Public Council
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The Grand Council of Greyhawk Guilds is an administrative body of elected officials representing each ward in the Free City, which holds meetings quarterly throughout the year.
Description
The Public Council is one of two councils convened quarterly to permit audience with the Directing Oligarchy. The other is the Grand Council of Greyhawk Guilds.
While the council does not have a great deal of influence, its impact has unquestionably gorwn since its creation in 581 CY. The Oligarchy has been forced to deal with more "real issues",[1] like taking "steps... toward social reform, sponsoring the renting of new, low-cost farmland around the city, and the development of new villages centered on the outlying manors of Greyhawk’s nobles... for the refugee population."[1]
Members
The Public Council is comprised of councilors each representing one district of the city, for a total of eight. Councilors are elected every fourth year, starting in 582 CY.[1]
In 591 CY or before, some councilors included:
- Horst Manual (human male Ftr5)—councilor for Clerkburg[2]
- Rhina the Ogress (N human female Ftr11)-councilor for the River Quarter[3]
- Hector the Talking Goat[1][4]
History
The creation of the Public Council was something of a PR stunt. It wasn't intended that the Public council would actually have any real power and that it would be something of a placebo to try to stop public opinion from getting worse or getting dangerous.
In the short term, however, it ended up making things worse. The elections which followed ended up being occasionally violent, fraught with scams, fraud, malfeasance, and grift.
Eventually, the councilors were elected, and "real issues" came to light and the Public Council began to gain actual influence with the populace, and to affect tthe actions of the Directing Oligarchy.[1]
In Living Greyhawk
 | This section contains content from the Living Greyhawk organized-play campaign. |
The Free City was without a Lord Mayor and full Oligarchy for at least four months in 598 CY, when six members of the Oligarchy died and/or were murdered. At the time, Director Dernan Nathane (Guildmaster of the Merchants' and Traders' Union) planned to sway popular opinion and use the Public Council of Greyhawk to "ratify his appointment of a new Oligarch to restore a quorum"[5][6] He would then attempt to have the other Oligarchs make his role as unofficial acting Lord Mayor [5][6] made permanent. His plan focused on needing 11 of 16 Oligarchs for a quorum vote, and with only ten remaining after the disastrous events following Greyhawk’s Centennial Celebrations, the narrative was that the Directorate was unable to vote or act, at all.[note 1] However, quorum is counted from the official number of sitting Directors, not from a set number of members. There were enough Directors for a vote to appoint new members of the Directing Oligarchy, and Nathane seems to have been attempting to not follow that standard.
The outcome is not known, so it is possible the normal procedure for appointing new Directors (a quorum vote, instead of appointment by the Public Council) followed later in the year (after Goodmonth). It is also possible an appointment by the Public Council was still made, and a vote by sitting Directors to elect a Lord Mayor was made.
See also
For other councils of the Free City, see also:
- Grand Administrative Council
- Council of Mayors and Manorial Lords
- Grand Council of Greyhawk Guilds
References
Notes
- ↑ The Adventure Begins cites "a two-thirds majority"[7] for council action. Separately, in Greyhawk Grumbler #3, quorum (which is a two-thirds majority) is defined as "eleven".[5] This number is based on two-thirds of the then-current number of sitting Directors being sixteen. Since it is not required to replace Directors if they die, the number of sitting Directors would fall from sixteen to ten with the murders/deaths occurring at the Centennial Celebrations of 598 CY. However, it cannot be assumed that with a minimum number of Directors in the Oligarchy being twelve, that quorum would be set to a specific number (eleven) or that it would require a unanimous vote of eleven for the Oligarchy to act. Action certainly would have to be taken to return the Oligarchy to the required minimum of twelve Directors, but that would likewise not require a unanimous vote of all ten sitting members, and could be done by seven Directors (two-thirds of ten).
Citations
- ↑ a b c d e The Adventure Begins (1998), p.65.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.100.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.110.
- ↑ Greyhawk Grumbler #3, Goodmonth 598 (2008), p.2.
- ↑ a b c Greyhawk Grumbler #3, Goodmonth 598 (2008), p.1.
- ↑ a b Foundations (2008) (RPGA) , p.2.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.62.
Bibliography
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greyhawk, Public Council of | People Group | Council, | The Adventure Begins | 47, 64, 100, 102, 110 |