Chapter 1185: Chapter 1183: The Final Speech

Every day, many things happen.

Some are born, some die.

Some find love, some just ended a relationship.

Everyone is the protagonist of this world, yet also the supporting character, playing out different scripts, gaining different psychological insights.

No one is unable to survive without someone else. If they are, it’s merely because they haven’t figured things out temporarily.

Mr. Truman is focused on the progress of the talks, Charlie (sis) is just eager to get the pardon order promptly, while Mr. Wycliffe is considering how to use his current advantages to settle things.

As for Lynch, he has already returned to Sabin City.

The election for Federation city legislators is direct voting by citizens. Based on the size of the city and the number of permanent residents, a varying number of legislators are elected.

This also means that small cities will have relatively fewer legislators, while large cities will have quite a lot of them.

In a city like Bupen, each election requires people to tick off dozens of names for the selection of between ten to twenty people.

There are advantages to big cities. Once selected, the power in hand is slightly greater, and access to different levels is slightly higher.

At least, the big capitalists of big cities and the capitalists of remote rural cities are completely different concepts.

But small cities do have their perks. Look at those long-serving city legislators in the Federation; opportunities arise in small cities.

Small cities have a political environment and stance that is relatively simple. With a bit of energy, there is a significant chance to win and to be re-elected.

The term for city legislators is two years, with no limit on re-election. In some places, city legislators themselves are the major economic pillars of the city, thus it is quite normal for them to serve for ten to twenty years.

In this direct election for Sabin City’s legislators, there is someone Lynch is particularly interested in, Catherine.

The election is this week, with just one final speech remaining, and after this speech, it will be time to face the public sentiment.

No matter how well a politician speaks, it won’t impact them personally; only public sentiment is crucial.

There are often times when what you said sounds good, but the people aren’t buying it. How to please the public, to gain their trust, has become an essential skill for Federation politicians to master.

Everyone has their methods. Some participate in various political shows, others interact more with voters. Each person’s methods differ, but their goals might be the same.

"I’m a bit nervous!" Catherine said, seated before the makeup mirror as a makeup artist made final adjustments for her.

She actually looked quite mature. A twenty-something girl plus professional attire and professional makeup made her appear older than her actual age.

People can be peculiar sometimes. They always believe young people are more driven, often saying to give young people more opportunities, after all, young people are society’s future.

But when it comes to choosing someone responsible for their future, they prefer seniors.

At this moment, their view changes again, believing older people have experienced many things, have more mature experience, more life insights, and only these people can make the right choices each time.

So during election speeches, Catherine’s appearance is more mature, inclined towards a rational and intellectual professional woman rather than a young girl.

The goal nearby looked at her, very satisfied, "You did better than any peer I’ve seen, perfect, you know?"

"It’s your opponent who should be nervous, not you. You just need to walk on stage with a smile and then calmly defeat them!"

Actually, they knew from the beginning the odds of winning were great—very great. But truly reaching this step still brings a bit of anxiety.

Even with the support of the mayor and the governor and some policy pushes from Lynch, ultimately it’s about the citizens’ attitude.

Catherine must gain these people’s trust. Only then will they tick her name in the upcoming vote.

As time approached, the former university journalism department professor opened the room door, "Time to go on stage!"

Catherine took a deep breath, lifted her spirits, and walked towards the door.

As she entered the stadium, many citizens cheered.

Sitting in the stands, people greeted her, and she continually responded to everyone.

Politicians always need to show how close yet far they are to ordinary people; they might only be a few steps away, but have no chance to speak face-to-face in this lifetime.

Catherine stepped to the center of the stadium. This was Sabin City’s stadium, one of the best in Sabin City and York State, and its current ownership belonged to Lynch.

Seeing the stands nearly half-filled with spectators, Catherine felt it wasn’t easy.

The entire stand can support thirty thousand people watching simultaneously, so not filling it is normal. It’s not the weekend nor a holiday; having so many people here now is actually very rare.

Other legislators, including city legislators from other regions, rent small venues for speeches, or even hold open-air speeches without renting a venue.

At least this ensures the space in front of them is packed, thereby proving their worth.

Coming to hear her this time is also related to Catherine’s recent promotion of new ideas—education reform.

Only education reform can gather so many people here on a non-holiday.

Today’s Sabin City may have fewer people on the streets because those without jobs have run here.

After reaching the center of the stadium, Catherine stood behind the podium. She smiled, slightly tilted her head, "Thank you for taking the time to come. I was thinking inside, what if there was no one outside."

A very pleasing opening remark. Actually, how could she not know about the outside situation?

She was continuously briefed on how many people came and the exact situation.

She needed just a gentle, relationship-building, mood-soothing opening to bring people closer.

As the kind laughter of the crowd continued for a while, she arranged some speeches and watches used to remind her of time and other things on the podium.

"I know everyone is very concerned about education, which is an issue I am also very focused on. If you know me well enough, you certainly know what we have gone through."

Some spectators immediately recounted those events, recognizing she and Lynch couldn’t afford college.

She nodded. Although senior politicians might dislike interruptions during speeches, for lower-level social politicians, interaction with voters could become one of their ways to please them.

"Yes, you’re right; because of poverty, we couldn’t afford college."

"At that time, Lynch and I thought someone must do something. We pinned our hopes on others, but facts told us, even if we prayed every day, we couldn’t change anything."

"Unable to afford college, still unable to afford college."

"And this became part of my drive to stand here today—education and its reform!"

Quickly moving to the speech’s core is the main style of most speeches. Actually, voters don’t entirely want to chat with politicians.

Occasionally exchanging a few words can strengthen the connection, but continuous chatting is a waste of time.

Everyone hopes politicians can be more efficient, obviously chatting and nonsense aren’t included.

People began to applaud; this is what they care about.

"What I thought was most unfair was that some hold a recommendation letter without being able to solve a single arithmetic problem and without proving themselves, yet they can get admission to prestigious universities and receive full scholarships."

"It’s very unfair. I used to be angry, and about it I was silent." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Perhaps before I didn’t have this ability. But now, it’s time to make a change."

"I cannot bring about change in the entire Federation, but I can bring about some change in Sabin City. I hope people from other places forgive my selfishness; this is my hometown."

"If I succeed here, I will try to spread successful experiences and models, allowing more people to benefit from them!"

Next were some specific measures, actually, there wasn’t anything special about education reform.

Simply enabling more people to attend school and afford it is a seemingly simple yet long-standing problem in the Federation.

It remains an issue even today.

People listened carefully, as this related to everyone’s vital interests, paying more attention than ever.

Who doesn’t have a child, and who can resist the lure of college?

Attending university in this era means a good job, a chance to enter the Middle Class, and realizing the Federation dream, even if just a small part.

The atmosphere gradually grew lively as what she said seemed more likely to become reality.

A lower threshold for social universities and more lenient student loans—if these can be achieved, then Catherine’s mentioned education reform won’t be a problem.

Even these people, and their children, could benefit from this reform.

The lively atmosphere reached a climax with Lynch’s appearance.

"I didn’t know you were coming," Catherine said, surprised and delighted to see Lynch; she truly didn’t know.

After the two hugged briefly, Lynch stepped to the podium. He looked at the audience, wearing that youthful mischievous smile, "I didn’t tell her... "

With just a simple line, people inexplicably started laughing—sometimes, personal charm truly has a significant effect.

Supporting the podium, he maintained that sunny smile, "I know some are skeptical about whether what she said can be achieved, and my purpose in coming here is to tell you it will definitely become reality!"