On the steps of city hall, behind a podium, Mayor Donahue had gathered with a small posse of insedit faces that Dakota couldn’t possibly have known, even if she were a Port native. While they were all fairly well dressed and sharp to look at, a few of Mayor Donahue’s entourage seemed to convey a much different... look in general than to those who Dakota had pegged as career politicians. There were the standard men in business suits, the women in skirts and blazers, and then there were the other guys. The Men in Black rejects that stood off to the left slightly.
“Citizens of Daven’s Port, I would like to welcome you. I have called this press conference to address any... rumors that might be floating around about myself or my competancy as mayor.” Donahue said with a flatness at the word ‘rumors’, her pace becoming perky and smooth once more despite her clear irritation and the intrusion of a Big Gulp cup sitting next to her on the podium, “Rumors about back-door dealings, shady business, and needless budget cuts to satisfy my own... what did they call it? ’Extravagent lifestyle’.”
There was a controlled bout of laughter. Mayor Donahue’s blatantly sardonic air quotes and sharp but smarmy smile after she turned the phrase eliciting what was no doubt an intended reaction. She allowed the laughter to continue for a little bit, providing her enough time to take a short swig of her Big Gulp; which Dakota found odd. Politicians- at least, not the ones who campaigned in Texas -didn’t usually drink out of... well, big old Big Gulps, did they?
“Regardless, I want to set the record straight: no matter what my critics, my ‘haters’ if you will, might say about me, my first priority is always the wellfare of my city. Of my people.” she smacked her lips a little, “Ensuring that my people have ready access to all amenities that make life in the Port so great; free trash pickup, a clean beach, and easily accessible resources for low-income housing. Those have been my standpoints, and they will remain my standpoints.”
As the crowd elicited a more subdued, though still quite substantial roar, Dakota found herself rather enamored with this Donahue woman. She was a really good speaker, and there was just something so... “personal” about her. Zack seemed rather stoic about the whole thing, and Piper was just as indifferent, but those seemed like good points to stand on when you ran a city, right? Especially when so much relied on tourist dollars...
“Which is why I would like to seque this conference into an official welcoming for the good people who are going to help me and my team at city hall make that happen.” the diminuitive woman said with a much more eager, somehow more earnest smile, “It’s no secret that the Yeng Corporation’s integration into our fair city hasn’t been an easy one; but--”
“Seriously? She’s trying to upsell Yeng now?” Zack said, uncharacterisitically invested in the subtle nuances of politics, “Those guys are the worst!”
“What? No way.” Piper whispered back to Zack, “My boy Hurley works for them.”
“What’s a Yeng?” Dakota rasped, genuinely clueless
Before Zack and/or Piper could respond, their conversation was hushed by an avid listener of Mayor Donahue’s speech.
“--And on that note I would like to announce that, through the generosity of founder Tetsuo Yeng and his willingness to donate his vast resources and precious time to benefit our fair city, the Yeng Corporation has set aside a special division of food production--or YFP--that will not only provide jobs for the people of our city, but allow low-cost, high-quality food products to every grocery store, restaurant, and eventually, dinner table in town!”
As the crowd came to life once more in a much more myriad response, Mayor Donahue avoided all pressing questions by reaching beneath the small shelf her Big Gulp sat on and pulled out what looked to be a freshly-cooked hamburger, loaded with all the trimmings. The petite blonde woman looked directly into the vast sea of flashing cameras and took a gigantic bite, her perfectly manicured thumb straight up.
“Mm-mmm!” she overplayed it, “The only thing I’m pocketing is some extra napkins!"
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