Westenford Ruling Council

Description

The Westenford Parliamentary Ruling Council is the full official name of the collective of twenty-nine elected officials who run the affairs of the port city of Westenford, Amasynia. Any potential elections are rare, though, with positions only opening up by resignations or deaths, and they are usually rigged by those still sitting on the Council whenever any members rotate off service. In emergencies, the election process can be bypassed completely by the Chief Magistrate's appointing a new member by choice; this has only occurred once, in the case of Aloisius Treadwell's becoming Magistrate Treadwell. All Council members are male landowners in town, with occupations usually dealing with the town's businesses, which mainly emphasize a healthy fishing industry from the nearby Sea of Amasynia.

Council Organization and Functions

Council organization is simple: the lower twenty-eight council members either go by the title of "Councilor" or "Magistrate," with the terms being used interchangeably, and the leader of the Council is solely referenced as "Chief Magistrate," or, in friendly conversation away from official business, "C. M."

The functions of the Council involve, in short, managing all major affairs of Westenford. This management includes not only establishing the town's legal code but also enforcing it, serving as the sole jury for serious crimes that would threaten the safety of the town, its regions, or its businesses. Petty crimes are left to be settled by the local police forces and minor local judges with neighborhood-by-neighborhood regional jurisdiction. Otherwise, the Council establishes the town's taxation level, oversees the occasional census, and dictates any military or police actions that may be needed to keep the town secure from mostly coastal invaders.

As one might imagine, such a framework has led to the Council being heavily corrupt over time as well as the local police forces and judges all being fickle and subject to easy bribery and influence.

Appearance of Members

Council members have a unified standard of dress. Each member wears a burgundy velvet robe with long sleeves and a matching sash around the middle. Massive gold medallions signifying their role as councilors hang around their necks. The obverse of each of these medallions is decorated with the town seal with a slight convex curve; the reverse of each is blank and flat.

Unofficially, in the eyes of most of the town's poor and middle-class citizenry, being overweight or obese appears to be a prerequisite for being on the Council. The members eat very well at every meeting, which usually takes place at either the stone plaza where they officially meet or at the nearby Herford's Tavern. To this end, the Council members have long been known colloquially as the "Bellies," with that nickname used much more frequently in common parlance than other titles.

Notable Members

Alfred, Lord Harkness, third Chief Magistrate, was poisoned fatally by his wife, Genevieve, in A. R. 35 in her attempt to win favor with an invading colonel from The Red Caps. The event and character relationships are chronicled truthfully in the locally long-running drama The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Alfred and Genevieve.

Octavius Treadwell, father of Aloisius Treadwell. He initially served as a Magistrate who served as Clerk of Court until he was forced into the role of eighth Chief Magistrate in A. R. 158. In 160, he voluntary stepped down and passed leadership to Galen Taask. Octavius then served on the Council as a Magistrate until his death by a heart attack in A. R. 172. His death opened up his Council seat to go to his youngest son--the only son in town at the time of death--by choice of Chief Magistrate Galen Taask.

Galen Taask, tenth Chief Magistrate, held the position from A. R. 160 to 172. His run as C. M. was one under what most would consider waffling, wishy-washy leadership--the chief reason that his successor was able to force his way into power.

Aloisius Horatio Treadwell, eleventh Chief Magistrate, has held the position the longest. Treadwell joined the Council in A. R. 172 after he was ushered into his deceased father's place on the Council. Within his first day on the Council, Magistrate Treadwell connived his way into replacing Chief Magistrate Galen Taask by a Council-ordered vote. Officially, he still holds the position, never having relinquished power in coming to Myrken Wood. However, in his absence, he has appointed his dear friend, Jonathan M. Lincoln, as Acting Chief Magistrate, a temporary title to be used until Treadwell's return.

Jonathan "Jon" M. Lincoln is officially Acting Chief Magistrate in Treadwell's absence. He holds appropriate jurisdiction while Treadwell is away. Being one of the few individuals with a little more honor than most others seated, he is expected to willingly give control back to Treadwell whenever Aloisius returns home, which he has done in all instances to date.