Douglass Finlay

General

• Co-founder of the multi-billion-leck company Finlay-McLennan
  • Partner: Roger McLennan

• Announced, on 20-OCT-05, he was going to run for the Perplex City Council Leader position.
• Will be running against Nathan Earlywine, and incumbent Camryn Scott
• His chief platform is for strong, open leadership, unlike that of such people as Sente Kiteway.

• Statements regarding the competition:
  • Camryn Scott: "It has sadly become clear to everyone that she should step down."
  • Nathan Earlywine: "[He] is a great man, yet he sees our city the way it was, not as the shining beacon of significance and innovation it could be."

• 05?-JUN-06 - His campaign was beseiged when an anonymous stack of reports and documents implicated his connection to a string of Watergate-ish snoopish and infiltrating schemes
  • This specifically involves wire-tapping the homes of major candidates, including that of Camryn Scott.
  • Campaign manager Anton Kaneda decried the entire affair as "complete fabrication, probably concocted by the same members of the old guard who are now crying victim"
  • For a week or more, accusations and denials flew about.
  • Dispite all this, Finlay has not dropped out of the campaign.
  • Finlay's approval ratings have been plummeting ever since the controversial documents were revealed. His all-time high approval polled at 63%, but that number has fallen to 23%.

• 05-JUL-06 - As Finlay's ratings sank lower and lower, his campaign manager, Anton Kaneda, opted to resign from his position.
  • Kaneda may have been pressing Finlay to drop out of the race, but Finlay appears to stand firm.

• 17-JUL-06 - First of many City Council Electoral Debates
  • Earlywine was widely regarded as coming out on top of the competition.
  • Finlay, who has a reputation for grandstanding at public speaking engagements, was unusually subdued for this debate, presumably because his campaign is under police investigation for several possible violations of election and privacy laws.
  • He covered his basic positions almost by rote, differing little in wording from previous campaign speeches, and did not enter into the back-and-forth between the other candidates.

• 17-AUG-06 - Finlay officially bows out of the election, still asserting his innocence.
  • His vacant seat on the Council is expected to be filled by Natasha Heme.

• 25-AUG-06 - Arrested for influence peddling, invasion of privacy, and illegally acquiring unfair and unethical information to influence an electoral race
  • Scott expressed deepest regret at his loss of character, saying "I do sympathise with [Finlay's] motivations, he's only human, just like the rest of us, and just as prone to error. And it can be difficult not to press a perceived advantage."
  • Earlywine expressed disgust at his loss of character, saying "Those who would seek a council seat should hold themselves to only the highest moral and intellectual standards."
  • Finlay himself continued to insist his complete and abject innocence and ignorance in the matter, promising to use all his power to clear his good name.

Scott, Earlywine Even in Polls Recent polls indicate that sitting Council Leader Camryn Scott and Council Member Nathan Earlywine, both candidates for the Council Leader post, are now running neck-and-neck in public opinion following popular candidate Douglass Finlay's exit from the race. The poll also shows fellow candidate Shannon Powell trailing with a scant 2% of the vote, and a full 18% of those polled remained undecided. Sentinel, news in brief, 11-SEP-06

References

• article, 20-OCT-05 "Finlay Quits Consumer Giant in Run for Office" (link)
• article, 05-JUN-06 "Scandal Hammers Finlay's Campaign" (link)
• more headlines, 08-JUN-06 "Finlay Denials Continue"
• more headlines, 12-JUN-06 "Council Blasts Finlay"
• more headlines, 19-JUN-06 "Finlay Camp Goes Quiet"
• more headlines, 22-JUN-06 "Earlywine Roasts Finlay"
• article, 06-JUL-06 "Finlay Campaign Manager Resigns" (link)
• article, 20-JUL-06 "Earlywine Presses Advantage in Debate" (link)
• article, 17-AUG-06 "Finlay Abandons Race Amid Spying Rumours" (link)
• article, 25-AUG-06 "Finlay Arrested, Charged" (link)
• news in brief, 11-SEP-06 "Scott, Earlywine Even in Polls" (link)