Government of White Reach
The Baroness of Phalan
When White Reach was officially recognized as part of the Lyran Commonwealth, the Archon appointed Baron Peter Duvall as its ruler. Descendants of the Baron kept a carefully firm grip on the world, permitting a few popular leaders some power but sometimes becoming known for brutal oppressions which were specifically to prevent any challenge to their authority.After centuries of rule, in 2951 the Draconis Combine staged a quick invasion but were just as quickly forced to depart. In the wake of this, a populist movement by several figures finally managed to force the late Baron Lawrence Wallings to discuss a revision of the government. Unfortunately, health issues led to his daughter succeeding him in the negotiations and she was ultimately forced to surrender practically all powers into the hands of two senatorial bodies. The only notable powers she retained were to function as a diplomat to the Lyran Commonwealth leaders and to avoid bringing broad recognition to the fact nobility had just been overthrown without a fight.
The current Baroness, Elizabeth Wallings, grew up dissatisfied with her lack of power, and the diminishing wealth of her family. This is compounded by the senate largely viewing her as a child who has no knowledge of government, often refusing to even entertain her views. Similarly, Elizabeth has suffered the media making notes of her lack of influence, and has withdrawn almost entirely into the family estate at Coral Cove.
The Senates
After the Reorganization of 2956, the governing of the planet has been in the hands of two bodies: the High Senate and the Common Senate. Counting both bodies together, there are eighty senators who are in control of the affairs of the government in a very broad manner. Specifics tend to be left to committees, subcommittees, and other groups within the senates. Often there are members from both bodies inside the committees with arrangements to allow all within to have an equal vote and voice.The High Senate
The High Senate is comprised of nine senators appointed by the Common Senate from those who have served at least two terms as a senator in that body. This is intended to elevate those who have experience into a position of greater responsibility. The High Senate's responsibilities are to the planet and its population as a whole, rather than specific districts, even if they oversee multiple districts of the Common Senate.In practice, the Common Senate often will escalate matters which fall into a planetary scope as opposed to more local concerns. Any laws or policies which are applied to the entire planetary population are the concern of the High Senate, while those which concern one (or a few) districts are the concern of the Common Senate.
It is notable the planetary militia units are only permitted to be activated by an order from the High Senate, and are funded by taxes which are specifically collected by the same body.
Common Senate
The Common Senate handles the seventy-one districts on the planet surface, and are voted in by the population within those districts. These districts are zoned in accordance with population density; more densely-populated regions will often have multiple districts covering the area, while sparsely-populated rural areas will often have only one senate district. The City of White Reach itself has twelve districts commonly referred to as "Wards", and Vernier City is a district unto itself.The term of service for the Common Senate is six years, and while there are no formal limits to the number of terms it is customary to attempt to serve at least two terms (to qualify for service in the High Senate) but no more than four terms (as that equates to twenty-four years of public service). To date there are only a few senators remembered for serving more than four terms, and only one active who has been in the Common Senate for three terms.
While the High Senate handles planetary-scale matters, the Common Senate often meets to discuss matters which impact one or two districts. Laws formed by the senators are often checked over by the body before being put in place, mostly by guiding the discussions into a committee or subcommittee designed to specifically handle them. For instance, the Energy Committee would be the ones to meet to discuss regulations over power plants or related regulations while the Agricultural Committee would discuss regulations over farmers or ranchers. Committees with smaller, narrower, focuses are often made and then dissolved within one or two senatorial terms.
Current Senators of Note
Senator Rush: Greven Rush was responsible for farmland on Western Jedora, and spent his two terms arranging with the Agricultural Committee for leniency on many regulations for the farmers and ranchers in the area. Part of this is due to the apparent value of the land, and the desire to avoid drawing attention to how easily crops grow on those farms.Senator Green: The High Senate representative in the City Committee, he takes the security and safety of White Reach very seriously. As a veteran serving late in Third Succession War, he owns a venerable Clint CLNT-2-3T BattleMech. A great deal of media attention has been given to this ownership, and occasional exercises are done under the auspices of militia volunteers. He has been known to bring the history of his service up during campaigns, and is fairly popular for a blunt method of addressing political concerns.
Senator Greene: Drawn from District Fifty-Four which governs the northern coastline of Orenn, Senator Greene is part of the Tourism Committee and spent most of his time trying to revitalize it as an industry in the wake of the Third Succession War. The current unrest has done absolutely nothing to help him on this pursuit, however, leading him to repeatedly and publicly condemn the mercenary forces on the planet for causing more harm than good.
Senator Winters: A native of Wildstorm Valley, Darren Winters has been something of a joke due to the stereotype from that area. This is not helped by his interests in matters which most people consider "eccentric" at the kindest. This was not helped when mercenaries began using the area for shelter and seized a militia base Senator Winters had personally helped raise funds for.
Senator McMillar: Nominated to the High Senate during the last opening, McMillar is known for his service for Vernier City and managing to secure them more favorable arrangements with other districts on the Lucent Continent. On the other hand he is infamous for repeated soapbox speeches criticizing the union of the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns in the months before it became official.
Judiciary and Peace Officers
Each senator is responsible for appointing magistrates whose duty is to pass sentence on those who break the laws of the district. They work with similarly small-scale police forces whose task is notably keeping the peace and not necessarily law enforcement. The police are empowered only to pass notable unlawful behavior to the magistrates to review, but it is each officer's judgement whether a case is notable or not. Larger concentrations of population in urban districts tend to be far stricter than rural districts, and thus have many more magistrates.Significant crimes which cross district boundaries are often handled by the appropriate senators and magistrates, though there have been very rare cases where the matter was appealed to the High Senate for militia assistance. None of the magistrates lightly involve the militia, since interventions with BattleMechs and even light tanks often leave a notably shaken populace in their wake.
Type
Governmental, Senate/Parliament
Controlled Territories
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