Politics in Simmerley

I want to give Simmerley an integrated political system to make the neighborhood feel more alive.

The Mayor

Simmerley is ruled by a Mayor, elected every two Sims years (40 days).

Being the Mayor holds many perks, but also many duties. The Mayor is granted a luxurious office inside the City hall. He/she is also alloted an indemnity of 4000§ per year in office (being 8000§ for one mandate). [The reason why I chose to do this is because the Mayor does not have a very high salary compared to other level 10 careers and I thought it was a bit unrealistic.]

The Mayor’s role is to design the city’s main public policies, by setting the tax rate, prioritizing objectives, adding new community facilities and infrastructure, etc. For instance, a mayor with the Fortune Aspiration may be more interested into developping commerce while a Family Sim might pay more attention to the education system. The Mayor is also the president of the City Council.

After two years in office, the Mayor must be retrograded to level 9 (unless he/she is re-elected for another mandate). If the Mayor resigns, retires or is fired before the end of his mandate, the City Council will rule over the city until the next elections.

The City Council

The City Council assists the Mayor with the administration of the City. Its role is to inform the Mayor about the community’s needs and give its opinions on the Mayor’s policies.

The City Council holds its meetings in the council room at the City hall. Its members are not elected, but granted a seat when they reach the level 10 of a strategic career. They can occupy their position until retirement.

The Council members are :

  • the Power Plan CEO (in charge of energy supplies)
  • the Bank CEO (supervises economic activities)
  • the City Planner
  • the Hospital Chief of Staff
  • the Education Minister
  • the Firefighter General
  • the Chief of Police
  • the Military General
  • the Head of SCIA

The Elections System

Elections are held every two Sim year on the last day of Autumn (Founder’s Day). This day is a public holiday.

The Campaign

The campaign period last during the entire Autumn season.

Every Sim aged Young Adult and above currently enrolled in the Politics career can declare themselves candidate. (However, ex-prisoners are not allowed to enter this career). Candidates are allowed to hold one meeting at the City hall’s conference room, and as many house parties as they wish, to boost their number of friends.

All residents of Simmerley, or the shopping district, aged YA and above can vote by visiting the City Hall’s dedicated poll station. [In theory, I will not be couting each individual Sim’s vote because it would be too tedious.]

The result of the elections are calculated based on the following score system :

  • 100 points per household friends
  • 10 points per career level
  • 1 point per 1000 simoleons

[I designed this system so that the number of friends is the most important criteria. Having a higher rank in the career (ie being the current Mayor) is also a nice boost, I think it is more realistic that way. Money plays a role only if you are filthy rich.]

The winner is directly promoted to level 10.

Political Parties

I plan on having political parties in the future, but the population is too small at the moment.