Sunday, July 4, 2021

The Mayor of New Clovis (Leadership in a Post Apocalypse Town)

New Clovis is one of the more successful cities in the Confederation.  The city is run by an elected Mayor, who is re-elected every five years to a new term.  He can't lose, given that nobody will run against him.

New Clovis was founded after the attack on Cannon Air Force Base resulted in destruction of the original city of Clovis.  The attack was initiated by the Republic of Texas, during the land grab that took place shortly after the United States started to dissolve.  The fighting involved forces of the US federal government, the Pacific States of America, and the RoT.  The New Mexico National Guard refused to be federalized and fought the Federal troops, who began a scorched earth campaign to deny benefit to both the PSA and the RoT advances, Unfortunately, the Federal campaign hurt the citizens of New Mexico more than the enemy forces.  The NMNG simply tried to protect their state and its citizens, but were the smallest and least well armed of the forces involved, and fought nobly despite taking a pounding.

Still, remnants of the NMNG survived the fighting, and lived on, eventually reforming as the embryo that grew into the Confederation.  The PSA soon gave up their foothold in New Mexico, and mention of either the United States or Republic of Texas draw unkind thoughts from the people of what used to be New Mexico to this very day.

New Clovis was formed when the survivors of the fighting in old Clovis moved en masse (if you can call it that, less than 3 percent of the residents survived to make the move) and resettled their city, some distance away.  New Clovis would often find itself involved in the fighting that took place between the warlords and land barons in the New Mexico-Texas region, and often fell victim to roving bands coming south out of Utah and Colorado.

In time, New Clovis found itself on a trade route between the remains of the PSA, and the Texas region.   A militia formed to defend the town, and more recently, New Clovis joined the Confederation in an effort to gain regional influence and security.

At some point, a man by the name of Roberts moved west from the former state of New York, and settled in New Clovis.  He thrived there, and word got around that he was a man who could get things done.  Since first becoming Mayor of New Clovis, "Mayor Bob", as he's now known, has become quite prosperous; although, Mayor Bob sometimes wonders if joining the Confederation was the right move.

Mayor Bob in evening attire

Mayor Bob's rule is imposed by his Sheriff, Roberto, generally known as "Mexican Bob", and a hand full of deputies.  Additionally, the mayor has some special "agents", enforcers independent of the Sheriff's office that work at the Mayor's direction. Their leader, also from somewhere out east, is referred to in whispers as "Mean Bob", a brutal man, who seems to truly enjoy the ugliest parts of his job.

The "Bob's" generally work together, though each tries to carve out his own fiefdom within the realm of New Clovis, and occasionally, their interests conflict such that there is open confrontation.  Most of the time though, Mayor Bob's will is imposed, and the other Bobs just take whatever scraps are available to them.

Mexican Bob, the Sheriff, is a big man who enjoys his authority.  Both calculating and pragmatic, he mostly tries to impose order, just or otherwise.  He actually hates being called "Mexican Bob", but he is so commonly referred to as such, that he usually just lets it go.  His few real friends and allies still call him Roberto.

Sheriff Roberto, aka, Mexican Bob,
Sheriff of New Clovis

Roberto's little brother, Ortiz, goes by the his nickname of "Slim".  Despite being a smaller version of Roberto, the nickname betrays his girth.  Slim is usually a little less thoughtful than his brother, and tends to rely on violence a little more readily than Roberto.  Still, he does help maintain order, and is known to be kind-hearted to children and small animals in particular.

Deputy Ortiz, Mexican Bob's little brother,
 known to the locals as "Slim"

Only the Mayor knows where Mean Bob comes from.  He isn't from New Clovis, and just showed up one day as the strong arm of the Mayor.  Some think that his main purpose is to keep Mexican Bob in check, as he and Mexican Bob don't seem to like each other.  Mean Bob handles special jobs for the Mayor; jobs falling outside the authority of Mexican Bob, though it is not uncommon for both to be working the same "problem" from different angles.

"Mean Bob", an agent of the Mayor.

Under the direction of the three Bobs, New Clovis has been a prosperous town, and in general, the people of New Clovis have benefited from the presence of "The Bobs", with The Bobs benefiting most of all.

6 comments:

  1. Holy crap, those are some cool characters Brian! Great paintjobs and cool backstory.

    V/R,
    Jack

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, it feels good to be back in the post apocalypse!

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    2. Excellent, now get to work turning out some batreps! ;)

      V/R,
      Jack

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  2. The three Bobs are great! Seems like the sort of power structure that would allow for some player character shenanigans...

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  3. I'm in love with Mayor Bob!

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  4. Just read all the posts in one sitting. An excellent tale, as told by Charlie. I will be looking back to see how things go.
    Although I have regularly viewed the blog this didn't peak my interest until today.

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