Politics of the Cascadia Metropolitan Alliance

The CMA is comprised of three separate, independent metropolitan areas, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, that have banded together for mutual economic support. The governing body of the CMA is composed of delegates form each metro area, usually the mayor, to act as a three seat executive board. The city councils of each metro area meet once every month to act as a congressional body. There are hundreds of delegates on the Civil Congress.

The current mayor of  Portland is Lisa Gregory. Lisa is a corrupt politician who values the interests of the Corporations over those of her constituents. Her loyalty is not misplaced either. Were it not for Genom's massive investment in the region in the early 2000's and 2010's, and it's location of a small Genom tower in Portland over Seattle, Portland would likely have become a ghost town as most corporate capital went north to Seattle. It's Genom money that funds her re-election campaign. It's Genom money that keeps the MAX lines running. It's Genom money that built the Mag-Lev and the Bob Packwood Arcology. She's not going to lose them now, especially not because of some two-bit armored vigilantes.  It's also rumored that Mayor Gregory has ties with the Triads, the Yakuza, and other organized crime syndicates.

Standing up to Mayor Gregory and Genom is a small but vocal minority of Boomer Rights Activists. They consist of mainly college students and liberal intellectuals (things Portland has no shortage of). They want nothing more than the complete abolition of Boomer slavery. They view boomers as intelligent beings with rights and priveledges. Although the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes a Boomer's right for civil liberty, independence can only be granted after a successful lawsuit. The Activists want a complete emancipation of all boomers. They often stage protest rallies in Pioneer Courthouse Square and at the foot of the Genom Tower in East Portland. The Activists also run shelters and provide aid to free boomers who have found themselves jobless and homeless as a result of their new status. Many free boomers also join their cause.  The Activists have a voice in city government in the form of Henrikka Liessen, a Swedish-born naturalized citizen who holds a seat on the Portland City Council. She is the complete opposite of Mayor Gregory both politically and in temperament.

Aside from legal protest rallies and boomer liberation drives, the Activists also harbor a faction called the Boomer Liberation Front, a terrorist group who executes guerilla raids on Genom facilities and on Boomer retailers. They are highly illegal and care little for human safety, anything to further the cause of boomer liberation. Most members of the front are ex-gutterpunks and cyberpunks who found an outlet for their violent tendicies. Though they are willing to kill for their cause, few are willing to die for it.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum but just as radical are the Human Rights League, a political group whose goal is the complete eradication of all Cyberdroids. The HRL view boomers as a threat, and with good reason. Many thousands of low-skilled laborers and service employees lost their jobs and found themselves homeless after being replaced by cheap Boomer labor.  The Leaguers stage protest rallies in the Square and at the Genom tower as well.  They also conduct raids on Genom facilities and Boomer retailers, but with the intention of destroying boomers, not liberating them.  Most Leaguers are ultra-conservative blue-collar workers who are generally bigoted towards everyone, including boomers.

The Human Rights League and the Boomer Rights Activists often find themselves in confrontational situations that generally erupt into mob violence. Riots have broken out at nearly every protest rally held by either side, prompting the intervention of the ADPolice. Often times, however, Genom itself deals with the riot situation. It is not with some small measure of satisfaction on Genom's part that when headquarters calls off the ADPolice riot squad, Genom combat boomers and tactical security squads take over to "break up" the violence.

The CMA government is not an intrinsicly strong body politically, it has no real power. It's function is to coordinate municipal departments into one unified body and to resolve policy for the urban Alliance. It is, in turn, up to the local governments to implement any policy determined by the Civil Congress or Mayoral Board.

Most CMA policy concerns coordinating the Unified Police Force, the 3CD, the Traffic or Transportation Department, the Communications Department, and the Operations Department.

The current Police Chief of Portland is Chief Arbor Wilson. Arbor is an environmentalist and the child of "Hippies" from the 1960's. Arbor is also an ultra-liberal politically, and is often at odds with his superiors in the CMA Government. He is very professional when it comes to police work and demands everything be done by the book, though he is not overly strict. He prefers to deal with his subordinates with group identity sessions and positive feedback. Chief Wilson is always calm and sedate, even in the heat of battle or a hostage situation. He never raises his voice or loses his temper, but he will also not take any patronization or be taken advantage of. His passive nature only hides his deviousness and resourcefulness. It is clear that Chief Wilson keeps his job only because he is easily controlled by the Mayor, and thus by Genom.  A stronger personality would have to be dealt with otherwise. Although Arbor is very aware of his precarious relationship with the Mayor, he nontheless has no love for Genom. It has been speculated that he is a member of the Activists and often arranged red-herring assignments for his investigators that will indirectly impact or involve Genom.