The Ninth Congress is nearly at a close, and elections are beginning to choose a new class of State Representatives. The Legislature has five positions, and each Representative will have to work together to draft and pass legislation. The public is currently quite interested in politics, partially due to the submission of H.R. 336. We’ve seen packed town halls and public protests as of late; how many citizens will sign up to run for the legislature as a result? Shout News will maintain profiles for each candidate. This post is currently a work-in-progress; we are in the process of coordinating with candidates and conducting interviews. We will remove candidates upon withdrawal or disqualification.
In order of registration:
Emilie Lillegard-Marino
Political Party: Felines
Emilie Lillegard-Marino, formerly Emile Paxton, is the sole representative from the ninth congress who is running for re-election. She served as Secretary of the Legislature during her tenure. “I would like to give the people a better brand of representation, and give them what they want to see,” said Emilie in conversation with Shout News.
She added, “I listen to the people, and if you have listened to my interview with Jack Callow a couple of weeks ago, you’ll find my stance on the public issues quite apparent.”
Emilie stated that she was very critical of bills tabled during the ninth congress, specifically H.R. 336 and 337 from Representative Lucas Evans. “ I aim to be that balance between what the people want and the checks and balances that prevent bad bills from being passed,” she says.
Jack Burton
Political Party: Independent
Burton has been a citizen of the state for nearly three years; he has worked with Handlebar Haven, Public Works, the Public Defender’s Office, and private practice. “Until recently, I have been the assistant to State Representative Emilie [Paxton] (now Emilie Lillegard-Marino.)” Burton ran in the special election during the ninth congress after the resignation of Artemis Blackthorne, and finished in a close second place.
“I’m going to be going with what we did last time: I’m not going to put myself on any one hill that I’m willing to die on,” Burton said in conversation with Shout News. “If elected, I will be for the people in totality. With that being said, I’m not going to make any grandoise promises I can’t keep. I’ll keep things real with people, I’ll give them reasonable expectations on how things can be done.”
Burton says he’s particularly concerned about the “mistrust in the existing reputation,” which he says “stems from one individual in particular.” Burton aims to raise the legislature’s approval rating, and work to increase police transparency.
Adam Wrangler
Political Party: Don’t Vote For Me Party
Adam Wrangler is a veteran at campaigning, although he has yet to be voted into office. His run is partially inspired by concern at what he sees as an over-involvement of law enforcement in the legislative process. “Some of your readers may have seen me in past campaigns, and I’m running for politics again,” Wrangler tells Shout News. “Same party, we’re changing up a few of our values, but we’re still straightforward with what we’re doing.”
Wrangler promises an ambitious platform that mostly revolves around second amendment related laws. “One of the primary things I’ve been working on is legalizing suppressors. For those of us in the firearm community, any time you use a gun, it’s a risk to your hearing, and I for one suffer from tinnitus. We should allow suppressors in the hands of the people, so we protect not only our hearing, but the noise levels across the state.”
In addition, Wrangler pledges the elimination of a gun license system, in favor of allowing all citizens to bear arms without condition or government supervision. As a compromise, Wrangler proposes a gun tax credit to first-time gun owners who don’t get arrested or caught in the commission of a crime within a month of their purchase. Taking his agenda a step further, Wrangler says he intends to investigate the possibility of legalizing explosives for the purpose of demolition and entertainment. Finally, he proposes we arm the wildlife of San Andreas to ensure “more dangerous game.”
Astra Lillegard-Marino
Political Party: Felines
Astra Lillegard-Marino is the wife of potential Lt. Governor candidate Quinn Lillegard-Marino, and related to Emile Lillegard-Marino. “I haven’t had much of a political background before [my run], but with recent events, I’ve started to get more involved. I want the opportunity to get involved and represent the people’s best interest.”
As a candidate, Astra represents the dissatisfied public who have become newly interested in politics after watching the controversial ninth congress play out. As a State Representative, Astra’s goals are to listen to the people’s desires, work in their best interest, and work for the well-being of the people. “Instead of saying I’m going to work for the well-being of the people, but then work for the well-being of the police department,” she adds wryly.
Cassie Kendrick
Political Party: Independent
Cassie Kendrick is a state prosecutor for the Department of Justice, currently on a leave of absence to run for State Representative. “I’d like to help the people have more understanding of our laws,” said Kendrick in conversation with Shout News. “There’s a lot of laws that have been written that are very vague. One of the controversial bill was [H.R. 336.]” Kendrick adds that instead of focusing on creating new laws, it’s worth taking the time to educate both the public and police about the existing library of laws.
Kendrick pledges to “hold accountability for our police department and other government agencies, and hold accountability to make sure that the laws we are introducing to the state are beneficial for the state and our citizens.” She also notes that she has seen “a huge decline in the trust that the civilian population has in regards to law enforcement, and I’d like to help bridge that gap with making it so the average civilian can meet with law enforcement to explain and talk about their issues.”
Kendrick has been a citizen of the state for nearly two years, and says that her skillset is well-matched for the role and challenges of a State Representative.
Robert Muratori
Political Party: Independent
Robert Muratori has been in the state of San Andreas for nearly two years, and after experimenting with various professions, he has settled into the state’s business community. Muratori is employed at the Venetian, Flock Freight Solutions, and Galaxy Nightclub.
“I’m very people-centric,” said Muratori in conversation with Shout News. “I know part of the concerns that many people have had are [about] representation, as well as being heard and seen. My platform that I’m trying to run on isn’t to empower police, I’m not trying to write non-sensical bills like the gang law by Lucas Evans. I’m trying to bring people together.”
Muratori’s planned policies include a Citizen’s Review Board to increase law enforcement transparency, funding for community programs to help deter crime, and helping to heal the division between the state’s factions of citizens. “I hope we, as San Andreans, can come together to create a more accurate representation of who we are in our current government.”
Tommy Merlin
Political Party: Independent
Tommy Merlin is a relatively recent addition to the city, having been in San Andreas for four months. He has worked at the Third Eye Tea House, Paw And Order, and Dirty Dawgs. “Throughout my time working, I’ve talked to many folks and heard them talked about laws passed, or laws proposed,” Merlin said in conversation with Shout News. “After many of these discussions, I realized I can be one of the many who just talk, or one of the few who make change happen. I realized election season was coming up, and I wanted to put my hat in the ring to see if I could do the job.”
Merlin says that his goal in office would be “bridging the gap between members of the public and law enforcement, or members of government period. I know a lot of people don’t feel that they’ve been heard.” Merlin’s other priorities in office would be taking a look at older laws and “seeing what may need to be revamped to work in a modern society.” He also hopes to address the strong public distrust in government. “I want to be the peoples representative. I want people to feel like, even if they didn’t vote for me, they can come talk to me.”
“I know I’m not very experienced, and I’ll make mistakes if elected,” added Marlin. I’m not infallible. I’m human. But I promise during the course of my duties I’ll do everything to put the interests of the state before myself.”
Michael White
Political Party: Independent
Shout News has reached out to Mr. White for interview; we will post his candidate profile once we have concluded our conversation.
2 responses
Some terrible options, just like the Governor’s race. At least with this race, there’s some that are so unknown and so vague about what they want to do, they’re the “lesser evil” compared to the options we know and hate. So far, Muratori, Merlin, and Kendrick are the only ones so unknown that I’d consider voting for them. The rest? Toss them in the bin.
Scratch that, just read Muratori’s posts on Yeeter – Toss him in the bin too.