THE BIRTH OF BAY CITY
Bay City was an accident. No one ever expected to try to merge a dozen or more municipalities, let alone three separate counties, into a single political entity. But nature has a way of throwing curveballs …. Even before Nasty Nine-Five, the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Bay Area, the various communities had made emergency plans for such a natural disaster. The cities of Silicon Valley created an Emergency District and, in response, San Francisco, Oakland, and some of the Peninsula cities formed the Bay Area Cities Emergency Relief Council.

The Council’s purpose was to coordinate disaster relief and Federal emergency funds. Over the course of months, more and more cities were added to the Council, until every community on the
Peninsula north of Palo Alto was a member. The Council’s organizers calculated that such a broad membership would give them quite a bit of clout come a major shake (or flood or another disaster.)

Then came the Nasty Nine-Five. The Council members got out from under their desks when the shaking stopped and knew that they were in big trouble. The fifty-seven-second earthquake had devastated the area. The politicians looked out over the destruction and screamed for help.
Federal help. State help. Paranormal help. Any kind of help. And, surprisingly enough, it worked. The Federal Government, pleased to only have to deal with one entity, coughed up disaster relief funds with an open hand.

Once the relief efforts were well under way, the various mayors and other city officials took a moment to assess the situation. It was obvious that the rebuilding would take years, and the Council would have to stay in existence during that time. Mayor Bobby Greene raised the possibility of making the Council permanent and incorporating it as a giant metropolis. After much discussion, the Council’s name was shortened to simply “Bay City,” and articles of incorporation were drawn up.

HOW BAY CITY WORKS
The initial idea was considered elegant by some. The newly incorporated Bay City would be governed by a council made up by the various mayors of the municipalities involved. Each former city would function like a semi-autonomous district, and still elect their own mayor and other officials. It sounded simple.

Of course, there were problems. Many city departments were combined to eliminate duplication of effort. Some of these takes, such as combining the police departments into one big and efficient organization, took considerable time and had to be reorganized several times. Others, like the expanded Water District, were much easier to implement. There were growing pains, but things seemed to be going along well.

Then the joker was dealt. People had overlooked the political angle. Seeing a new organization, and a new power base, all of the new council members began jockeying for position. Many important issues were ignored as the mayors vied to see who would be top dog. It seemed as though Bay City was doomed from the start.

Then Mayor Bobby stepped forward. Using the techniques he used to bring his Board of Supervisors in line, he crushed all opposition. He forged an alliance with Luther Androtti, the mayor of Berkeley, and the two of them took control of the council. In the process, Androtti became a mouthpiece and yes-man for Bobby. The new mayor of Bay City appeased the rest of his opposition by tossing around plum jobs in the various city agencies. Or, in Bobby’s words veni, vidi, veci. He came, he saw, and he took over. Things have been running smoothly since.

Today, Bay City is one of the largest cities in America. Certainly, it is the largest when you consider city boundaries. While there are still many factions and power struggles on the Council, Mayor Bobby has things well in hand, and quashes any sign of rebellion ruthlessly. The other city official have learned to live with this situation, and it appears that Mayor Bobby will hold his job for as long as he wants to. Many people pray that Bobby will get national ambitions, and leave his post to run for the Senate.

Mayor Bobby’s chief rival is Elihu Wilson from Oakland. Wilson would like to become mayor, and is plotting to get rid of Androtti, and grab the Deputy Mayor’s job for himself as the first step. So far, his manipulations are still in the planning stage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:29, Thu 07 Feb 2019.