Desten - 1850
Head of Council: Franklin Brickson (Just Elected)
Population: 119,114
Playing Catchup
We come back to our story in 1850 – a full twenty-five years since we last visited Sophara and Desten. Last time we were here, James Hemming had just won his third consecutive – and final – term as Head of the Executive Council in an election that was marred with controversy and violence. Each one of his three terms were known for separate, distinct reasons – the first term under Hemming was known for the aggressive development of the city as well as his focus on strengthening law enforcement and police, while the second term was associated with the creation of the Desten Tax Code, which put a 10% Income Tax on everyone and a 10% Import Tax on all imports coming into the country. His third term was perhaps his most ambitious, however, as the Executive Council began focusing on mining coal and getting it down to Sophara for use and export. Railroad tracks were built leading into the center of the country, and coal mines were opened thanks to private investments by most of the rich families in Desten. A coal refinery was constructed on the eastern side of Sophara by the Hemming family, who took the big share of the wealth from the coal mining because of the power the Head of Council, James Hemming, had consolidated. As his third term came to a close, however, his most likely successor – George Carpenter – was backed and funded by the Brickson family, the Hemming family’s bitter rivals.
The Carpenter Years
The 1830 elections went as expected, with George Carpenter taking the majority and becoming Desten’s second ever Head of Council. In the weeks after Carpenter was named Head, there was a lot of fear from the Hemming family and their associates, who did not know what to expect after their man had left office. Secret meetings between high level members of both the Brickson and Hemming families took place frequently, as they wanted to ensure a smooth transition where everyone’s interests remained intact. Neither family had any desire to see their system of obtaining wealth strained, so it was agreed that Carpenter would not chase after any dealings the Hemming family and its associates had in place with the Executive Council. In return, they would put their weight and support behind Carpenter’s leadership to make sure he was able to implement his vision without any drama.
The agreement that was made after the 1830 elections allowed Carpenter – who was an entrepreneur by trade – to focus on what he thought was best for Desten. Coming from a business background, the new Head of Council was keen to see private businesses flourish in the capital, and embarked on making that happen. He approved several construction initiatives for the Sophada downtown area, leading to a small boom in construction and then in trade and retail activity. That was naturally followed by the opening of restaurants, cafes, and even small boutique hotels all around the Sophara downtown area, and most of centered around Desten Boulevard. He also approved an initiative to continue the expansion of Desten Boulevard’s wide avenue further south, which led to the construction of several rich townhouses and expensive apartment buildings being constructed.
The 1835 elections, with the backing of the Hemming and the Brickson families, saw George Carpenter easily win his second term in the biggest landslide victory recorded in Desten history to date. No one wanted to screw up a good thing – a lot of wealth was flowing into the hands of Desten’s elite, whether it was through trade, coal mining, farming, or whatever else – and Carpenter was a Head of Council that most of those elite could get behind, simply because he did not confront them and go after their interest. Instead, his second term was an extension of his first – more development in Sophara, especially in the downtown district. He easily won his third term in 1840, as well, leading Desten from 1830 until 1845 in what was perhaps the country’s most peaceful time since its creation. It also saw the opening of Sophara’s first factories, aided by the fact that coal was readily available. To no one’s surprise, the two factories were owned by the Brickson and Hemming family, respectively.
Waters’ Single Term and Downtown
Desten’s third Head of Council was a man called Stanson Waters, another neutral candidate that most of the elite put their weight behind. Unlike Carpenter, however, Waters was more of “a man of the people” and promised to keep anyone who stepped out of line in check. He almost immediately clashed heads with Sophara’s elite, even sending a few low level men to prison on fraud charges. This, obviously did not bode well with Desten’s wealthy, and the next few years were spent attempting to undermine all of Waters’ efforts. This led to a very inefficient time in office for Waters, and there was generally a stagnation in the development of Desten as a whole over that time period, something that Desten’s rich were eager to point at seemingly every day. James Hemming, who died in 1834, was associated with strengthening law enforcement and introducing the 10% Tax Code, and George Carpenter’s 15 years were known as a time of flourishing business, development, and peace in Desten. Stanson Waters’ time, however, was known as a time of stagnation and tension, which would make his re-election campaign in 1850 very difficult as he had no real financial backers while his opponent, Franklin Brickson, had a united Desten elite behind him. What did come out the Waters’ tenure as Head as further redevelopment of the downtown area, as a fancy new hotel called the Quatre Saisons (Four Seasons) would open its doors for business, becoming the largest single building in all of Desten. That construction project was also paralleled by a new administrative building for the Executive Council, built across the street from the new hotel.
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