Re: Town Meeting

[Ivy]

Hugo stands up, collecting his book and Glaive along the way to the door.

"I think I see how this is going to go. I'll leave you to proselytize then. Have fun making friends."

With that, Hugo steps out the door, having left a note where he had been seated.

[Datura Shinso]

"Conversation with people who aren't ready to act is superfluous anyways."

[Jaya]

"Exactly we're talking about a God here, you'd want to piss one off? What are you gonna do against a God? That's a fight I'd love to see...

I'm also not debating religion, gods or whatever. I'm just saying we shouldn't piss a God off."

Turning to Orin "Choosing to worship or not won't change the fact Faerie exists no matter what you do."

[Datura Shinso]

"Take your own advice. Furthermore, if I were you, I'd be more concerned with the problems in this room. The ones you can see."

[Grayfeared the Whitehawk]

"Ah yes, back to the problems we can see. We can clearly see we lack a council, and a sheriff."

[Jaya]

"Is that a threat Datura? Because I have no time for that nonsense, you and I don't see eye to eye that's fine don't need to get hostile. If so that just proves my point that some people in this town are quick to violence and also that people aren't going to feel safe.

You all witnessed it so if I come to harm, you know where to look."

[Auron Warfield]

"Agreed. Let's leave any debates regarding Fae things for another time, shall we? We have far more pressing concerns."

Auron folds his arms. "It seems that we will be unable to assign or vote in a sheriff until we decide exactly who that sheriff will serve. Will they serve the will of the townsfolk, or the will of a council? The ideal candidate changes based on that decision, so we should make up our minds on whether or not a council will be formed first. Does that seem fair to everyone present?"

[Datura Shinso]

"Coming from the elf that just tried to use their god as threatening material against me, that's rich. And by problems, I'm talking about our lack of government. You're the only one who's issued threats here."

[Grayfeared the Whitehawk]

"Yes Auron, selecting a council first sounds fair. That's where my vote goes."

[Durkis]

A green figure in a blue robe sips ale loudly at the back of the inn, having trouble with the mug not quite fitting between their tusks.

"I sshay, have you all consshidered another possshibility to the counsshil idea?

None of you ssheem to have a very clear idea of sshtatesmansship or the running of larges groupssh of people. (in a softer voice:) Or how treacheroussh elvessh are without the code.

Insshtead of electing a counsshil, which will alwayssh be plagued with accusshations of corruption and illrepresshentation, why don't you consider in wardssh of like-minded people of constant groupssh, sshay, five, and elect from among you, assh each group ssheessh fit, a sshingle represshentative whosshe job it is to represshent thosshe five.

Looking around, I can't imagine that would more than five or sshix representativessh and there would be little accusshationssh of who should be on the counsshil. And of coursshe each ward can desshide either to keep the same represshentative all the time or consshatantly elect a new one assh they choosshe.

The represshetatives can then disshcusssh isshuessh with their ward at their leisshure.


Could I get sshome more ale?"

[Ardin Gallagher]

*Ardin turns towards the orc, and ponders for a moment,*

"I agree with the patron in blue. If we were to have representatives for each of the groups in Holdfast, it would alleviate the burden of trying to get everyone together at once, would act as a council of sorts for any sheriff to answer to, would speed up communications and decisions by not bringing unnecessary arguments or accusations to the table,"

*Ardin eyes Datura and Jaya as the final point is said,*

"and would still allow freedom of the townspeople, as if the group doesn't like their representative, they can decide on a new one at their own leisure. Each representative will act on behalf of their respective group, and no other group will get a say in who gets appointed other then their own representative. This will ensure that corruption of a small population will never extend so far as to cause issues with town decisions.

For sake of example, let's take the Knights. If they were to elect Pierre, then he would be the sole voice of all knights and would be the only one required to come to such meetings. Other knights may come if they wish, but only their ears may take part, even if they disagree with what Pierre is saying they would not speak up. The decision is made as per the representatives and the meeting concluded, whatever was determined will be set in stone. At this point, if the groups have a problem with what their representative- and only theirs- said, they will decide between themselves if Pierre still represents the Knights' wishes, and if not then they can replace him as they see fit. This also helps with a problem a council would bring; what if a member is to leave? Pierre has pressing matters outside this town that would leave him unable to be nominated as part of a council, but if he were to leave as a representative then the Knights would just elect another member to speak on their behalf temporarily until such a time as Pierre is back. Does this sound to be the best choice of action moving forward?"

*Ardin turns back towards the orc who spoke up,*

"Thank you for your thoughts of reason on the matter,"

[Joy Rosewood]

*Joy goes over and picks up Hugo's note and reads it, then heads back to her seat*

*Joy looks at the green figure in the blue robe*

"Hey, zat sounds like a goot idea. Iz not far off from how my troupe approaches ze issue of leadership."

"And uh, my vote for sherrif is for Gurok. She might be orky, but she has a heart of justice. Ve can also have another sherrif, a co-sherrif if you vill, zat vasn't chosen by faerie. If ze run into disagreement about somezing, zen ve can bring ze council in on it. Vat do people zink about zat?"

*Joy sips some ale*

[Grayfeared the Whitehawk]

"The last time we tried to have a larger council it didn't end well. Do we even have 5 groups in Holdfast? The only ones I can see that work to divide us are the knights, the fey, and the neutral parties."

[Ardin Gallagher]

“Even just three representatives is an acceptable start. If we have the Knights, Fey, and the other party, we can make the foundations of a system and grow and refine it from there. The only other options are either to let the sheriff have sole control over the town decisions, elect a council which leads to a whole host of issues, or have the entirety of the town be involved with every issue which, as is clearly evident right now, isn’t a viable choice if we want actual progress,”

[Durkis]

"You ssheem to have missshed a key idea in the ward sshysshtem. Insshtead of electing by interesshessht groupssh, you elect by numberssh. Ssho insshtead of the knightssh having one represshentative, if there wassh 18 knightssh, they might perhapssh have 3 representativessh if they desshided to all group together, and then 3 other knightssh would part of a differert ward.

I sshtrongly doubt that your politicssh dividessh you as cleanly into two campssh on all divisshive or desshisshion making issshuessh assh you think. At bessht, that'ssh only the politicssh of today. By sshelf-sshelection of ward groupssh to a maximum sshize, and by requirement of the represshentativessh to follow the mandate of their own electorate, you maintain perfect flexhibility.

Ssho how many people are in your commune? Fifty? Ssheventy? I notisshed the bunkhousshe wassh rather sshmall, do you bunk together? SShome of you look quite attractive I'm hoping for that opsshion. With fifty people, and a ward sshize of 5, you would have 10 wardssh and 10 represshentativessh. You may prefer ssheven or eight to a ward, which would have eight and ssheven represshentativessh directly."

[Ardin Gallagher]

*Ardin takes a quick look at Hugo’s note while Durkis talks.*

“Having more representatives for a larger population is certainly needed, as it stands I haven’t seen enough people around to warrant having multiple representatives per group currently. Perhaps there are enough Fey around to have another for them, but that is something to be worked out in due time, for now we should focus on determining which type of governing authority we are actually going with,”

*Ardin takes out a quill and paper, writing while he talks.*

“We currently have nominations for the following methods of governing Holdfast:
Leave all decisions to whoever is appointed the sheriff.
Elect a council who will make all decisions and who the sheriff reports to.
Have representatives for each group of the population who will act on the group’s behalf.
Leave things as they are and have everyone attend meetings for any decision.

Does anyone have any questions, objections to what’s currently on the list, or nominations for other forms of government that I've missed before we hold a vote? If so, now is the time to let your voice be heard or forevermore let your silence be your acceptance,”

[Gurok]

That sounds great. We could count up the people and devide into groups accordingly. Each group, depending on the size, will either elect one or two representatives for a council, who will I discuss important matters, make decisions on a behalf
a of the town, and form laws. The town will elect one or two sherrifs, and the Sherriffs will uphold the laws. The next question is, should the Sherifs be allowed to also have a position on the council?

[Durkis]

"In my experiensshe, ssheriff'ssh tend to alwayssh argue for violenssh and unnesshessheshry combat. So at all costssh, they sshould be prevented from having any posshition of authority whatsshoever, esshpesshilly in termssh of legisshlature or law enforsshment. They are exsshellent at being adjudicatorshs for foot rasshesshs and wresshtling matchessh."

[Ardin Gallagher]

“To have a sheriff have a direct influence on such matters may be seen as a conflict of interests. It’s to my belief that a sheriff is only to enforce what has already been put in place. If there can come no resolution from the group on what to do, perhaps the sheriff could have their voice cast as a tiebreaker, but beyond that there should be no influence,”

[Degren Brightforge]

"Apologies, I seem to have forgotten my voice was back. I've spoken at length with Lady Val about this concept before, and we both believed that a Council of three would likely be for the best. The people of this town live a dual life. One half of that life is peaceful and joyous, one where the people have the time to sit around and speak about their issues. The other half, unfortunately, is not so peaceful. That aspect of our lives involves much blood and takes away much of our time. It is for times like that, that we require our small council. It is for times that require quick and decisive reasoning that it will be made. Should we have five or more people on that council, we will begin to see a repeat of the failures of our past council.
In so far as who we choose to be Sheriff, I'm not sure who we should choose, but I believe that the Council should be the ones making that decision, and should likewise be the ones who are forced to live with the consequences of that decision. Many of the people here fear that the council will be used against them, that it will be corrupt or used for personal gain. That fear is good, because it will keep the council accountable for its actions. The members of the council should always be working in the interest of the people, and should enough people think that they have swayed from that position, then the members in question will find themselves in a very dangerous situation.
Datura, I understand that you have powerful feelings towards the fae gods, and I agree with you. But Jaya is not that god, nor is she able to speak for it. We should will ensure that the god has no say in our affairs, not because of what happened in the mists, but because we are a multi-faith society. Giving one religion control over the rest of the people, which is what we would be doing if we allowed them to control the very foundations of our lawmaking would only invite restlessness and hate from the people who have been excluded for the sake of the fae. But we must also not forget that the fae are a part of our lives, a part that brings with is more good than bad. For now, I ask we stop speaking about gods, elves, humans, and fae; and instead focus on the fact that we all have much more in common than we have in difference. I would also remind you, Sir Shinzo, that you are sworn to protect the people in this town, regardless of their religion or faith. It would be best that you don't start picking fights with those under your protection, and that you start acting like the Knight that you are-- but I will speak to you at length about this later, I have other issues we need to speak about with you as well.
I do recommend caution in who we choose as our council members. I've noticed some strange behavior from several of the people who have returned from the mists, and I have cause to believe that some of them are not in total control of their minds. If we are not careful, we may give majority vote to people who are not in complete control, and may be mistakenly giving the power of Holdfast to an outside entity. I simply urge caution on our members.
However, that said, I think we need to begin choosing our council members, and I ,for one, would like to see Lady Val in one of those positions. She has been a calm mind in this town and has been here longer than many others. Her connections in and out of Holdfast have, in the past, been a great boon to us, and I believe they will continue to do so.

[Grayfeared the Whitehawk]

I would support lady Val in this endeavor. I would also support you, Degren. In taking a position.

[Datura Shinso]

*scoff*

[Degren Brightforge]

Degren nods, " Thank you Grayfeared. I appreciate your support." He turns to Datura, "Are we going to have a problem, here?"

[Datura Shinso]

"You know as well as I do the problem was not started here. It started months ago."

[Joy Rosewood]

"Vell spoken Degren. I also support Lady Val, if she vants ze position."

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