and this sweater is so itchy and we're dying!"