Spring 2023 Elections: Candidate Overviews

Rockford Hills, Los Santos – Today, May 4th, the citizens of San Andreas will head to the polls starting at 8PM EST to choose their next governor, lieutenant governor, and state representatives. Candidates from all walks of life have debated their vision and ideas as they hit the campaign trail.

Weazel News met with the various candidates to better understand their backgrounds, positions, and platforms.

This page will be continually updated with more information as the election progresses. Candidates are providing their own information for this article

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Governor and Lieutenant Governor Candidates  

Name: Michael Andino
Running Mate: Eddie Euckland
Party Affiliation: Independent

Michael Andino is a stuntman and movie producer. He claims no political experience, calling himself an “everyman.”

Mr. Andino and his running mate, Eddie Euckland, have published a platform they regularly advertise via social media.

One of their key issues is tuition refunds, an idea brought forward and championed by Mr. Euckland. They propose that tuition be refunded to anyone who finds employment within their field of study. When questioned on where the money comes from, Mr. Andino suggested that wasteful spending from other departments could be reduced.

The Andino team also wishes to invest in DHS and rework the structure of DoCL, simplifying it and making it more communicative.

Police accountability is another promise Mr. Andino was very insistent on, mentioning how some officers show little regard for the collateral damage they may cause during chases.

Copyright and patent legislation is another point on the Andino platform. “If I wanted to, I could just go out in front of a crowd and start playing, let’s say, Jason Tanner’s music and claim it as my own. And the only thing that would stop me is the court of public opinion.”

Name: Ryyan Avery
Running Mate: Damien Key
Party Affiliation: Libertarian

Ryyan Avery is a well-known candidate, having served three terms as a state representative before deciding to run for governor.

His platform focuses on fighting corruption, especially from elected officials. He wants to ensure newly elected state representatives understand and perform their duty. He also promotes police accountability, believing that gang violence is a major problem.

When asked about how he first got involved in politics, Mr. Avery mentioned his former friendship with Juan Pablo DeLaRosa, condemning how Mr. DeLaRosa turned to crime, making terroristic threats and attempting to seize power.

“The people should be free. It’s why I started the Libertarian Party. We’re talking about a little bit less government oversight. Issues that need more concern, such as the gang violence, the drug dealing, the terrorist attacks. These are the things that we need to deal with.”

Name: Adrian Jax
Running Mate: Tobias Tarts
Party Affiliation: Independent

Adrian Jax and Tobias Tarts both come from a legal background, and both of them have political experience. Ms. Jax is coming off her second term as Lieutenant Governor in the Richard Starr administration. Ms. Jax and Mr. Tarts claim a long history of working together and keeping one another in check.

Ms. Jax highlights the importance of updating the criminal code. She mentioned the Speedy Trial Act as something she wants to examine. The Psych Act is another point the team wants to review, ensuring proper procedures are in place for violent or aggressive psych patients.

Ms. Jax and Mr. Tarts believe that communication is a major issue that must be worked on. They promise to make themselves available to the population, ensuring everyone feels heard. They also want to improve communication between government departments.

This is what Mr. Tarts had to say about the current election:

“Regardless of who wins this, the idea of pushing the state forward is something that needs to be paramount. Enough of the memes. Enough of the petty politics. Enough of saying platitudes instead of doing action. We need to make sure that we keep the state moving so that everybody can enjoy how they live, where they work, where they go to play.”

Name: Dan Lighten
Running Mate: Anthony Lankowski
Party: Independent

Dan Lighten is known for his work in the DOJ and is a former judge. His running mate, Anthony Lankowski, also comes from a legal background.
Their campaign focuses on transparency and justice system reform. They want to create a parole board managed by SASP and the DHS. This board would handle parole hearings and train and manage parole officers.

Communication and accountability are important for the Lighten team. They promise more press conferences and press releases to make all government departments more transparent and accountable. Mr. Lighten mentioned police procedures as an example, making sure that people understand how the police operate and how to make a complaint, should it be necessary.

Dan Lighten also wants to abolish the death penalty and had the following to say on the subject:

“Looking back, if I could personally reverse death penalty or capital punishment judgments that I’ve given in the past, I definitely would. I think abolishing the death penalty is a massive step forward towards a more accountable society where we rehabilitate offenders.”

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State Representative Candidates

Name: Billy Banter
Party Affiliation: Independent

Billy Banter campaigns as an everyman, prioritizing direct conversation with voters. He’s new to politics, having never held office before, and admitting that he has much to learn about the process.

He is a long-time resident of San Andreas and used to be a taxi driver. He attempted to start a business but could not due to various circumstances.

Mr. Banter focuses his platform on police reform, having released a poll on the subject. He believes that too many officers are confrontational when interacting with citizens, finds that they take poor care of victims after hostage situations, and decried police vehicles driving through red lights outside of emergency situations.

Transparency is another important item Mr. Banter mentioned when meeting with Weazel News. He feels like legislation could be better presented and explained to the population and promises to do so via Twitter, should he be elected.

“Every time some legislation comes across my desk, I’d like to make it public, so that the public knows what’s being planned, and explain it to them in terms they can understand. How it’s going to affect their daily lives. How things are going to change.”

Name: Jonathan Chambers
Party Affiliation: Independent

Jonathan Chambers is the owner of JC Security and Consulting. Mr. Chambers is a reformed criminal and former member of a motorcycle club. He is new to politics, his experience comes from owning a business and the seventeen years he spent in the military.

Crime and violence are major problems for Mr. Chambers. He wants to look at ways to mitigate these problems. He supports prosecutors and works with state psychologists to ensure that criminals with mental health issues can get the help they need.

The economy is another major point in the Chambers platform. He wants to rebuild the economy, fight inflation, and work towards ending the labor shortage. Mr. Chambers also expressed his desire to work with DoCL and help them fix their issues.

“There seems to be a bit of a disconnect with DoCL and the business owners right now, so what I’d like to do is sit down with DoCL and basically list all the issues they’re having. It’s mainly due to staffing issues.”

Name: Yuri Devlin
Party Affiliation: Head of the Renewal Party

While he was never elected, Yuri Devlin is familiar with politics. He attempted to run as Lieutenant Governor in the past and also tried to pass a bill that would legalize polyamorous marriage, although that bill failed.

As the leader of the renewal party, he told Weazel News that his main goal is to renew the people’s faith in their government. He wants to make government work easier to understand for the average person. He also wants to merge bills with multiple amendments and repeal older bills that are no longer relevant.

Mr. Devlin believes that communication between all government departments and the population is paramount. He wants to better communicate with affected departments before passing legislation. He also wants to help departments communicate with one another.

“The toxicity between each department really bleeds out into the standard civilian, and affects how they’re able to live their day-to-day life.”

Name: Jimmie Dimmick
Party Affiliation: Independent

Jimmie Dimmick served on the previous legislature and takes pride in the San Andreas Board of Medicine, enabling private practices in the medical field. He also told Weazel News that the segregation of Fire and Rescue from San Andreas Medical is another point of pride for him.

Regarding the state of the criminal code, Mr. Dimmick wants to keep working on balancing it, ensuring that the system is fair for everybody. He believes synergy and balance are important and wants to make it his focus should he be re-elected.

Mr. Dimmick is a doctor and current Chief Medical Examiner. Being familiar with the morgue and the type of fatal injuries common to San Andreas, he prioritizes curbing violence. He plans on working towards reducing the number of weapons on the streets.

“Inherently, the city is a very violent place, and I’m looking at ways to balance and curb that for everybody.”

Name: Morrigan Ford
Party Affiliation: Renewal Party

Morrigan Ford is new to politics. She comes from a civic background, is experienced with Public Works, and is currently employed by SAFA.

Ms. Ford wants to focus on workers’ rights and protect people from being fired unjustly. She told Weazel News that she firmly believes that justification should be given before terminating someone’s employment, and this is an issue she wants to look into.

She also wants to go through the existing bills and, as she calls it, spring clean. She believes that many bills are no longer valid in the current political climate, are duplicated, or are otherwise outdated.

Ms. Ford admits that through talking to people, she’s constantly learning. “I try to be a voice of the people, and that voice is ever-changing.”

Name: Tavlar FrostFell
Party Affiliation: Libertarian

Mr. Frostfell did not respond to Weazel News’ request for an interview.

Name: Danny McColm
Party Affiliation: Independent

Danny McColm comes from a blue-collar background, learning his trade from his family business. He’s now in the process of creating his own construction company. He’s also a sitting member of the San Andreas Chamber of Commerce.

Communication is the biggest item on Mr. McColm’s platform. He told Weazel News that he wants to be present in the community to talk to people, which he feels previous state representatives needed to do more of.

He also wants to promote transparency between the government and the different businesses and strengthen the bond between different industries and businesses.

“Everyone’s kind of on their own island, and I think that bringing the greater business community of the state together is going to be very beneficial in the end.”

Name: Adam Wrangler
Party Affiliation: Renewal Party

Adam Wrangler is an investor living in Paleto. He claims business and management experience. He is new to politics but has been studying the state’s political landscape. He prides himself on understanding the county’s issues, specifically Paleto’s.

Like other members of the Renewal Party, Mr. Wrangler’s platform focuses on reworking older laws. He believes that certain bills have fallen out of date or are not working the way they should. He mentioned the Snitches Gets Riches Act as an example of a bill with loopholes that should be closed.

He also mentioned speed limits, specifically how Paleto is situated on Great Ocean Highway, leading to vehicles speeding at 90 mph within Paleto’s city limits. He suggests that this should be clarified.

Mr. Wrangler proposes a patient and methodical approach to solving the state’s issues. He believes that short-term solutions won’t fix the larger issues and that problems should be deconstructed and slowly analyzed instead.

“I don’t think there’s necessarily one single biggest issue in this state. I think it’s a lot of smaller, or medium-sized, issues that culminate to larger problems. A lot of that just has to be tackled one piece at a time. No one’s realistically going to be able to tackle large issues that are extremely complex very easily.”

Name: Norman Wren
Party Affiliation: Independent

Having already served as a state representative, Norman Wren is established in political circles. He told Weazel News he took pride in passing bills that enabled DHS vouchers and creating a permanent homeless shelter.

Mr. Wren is very passionate about DHS, having suffered from PTSD from his time serving in the Vietnam War. He wants to give DHS a budget and give them more support.

Mr. Wren focuses on the business world in his platform. He mentioned abandoned or inactive businesses as a potential issue and worries about oversaturation in certain areas, such as the food and drink industry.

“Yes, everybody has a right to own a business of course, and I’m all for it. I don’t want anyone to be pushed away from opening a business because they’re stomped down by other competitors.”

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One issue that all candidates agreed on was the importance of voting. Democracy is a privilege and one that many people lost their lives for. Regardless of political views, heading to the poll is a duty everyone should take seriously.