Submitted to the Rhydin Post and other publications by Specto Solum, a political watchdog group.
May 17th
A few weeks into his term as Governor and already, Sheridan Driscol and his newly appointed Council of Minsters are breaking a litany of campaign promises. Implausible, you ask" Unheard of for a politician to change their stance when it's convenient' Of course not, but the record speed at which we're seeing turnabout is cause for concern. Of course, the lines in the sand are blurred, and the level of egregiousness of these broken promises varies from person to person. Where do they sit for you, and do you even know what they are" Read on, find out, and judge for yourself.
Governor Sheridan Driscol campaigned long and hard on a "Remember Your Roots" platform, a platform in which he claimed many things, one of which was to leave well enough alone, to undo the changes of previous regimes and to allow the city to return to its storied and glorious past. Yet, in his first days in office, what has Sheridan Driscol done" He has appointed a Council of Ministers, eight people, to assist him in governing the city. Remember your roots" There is nothing in Rhydin's roots remotely approaching a ruling council, but Governor Driscol claims the establishment of such a body is for our own good. How can one person effectively govern Rhydin, he asks. Perhaps he should take a lesson from ex-Governor O"Helston or ex-Governor Simon, neither of whom needed the level of support Driscol already relies upon in his extremely young tenure. To make matters worse, Governor Driscol chose his cabinet in a matter of mere days, nowhere near long enough to have strenuously vetted the applicants, to see if they not only truly understand their posts, but can perform their newfound jobs with genuine efficiency. Remember your roots" There are no roots here.
In his campaign, Governor Driscol also promised to make no decisions without the majority of Rhydin's citizens agreeing with those decisions. Perhaps he takes his election victory as unilateral discretion that the people will wholeheartedly accept his decisions, for he asked for no quorum, no vote, and indeed no feedback from the people before unilaterally deciding to create these ministerial posts. Interestingly enough, the creation of the Council and the selection of its members will be the first and only decision the Governor will allow himself to make. Governor Driscol has promised, once the Council of Ministers is established, never to make an actual decision on his own. Did we elect a Governor" No. We elected a marionette. In his inaugural speech, Governor Driscol stated with gusto, ?"Let this be my first act as Governor, the appointment of a Council of Ministers, should you, the People, find it meets with your approval." Yet, he sought for and asked for no approval. To make matters worse, Governor Driscol went on to claim that "any decisions made will be approved by a majority vote amongst the Council of Ministers at all times."
Perhaps, then, it was a mistake to appoint an even number of Ministers. Since Governor Driscol will make no decisions without a majority vote from the Council, and since he is not part of the Council, his opinion, by his own admission, will hold no sway in the voting. And what happens if there's a 4-4 tie" Your guess is as good as anyone else's, for that scenario apparently escaped our new Governor's mind. And since Governor Driscol promised that "every concern of the common citizen looked into," we can only imagine the minutia that will bury both the Council and the Governor, who, as you remember, cannot make any decisions without the Council's express agreement via majority vote.
And what of the "Good Samaritan Militia" Governor Driscol advertised in the days leading up to the general election' We've heard nothing since. What of all the good deeds done since the days of the election, each and every one of which were promised a reward" As Governor Driscol said, "Vote for me, Sheridan Driscol, and I'll see to it that your good deeds do not go unrewarded". Again, we've seen and heard nothing that can lead any of us to believe Governor Driscol can or will follow through on this lofty promise. In fact, we know that he won't. It's up to the Council of Ministers to decide. What qualifies as a "good deed?" It doesn't matter what the Governor thinks...it'll be entirely up to the Council of Ministers to figure it out. Assuming they don't deadlock, that is.
Keep watch, Rhydin, as we certainly will in the coming days. Keep watch over this man who you chose to lead us all and, who thus far, has done his absolute best to siphon off the responsibilities of leadership to anywhere but exactly where they should belong'squarely on his own two shoulders.