L.A. Political History
From ThreadsWiki
The City of Los Angeles has never "officially" taken notice of the severing. This doesn’t mean that politicians are blissfully unaware of it. It’s a fact of life and talked about all the time. Nor do they –- any more –- hold out any hope that the "real United States" is "out there somewhere."
But the task of forming a new government without a State authority is more daunting than it seems. In ENY and Jeffersonia, State Governments formed the core of new nations. In Los Angeles, there were many power blocs: some with old State concessions, others with County or City ties, and others depending on the remains of Federal authority.
Power was initially consolidated under the Mayor. The few State Legislators who were inside the Thread were rounded up and voted to name the Mayor of Los Angeles as "Acting Governor," based on provisions of the State Constitution allowing for emergency replacement. The Legislature was then promptly dissolved and out of 36 members who met the vast majority are now dead. Most went on to a successful career in City Politics.
Twelve times between 1948 and 1954 measures were brought before the City Council in an attempt to Federalize the City. In 1952 a measure that was seen as disenfranchising Hispanic citizens sparked a new and far more deadly chain of "Zoot Suit Riots," though most of the rioters were unemployed Hispanic laborers, not dandies in suits. The measure led to the deployment of marines and army troops in the city, and the newspapers leveled dramatic accusations of "massacres" when over 140 rioters were shot dead, mostly Hispanics.
A more draconian proposal before the Council in 1954 seemed likely to pass, but was squelched when the Admiral of the United States 7th Fleet, H. M. Martin (1896-1972) threatened to rescind the cooperation agreement, and brought a force of warships within sight of L.A. A dramatized newspaper account quotes Admiral Martin as saying, in a Tennessee drawl: "Ensign, look through the binoculars and tell me if they haul down the Stars and Stripes. Tanner, if he says that they have, I want the main battery to level Goddamned City Hall... Do you understand me?”
The quote is almost certainly fictitious, but the Navy was widely seen as having "saved" Los Angeles from a race-driven civil war. In 1956 food shortages resulted in a resurgence of the Communist Party, which had never fully died in L.A. since the days of EPIC, and had not been driven underground by a "Red Scare" since the Soviet Union was never a major concern. The Communists were never very numerous and never held any real power, but success in a few ward elections fueled another panic and electoral fervor that swept a more conservative government into power.
Again military and civil authorities clashed. The military men favored a Federal Nation on principle, but also insisted on a Federal State that would assure rights for "all American Citizens." When the proposal fell short of the votes needed, the Navy sued the City of Los Angeles in Federal Court and won an injunction against the Federal State.
Into this deadlock stepped Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan. Having managed the twelve year rise of the studio system to becoming a dominant economic power in Los Angeles, Reagan ran for Mayor in 1960 and was elected on a moderate-conservative Platform. He brokered a long-term deal and pledged to "uphold the status quo," invoking pride in the U.S. Flag, and upholding the authority of the Federal Court, which he skillfully used to balance a balky City Council. Reagan was re-elected to nine consecutive terms as Governor, and is still legally serving, however debilities have caused him to be removed from office, and his Lieutenant Governor serves in his place. Were Reagan to resign, a Special Election would be called to replace him... With the election nearly two years off, no-one is very confident of the results.
Reagan acted as a skillful dealmaker, balancing party interests and rivalries and bringing a long stability to the City, fanned by contact with the Technosphere shortly after his accession. Even as he aged, few opponents wanted the risk of stepping into his shadow. Now with Reagan unlikely to recover his health, factions are moving frantically to entrench, increase their power, and prepare for the coming battle. Murders and all sorts of crime are up.
But the Government of L.A., in the absence of a Governor in Sacramento, has sufficient power to carry out most day to day government. It handles police, taxes its citizens, and has been acknowledged by the Military. Most elements of the Federal Government have either disbanded, operate "in cooperation”"with the L.A. Government, or form quasi independent entities which are leveraged by various factions in the periodic power struggles within the City.
