Government of Haven
Governing Haven is an interesting balancing act between several parties - those with formal power and those with real control.
Governor
The title of governor is hereditary and the current holder is Duke Fernando di Cotillion. While his family was forced to surrender significant day-to-day power 175 years ago, the Duke still holds a great deal of power in the city. The duke is still responsible for major decisions and approves decisions of the council-of-boroughs acting upon their ‘advice’. In rare instances the governor can veto a council decision. The governor is also the source of many political appointments and other positions determined by patronage such as the High Judges, who serve for a term of ten years in the Court of Common Pleas (civil law), the Court of the Exchequer (taxation), or the Court of the Eagle Standard (the high ducal court dealing with treason).
Council of Boroughs
Day-to-day government of the city is in the hands of the Council of Boroughs, a group comprised of officials elected from each of the city’s six boroughs plus one representative from the Council of Masters (note that Trade Island is administratively part of The North Corridor and doesn’t have its own representative). Membership in the council for the individual borough depends on the number of people residing in that area.
Lately, the wealthy merchant families, especially the Grand Guilders, have been attempting to wield more power by throwing their resources behind certain candidates in order to stack the council. These families, the Blackbournes, the Cellinis, the Maggias, the Varrasches, and the elven family of Nimrodel the shipwright, have yet to be successful but their influence is growing.
The Mayor
The Council selects the mayor, who acts as a chief executive, responsible for the actual management of the city, and the Mayor proposes the various Ministers for the Council to approve. The current Mayor, Elsbeth Windermere, is relatively honest, but she is not a perfect judge of men - one of her appointees is crass, greedy, and venal, a man whose only thoughts appear to be to line his own pockets as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible.
Haven Ministries
The various Ministries are managed by one of the Mayor’s appointees and generally functions without recourse to the Council - when something needs doing, it gets done. The Council would like to have a touch more power in these situations, so there is some tension with the Mayor.
Public Streets
tbd
Highways
Minister Boldan Hansumrogge is charged with the suppression of banditry and routine maintenance of the roadways around Haven to a distance of 5 days travel by horse. He can often be seen galloping into Haven from either the Horse Gate in The South Corridor, or the Caravan Gate in the North.
Health and Sanitation
The Ministry of Sanitation is responsible for keeping the sewers in workable condition and removal of large amounts of offensive materials among other things. Ministry staff are mostly dwarves, although a number of tieflings have been hired for some of the less desirable positions - it is not unusual to see a dwarf or an tiefling popping out of an open manhole in many of the residential sections. They have been tagged with the collective nickname of “Stinky” by the citizens of Haven for the obvious reason, however, it is usually cause for a rousing brawl to so address one of them.
Public Peace
This ministry is responsible for the Haven City Watch and the militia. They also provide a liaison between the city and the various mercenary bands that call Haven home.