Washington 2017: The US Political RP [CLOSED] OOC Pt. IX

[Uttland]

Fate just does not want me on NS. First I got deathly ill, then I had to make up work that I missed so I couldn't go on NS, then I got a job, then lost that job, and now I'm looking for another job.

Big oofs all around

[Uttland]

:rofl:

Oh, Ferdinand.

WTF lol

Seriously, if he actually does something I’ll be surprised.

[Uttland]

It’s actually happening then

[The Portland Territory]

(Image)
It’s actually happening then

kek, look at this:

[Bruke]

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: ?
Character Name: Kelly Palmer
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 62
Character Height: 5 feet 8 inches?
Character Weight: 156 pounds?
Character Position/Role/Job: former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector (1994-1998), State Senator for the the 34th District (from 2014 to present)
Appearance: (Photo preferred, not required)

Character State of Origin: California
Character State of Residence: California
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Main Strengths: good public speaker, good people person, well-known in the state GOP
Main Weaknesses: With his district becoming more competitive, Palmer risks alienating the conservative voters and activists who put him in office in the first place. Thrill-seeker who likes to take risks (mountain-climbing, bike racing). Also: le incident (SEE BELOW):

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Kelly Palmer (birth name was Kees Pikaart) was born in 1955, in Ripon, California, the only child of Bram and Claudia Pikaart. Bram was an almond farmer, and Claudia sold home-made knitted goods. After Pram's farm was bought out by a larger grower when Kelly was 10, the family could not survive there, and left for greener pastures. After living with distant relatives in Shoshone for 6 years, they moved south to Garden Grove, in Orange County. Pram found work at Ganahl Lumber. It was quite a step down from owning his own land and working his own hours, but he told his son: "we've made the best of what we have." Meanwhile, Claudia went to night school and became a secretary at a local law office.

Kelly was a bright young man, and decided to become an attorney. He went to UCLA's Anderson School of Management for his MBA with an emphasis in finance, and attended its School of Law, where he specialized in securities law (a decision he made in part after his father lost a small fortune investing in penny stocks). He attended UCLA for his master's and his JD on a full scholarship.

By 1980, Palmer had joined the new law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, which had been founded 5 years earlier. While working for Stradling, he moved to the western part of Garden Grove, a more upscale part of the city where he still lives today.

This was done in part to be closer to his girlfriend from high school, Maxine (who had attended Pacifica High School, not the different but nearby high school he went to). Maxine was an aspiring actress, who performed at the Garden Grove Playhouse that was also in the area.

By the time Palmer made his first run for office, the couple were married and had two children, a daughter named Alexa and a son named Matt (born in 1989 and 1987, respectively).

Orange County had just declared bankruptcy due to mismanagement of the county's investments. Palmer ran for Treasurer-Tax Collector on a platform of transparency and risk-averse stance in managing investments. While in office there, he and his team of advisors successfully helped the county get through the worst of the bankruptcy years. When his first term was finished in 1998, many called on him to run again, but instead he opted to return to the private sector.

His experience at Stradling and his public sector service made him a good fit for his next job, as a portfolio manager. He easily passed his exam to recieve his state license, and he was soon recruited by PIMCO for a senior position at the firm. He was let go in 2009, in the midst of the Recession; afterwards, he chose to take a sabbatical to focus on spending time with his family.

In 2014 Palmer was approached to run for the state senate race after the presumed Republican candidate dropped out due to health concerns. The state GOP considered this a top priority, as the previous Democratic incumbent was term-limited. Palmer won the race based on his record for sound fiscal management, and with the endorsement of a previous state senator from the district, Sydney Cao.

In the State Senate, Palmer is a member of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, where he oversees the work of the Legislative Analyst's Office, California's equivalent to the Congressional Budget Office. He is also a member of the Standing Committee on Public Employment and Retirement, where he looks over all legislation related to CALPERS.

Le incident:

When Kelly was 16, he had just saved up enough money working to buy himself a used 1957 Ford Thunderbird. He was dating Stephanie Miller, of nearby Pahrump, Nevada.

The couple had only been together a year, but had already talked of future plans such as marriage. A pregnancy scare, at the beginning of sophomore year, changed things dramatically.

Both fearing their parents would disown them, they went on the run for a year, and:

[*]Conned each family out of enough money to get to Las Vegas for a drive-thru wedding and marriage license.
[*]Obtained and used fake IDs to fool the authorities into thinking they were in their 20s (both looked older than their age)
[*]Went on a cross-country road trip, funded through winnings from the Binion's Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas (again, used a fake ID)
[*]Found a decent-sized diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park, which Kelly had a Little Rock jeweler set in an engagement ring for Stephanie

They were arrested for speeding outside Memphis, and also charged with driving with a fake license, and using fake IDs, among other crimes.

After spending two years in state prison, each were released, with the two never seeing each other again (for now!)

Positions:

Abortion: pro-life, except for cases of rape or incest

Marriage: between man and woman, has not made up mind on civil unions

Affirmative action: against, promotes ideal of "blind hiring/recruitment" instead

Environment: supports conservation, clean energy, and pollution control, but is wary of overburdening businesses and consumers. Wants to end the Green Shift, in favor of tax incentives and streamlining regulations.

Guns: against bans like the one on assault weapons, supports California participating in the national background check system and developing the APPS system for use by state and local law enforcement. He is a concealed carry permit-holder and member of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, the state affiliate of the NRA.

Taxes: wants to simplify tax code, especially for investors and small businesses. Favors modest across the board cuts over large targeted cuts.

Welfare: favors private charity over public assistance whenever possible

Pensions: has been a sharp critic of CALPERS and other state pensions for years. Believes that state pension systems must be independent and accountable, or privatized in favor of 401k-style accounts controlled by state employees themselves.

Education: supports school choice, especially through the use of tax credits and vouchers.

Other Info:

Kelly is called "Wild Man Kelly" or "the Wildman" by close friends because of his can-do attitude, fit physique, and love of the outdoors.

Palmer changed his first name to Kelly after graduating high school. This was because in high school, he was nicknamed "Kelly" (as in Gene Kelly) for a song and dance number he performed when asking Maxine to the prom.

Palmer changed his last name to Palmer, referring to Mount Palmer on the California-Nevada border. Mount Palmer was the first mountain he had ever climbed, and it was on the road to Nevada... When living near Death Valley, Pram would every so often drive himself and his son out to Las Vegas to see the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe.

Through exposure to the game, Palmer developed a liking for poker in his younger years, and became the second amateur poker player to ever win the World Series of Poker, in 1985. In the years afterwards, he gave up poker because of growing obligations at work (he was about to be made partner at Stradling) and the disapproval of his wife.

Palmer has been described as an exercise fanatic: in his younger years, he enjoyed mountain-climbing, and is an avid biker, having rode in the Tour of California twice. He served as a volunteer for the local Let's Move campaign in Orange County.

Palmer is a parishioner of the Christian Reformed Church, but has been a long-standing donor to and attendee of the Crystal Cathedral (which is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America).

Palmer is a member of the California Republican Lawyers Association and the California Republican Assembly. He is also a member of the Sierra Club, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and the Orange County Bar Association.

Do Not Remove: 84721

[Bruke]

I decided to give up on having Kelly Palmer for myself, but I opened up to the rest of you. If you like him, you can have him.

[Ordennya]

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Ordennya
Character Name: Kenneth John Scott
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 46
Character Height: 5'10"
Character Weight: 121lb
Character Role: Director of Communications for the Progressive National Committee
Appearance:

Character State of Origin: Minnesota
Character State of Residence: Washington
Character Party Affiliation: Progressive, previously Democrat
Main Strengths: Known in media circles, political background, strong willed, experienced.
Main Weaknesses: Autism in the form of Asperger’s syndrome, short tempered, sometimes prone to anxiety, generally pessimistic, alienated colleagues with party switch
Biography: Kenneth was born on February 8th 1972 in Bemidji, Minnesota, to farming parents. Both of his parents were Democrats, and the last in a long family line of blue-collar workers. He was bought up as a farmer, while also attending school in Bemidji. Upon graduating from high school, he left his parents’ farm at 18 and went to study at the University of Minnesota for a degree in Journalism. He funded his studies by working two part-time jobs, one as a freelance writer for various newspapers in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and the other as a fast-food restaurant cashier. He graduated with a relatively good degree in Journalism at the age of 21 and went to work at the Star Tribune newspaper as a State Political Correspondent, before being moved to Washington DC as their Hill Correspondent. When he was 27, he was offered a job by the US arm of the Guardian newspaper, as their DC correspondent. He accepted the position and became a regular face at Capitol Hill press briefings, leading to him becoming well known in various political circles.
A registered Democrat at the time, Kenneth had his eye on entering politics in some form throughout his career. His working-class upbringing meant that he felt he had a strong grasp of working class issues, and wanted to put that experience to good use. When he was 32, he was approached by the Democratic Senator from Washington, who asked Kenneth to be his Director of Communications for her re-election bid in the 2004 general election. Kenneth accepted the position and took a leave of absence from the Guardian and co-ordinated the Senator’s media strategy in Seattle. Her re-election bid was successful in the face of a Republican win in the general election, and Kenneth was offered a place in her team as her main PR advisor. In the end, Kenneth rejected the position to return to his journalism career in DC but decided to buy a house in Seattle.
In 2006, he left the Guardian newspaper and moved to Seattle full time to run for the Seattle City Council in 2007. He won the local Democratic primary in a Republican-held ward and won election to the council by a very narrow margin. Whilst on the council, he largely fell in line with the Seattle Democrats and voted through various measures aimed at helping working class people. One of the main causes he championed was access to housing, as his ward had the largest population of homeless people in the city. He drafted a measure which would provide temporary accommodation for homeless people and would provide money to assist them in finding permanent housing, funded by a small tax increase on the highest earners. The measure passed 5-4, and Kenneth won re-election in 2011.
In 2014, he was approached by an Independent candidate from the State of New York by the name of James Harper, who needed a campaign manager, having unsuccessfully run for office in New York multiple times, and this time was running for the House of Representatives. Kenneth was initially puzzled by the young Independent as to why they weren’t running as a Democrat, but accepted the job nonetheless. He resigned his seat on the city council a year earlier than he intended, as he didn’t want to run for a second term, and assisted Harper’s efforts in New York. He helped Harper secure the backing of the Working Families Party, and he was subsequently elected as Senator by a very narrow margin of 43% to 42% over the Republican candidate, while the Democratic candidate won 14%. Kenneth then accepted the position as Harper’s Chief Strategist and Communications Director on Capitol Hill. This came at a cost, however, and his work on Harper's campaign had alienated many of his colleagues in the Democratic Party.
In 2016, Kenneth left his job in Harper's office to co-ordinate the Democratic campaign on the West Cost out of Seattle. As the primary season dragged on, however, he became more and more disillusioned with what the Democratic Party was turning into, nor did he feel comfortable supporting any of the Democratic Primary candidates, as all of them were pretty dismal, in his view. He left his job at the Democratic Party and offered his services to the Washington Progressives, where he worked as a PR adviser for the Progressive's West Coast operations, a move that further alienated his contacts within the Democrats.
After the 2016 election, Kenneth was promoted from his position in Seattle to Director of Communications for the Progressive National Committee. In his view, the Democrats have all but abandoned the working classes and liberal voters, and sees that the Progressives have a chance to undercut both the Republicans and the Democrats to become major force in US politics.
Despite his position in the PNC, Kenneth does have the aspiration to run for Congress in the future.
Other Info: I previously played the aforementioned ex-Senator James Harper. I suppose Kenneth would be classified as a non-elected politician given how he's an operative who used to be a Seattle City Councillor. No, I will not be bringing back Harper. Harper now lives in the United Kingdom as a policy adviser to the Labour Party.

Do Not Remove: 84721

[Tallahassee News Station]

(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Ordennya
Character Name: Kenneth John Scott
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 45
Character Height: 5'10"
Character Weight: 121lb
Character Role: Director of Communications for the Progressive National Committee
Appearance:

(Image)

Character State of Origin: Minnesota
Character State of Residence: Washington
Character Party Affiliation: Progressive, previously Democrat and Independent
Main Strengths: Known in media circles, political background, strong willed, effective speaker, strong political and economic knowledge, experienced
Main Weaknesses: Prone to anxiety, short-tempered, unwavering attention to detail, uncompromising
Biography: Kenneth was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. Both of his parents were Democrats from farming families, and bought Kenneth up with strong working class values. He was educated at public schools in Duluth, where he showed aptitude for civics and public affairs. His high grades earned him a scholarship to the University of the Twin Cities, studying a degree in Politics & Economics, where he graduated at the top of his class. He went on to study a degree in Journalism at the University of New York, and started working for the Guardian newspaper as a political correspondent in Washington D.C, eventually becoming the Guardian's US Political Editor at the age of 34.
After two years as the Guardian's US political editor, during which time Kenneth became well known in political circles on capitol hill in both political parties, he accepted a job offer in Seattle, Washington, as the Director of Communications for an Independent Senator from Washington, himself a registered Independent at the time. The Senator's re-election bid was successful, and Kenneth was offered a permanent position within the Senator's team, which he turned down, instead wanting to launch his own political career, announcing a run for the Seattle City Council, for which he was successful. He served two terms on the Seattle City Council before running for the Mayor's office at the age of 41 as an Independent, losing narrowly to the Green candidate. After serving a third term on the Seattle city council, he returned to journalism, before being offered a role as Campaign Manager for New York Senator and Independent James Harper in his re-election bid, for which he announced a run for the Democratic nomination in his state. He accepted the role, but Harper lost the primary to an establishment-backed Democrat. Having become disillusioned with Democratic infighting during the election, both men joined the insurgent Progressive Party. Harper launched an unsuccessful re-election bid for the Senate as a Progressive, whilst Kenneth returned to Seattle to work as a PR adviser for the Progressive Party's Washington operations. Following the general election he was promoted to the position of Director of Communications for the Progressive National Committee. He splits his time between Seattle and D.C., and is unmarried. Despite his position within the PNC, Kenneth does still have his eye on running for office at some stage.
Other Info: I previously played the aforementioned ex-Senator James Harper. I suppose Kenneth would be classified as a non-elected politician given how he's an operative who used to be a Seattle City Councillor. No, I will not be bringing back Harper. Harper now lives in the United Kingdom as a policy adviser to the Labour Party.

Do Not Remove: 84721

Independent Senators are extremely rare, so it'd be a no on creating one for a background. Harper going Prog would have been pretty big IC, but I guess there's no fixing that

For the app itself, major need of weakness. Working class values to top of the class to unusual youth success and acclaim as an Independent with almost everything as a strength so much that meticulous attention to detail is apparently a weakness.

[Tallahassee News Station]

Senate thread is gonna get a little weird now. Probably better in the future to wait for someone to respond before posting something like that instead of just saying it. No big deal though

[Uttland]

https://youtu.be/6JPcimrnXGA

Possible Reed economic plan?

[Tallahassee News Station]

Medina will be a big swing vote

[The Free Territory of Makhnovia]

When will we move on with the trial?

[Ordennya]

snip

Independent Senators are extremely rare, so it'd be a no on creating one for a background. Harper going Prog would have been pretty big IC, but I guess there's no fixing that

For the app itself, major need of weakness. Working class values to top of the class to unusual youth success and acclaim as an Independent with almost everything as a strength so much that meticulous attention to detail is apparently a weakness.

I have rewritten his entire biography and added some realistic weaknesses.

[Tallahassee News Station]

When will we move on with the trial?

You'd said you wanted to wait for Kelvi

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

When will we move on with the trial?

You'd said you wanted to wait for Kelvi

I thought I was waiting for Mak.

[Tallahassee News Station]

Independent Senators are extremely rare, so it'd be a no on creating one for a background. Harper going Prog would have been pretty big IC, but I guess there's no fixing that

For the app itself, major need of weakness. Working class values to top of the class to unusual youth success and acclaim as an Independent with almost everything as a strength so much that meticulous attention to detail is apparently a weakness.

I have rewritten his entire biography and added some realistic weaknesses.

For backstory issues, we actually had the New York primary with players, it wasn't a Carrollton Democrat that won. You'd actually said Harper wasn't running back then, and the election was done without him involved. I guess I can mess with the figures if he goes Prog in the general, but that's too much of a change to the past.

Weakness wise, try to get something substantial that either a public weakness or something that makes him less effective. What you've mostly got is just personality (and "not a person you want to make angry" is sounding more like another strength-weakness), while he's great at speaking, great connections, great experience, great attention to detail, great will, covers every base for actual practical things. Pare that down, and something like scandals in his past, controversial comments, doesn't know how to handle money, alienated contacts, something to level him out in actual effectivenss

[Tallahassee News Station]

You'd said you wanted to wait for Kelvi

I thought I was waiting for Mak.

Bleh.

You don't have any more witnesses, right?

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

I thought I was waiting for Mak.

Bleh.

You don't have any more witnesses, right?

No.

[Tallahassee News Station]

Bleh.

You don't have any more witnesses, right?

No.

Closing statement written up?

[Dentali]

opposition research time...

[Ordennya]

I have rewritten his entire biography and added some realistic weaknesses.

For backstory issues, we actually had the New York primary with players, it wasn't a Carrollton Democrat that won. You'd actually said Harper wasn't running back then, and the election was done without him involved. I guess I can mess with the figures if he goes Prog in the general, but that's too much of a change to the past.

Weakness wise, try to get something substantial that either a public weakness or something that makes him less effective. What you've mostly got is just personality (and "not a person you want to make angry" is sounding more like another strength-weakness), while he's great at speaking, great connections, great experience, great attention to detail, great will, covers every base for actual practical things. Pare that down, and something like scandals in his past, controversial comments, doesn't know how to handle money, alienated contacts, something to level him out in actual effectivenss

Okay so I've added more stuff to his weaknesses and cut back his strength, adding that his working with the Independent Harper in 2014 alienated his colleagues as did moving from the Democrats to the Progressives on the West Coast further alienated his colleagues, and cut out the bit about the 2016 Senate race as Harper wouldn't actually be running for re-election until 2020 (had a brain fart), so I could bring Harper back as his term isn't up yet, I think I'll stick with Kenneth as main guy for now, should he be accepted.

[Solomons Land]

I am looking for a new RP to be in. I got kicked from my previous 1, S4 of the NWA RP, for blocking a player that was being mean to me. So far, I have been in the Driselbia MRP, which I was kicked from for incompetence (I did not know enough about the time period,) which was my 1st RP. I then joined the NWA RP, S3. I saw that to completion, but I joined relatively late, so I was getting a tail end. The point if me telling you this is that I do not have a lot of experience and have been kicked from 2 of the 3 RPs I have been in (2 out of 2 if you count all seasons of the NWA RP as continuous. Side note: I was not banned from either the Driselbia nor the S4 RP, the former gave me a 6 month period to learn more about the time period which ended earlier this month, though I am not sure if it is even still running and S4 gave has kicked me until late June.) If you are informal and excepting of mistakes, I would love to join you. If not, this may not be the place for me.
Also, since the Driselbia and the NWA RPs were partially or fully conducted on Discord, I may need some help adjusting how I do moves.

---

Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Solomons Land
Character Name: John Erie Wilson
Character Gender: Male (does this really need to be stated)
Character Age: 31
Character Height: 6' 5"
Character Weight: 155 pounds
Character Position/Role/Job: Governor of Pennsylvania
Appearance: (Photo preferred, not required)
Character State of Origin: Pennsyvania
Character State of Residence: Not sure yet, somewhere is Harrisburg
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Main Strengths: Charisma, determination and athletics (this is going to be pretty useless in a governmental RP, but at 6' 5", he is very strong, if a bit underweight)
Main Weaknesses: Naïveté and the fact that he has not graduated
Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)
He grew up in the countryside of Carsonville. He moved to the city at 15. His family had died years before under suspicious circumstances and he had been forced to move in with his neighbors, the Smiths. He had enjoyed it there for the year he stayed, but he could sense, after a year, he had overstayed his welcome. He was soon hired as an under the counter resteraunt worker. He had no other choice but to work at bellow minimum wage, serving food to the rich while he was scrapping any penny he got. He was so poor, he slept behind the building and only ate the scraps. He had enough money for food and maybe even a descent house, but he was saving everything had got. Eventually, by chance, he ended up talking to 1 of the regulars, who he would learn was a high standing professor at Dixon university. Gary MNU Shepherd, the professor, convinced the university to give Wilson a free education and Shepherd personally gave him food and board. When the school year started, again, by coincidence, Shepherd ended up being Wilson's M.P.A. up to this day (he is working on a PhD and still has 2 more years to go.) He ran for governor at 19 and won. He served as mayor for 3 terms before running for governor. He won with 60% of the ballot. He hopes to find a more peaceful solution to what he sees as an unexeptable crime problem.
Other Info: pretty optimistic/idealistic (I do not know the difference, but I have heard there is a big difference,) often hurts people, both emociallaly and physically, without intent

Do Not Remove: 84721

prolieum this took me forever, but I finally finished, will you add Wilson.

[Tallahassee News Station]

I am looking for a new RP to be in. I got kicked from my previous 1, S4 of the NWA RP, for blocking a player that was being mean to me. So far, I have been in the Driselbia MRP, which I was kicked from for incompetence (I did not know enough about the time period,) which was my 1st RP. I then joined the NWA RP, S3. I saw that to completion, but I joined relatively late, so I was getting a tail end. The point if me telling you this is that I do not have a lot of experience and have been kicked from 2 of the 3 RPs I have been in (2 out of 2 if you count all seasons of the NWA RP as continuous. Side note: I was not banned from either the Driselbia nor the S4 RP, the former gave me a 6 month period to learn more about the time period which ended earlier this month, though I am not sure if it is even still running and S4 gave has kicked me until late June.) If you are informal and excepting of mistakes, I would love to join you. If not, this may not be the place for me.
Also, since the Driselbia and the NWA RPs were partially or fully conducted on Discord, I may need some help adjusting how I do moves.

If you're willing to give it an honest shot, we're happy to let you have one. We're all for this being a learning experience for people, as long as you listen to the OPs and don't flame other players, you can give it a spin.

We're all on the forums, no Discord. Chat's here in the OOC, or by TG

[Tallahassee News Station]

For backstory issues, we actually had the New York primary with players, it wasn't a Carrollton Democrat that won. You'd actually said Harper wasn't running back then, and the election was done without him involved. I guess I can mess with the figures if he goes Prog in the general, but that's too much of a change to the past.

Weakness wise, try to get something substantial that either a public weakness or something that makes him less effective. What you've mostly got is just personality (and "not a person you want to make angry" is sounding more like another strength-weakness), while he's great at speaking, great connections, great experience, great attention to detail, great will, covers every base for actual practical things. Pare that down, and something like scandals in his past, controversial comments, doesn't know how to handle money, alienated contacts, something to level him out in actual effectivenss

Okay so I've added more stuff to his weaknesses and cut back his strength, adding that his working with the Independent Harper in 2014 alienated his colleagues as did moving from the Democrats to the Progressives on the West Coast further alienated his colleagues, and cut out the bit about the 2016 Senate race as Harper wouldn't actually be running for re-election until 2020 (had a brain fart), so I could bring Harper back as his term isn't up yet, I think I'll stick with Kenneth as main guy for now, should he be accepted.

There is no 2020 New York seat. Harper was in 2016, special election elected.

App looks good, if you want to include Harper 2016 stuff, you can go ahead and add that in, if not, I can accept it now

[Tallahassee News Station]

Utt/Vaq/Mak, Lane Breck or Blythe should put up a cloture petition. Though apparently Lane has spicy business waiting

Don't know when Port is coming back and don't want this to drag. I also want to see what's gonna happen with the Reed return thing