Here ye, here ye... election time is upon us in Hathian! The City Council was established a few years ago after a long, long drought without a played city government. It's both fun, but difficult water to tread at times simply because the power with these roles, even IC, only truly go so far. That said, there's a lot of effect this group can have on the story of Crack Den, and if you're interested in participating, read below!

For those of you who weren't around previously, this is an excellent opportunity for those whom aren't involved in any gang on sim or criminal activity who otherwise wouldn't experience much position of power to now try their hand at politics and making Hathian... managable. Or perhaps you like a bit of corruption, and plan on pushing through laws to further your own pocket. There's many avenues to take this (and a few avenues you cannot go).

Which is to as clarify, as was the case last year: those with extensive, serious criminal backgrounds will not be able to run. A brief background check conducted by the Elections Board will review each application. Those with legitimate arrests (not fake charges) for repeated felonies committed in the past 6 months, especially if they were in the last 3 months like aggravated assaults and rapes, attacks on officers , terrorism , gang assaults, and IC known gang affiliations and correlating arrests will be IC disqualified. Those folks will receive a letter IC notified of such.

There will be a few changes going forward:

1. Return of NPC Mayor, Bobby Boxer! While we've had fun with this role being played by an actual player, the role itself is a bit too limited and complicated to make it really worthwhile. The essence of power the role has is more like... it appears to have much, but really not much at all. A player cannot actually replace municipal leads, cannot close businesses, or some of the more treacherous things a RL mayor could do, so it becomes daunting to continually find reasons to fail. We feel it best going forward to return to our overinflated, coke-addicted, do-nothing, movie-quoting NPC Mayor (fresh outta rehab!), and have our players stick to the less limited RP role of councilman.
2. This said, players CAN run for mayor regardless, but with the OOC-only knowledge that they will lose due to corruption (which will not be publically known), & will not end up on the Council.
3. City Council will have 4 positions available. If one of these people drops out or fails to participate, we will reach out first to others who previously ran to see if they still want to join, in order of how many votes they received. Having another election or leaving the slot open for the next year doesn't work very well. If those interested don't choose to join, then we'll look into other options. We won't be having elections again until next year.

A few key things to remember:

1. The goal of this is roleplay. Campaign! Meet people in the street. Hold rallies or town halls. Pick up your soapbox and just start speaking. From personal experience, I found this to be way more fun that anticipated, & I met many different people on sim because of it.
2. You may put up a total of 3 posters around Hathian. If you're not able to, pass Perina McGinnis your texture, and she'll do it. After the election is completed, all posters will be returned if not picked up by the following day.
3. Even if your character does not win, it is not the end! Previously, the council has reached out to other candidates to serve on committees or be part of a "brain trust" so to speak. The possibilities are there.
4. The Council does not have the power to remove, replace, or hire Municipal Staff. This is an OOC rule that does not bend, but can be easily explained IC. As of last year, the HPD are now independently funded by the state (who cares little about Hathian). FDH & HGH can be trickier to explain, but instead of focusing on getting rid of potentional problems, embrace the tug-of-war... if it even comes to that.
5. The frequency in which the Council meets will be up to those who are elected. The timing and such is in your hands! Peri will oversee the behind-the-scenes OOC and be available for questions/concerns/etc, but organization will largely be the council's responsibility. The goal should always be roleplay, and whatever is RP positive (encourages it vs. shutting it down).

Voting will take place March 17-19 starting at 2pm SLT with polling stations located at the CU Gym, HPD Lobby, and the Civil Services building currently being cleaned up for use again. If you have any questions, please ask below, or IM Perina McGinnis, either inworld or DM on twitter @yoperina.

Timeline:
Monday, March 6th - Registration opens & campaigning begins
Monday, March 13th - Registration closes
Friday, March 17th 2pm SLT - Polling stations open
Sunday, March 19th 8pm SLT - Polling stations close, winners announced by 10pm SLT

Click here to register!