— BASICS
Name: James Andrew Dunham Age / D.O.B.: 43 / 19th January 1980 Gender, Pronouns & Sexuality: Cis man, he/him, heterosexual Hometown: New York, NY, USA Affiliation: Government Job position: Mayor Education: Bachelor in PoliSci (Harvard), Juris Doctor (Harvard) Relationship status: Married Children: Eliza (8), Lily (5), with another one on the way... Positive traits: Naive, sensitive, driven, protective, dutiful Negative traits: Stubborn, righteous, entitled, competitive, obsessive
— BIOGRAPHY
Mother's side comes from old money, father's side is full of nepo-liticians. The two combined births toxic waste. But first, the eldest son, James. The Golden Boy of the new generation of Dunhams. He was everything you expected him to be, and yet people either found themselves impressed or disappointed by him.
He has always had a big heart, and an even bigger stomach to do what he felt was right. The good thing. The honourable thing. Whether that stems from genuine altruism or plain narcissism is still undecided. So it worked in his favour that he had no other choice but to go into politics, and even more so that he came from a family of reputable policy makers.
Differences with his parents aside, James was the child that most easily fell in line. He had a desperate need to please them whilst simultaneously wanting to stand out, but he never strayed too far.
Everything leading up to his first election was like ticking boxes off a checklist, a recipe for what makes a good man. Even as he worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, which his family referred to as 'charity cases', he maintained steadfast in his belief that he wanted to set his career off in the right way. Set the tone straight.
During college, he volunteered with the Peace Corps, got involved with various election campaigns, and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau working on what his family referred to as 'charity cases'. Like ticking boxes off a checklist, a recipe for what makes a good man. All because he wanted to set his career off in the right way. Set the tone straight.
Maybe his dad was right. He didn't have to do it. But it worked. He ran against a long-term Republican incumbent and won. Two years later, after a family scandal blows up. His father, now an infamously disgraced former US senator, is imprisoned, and James does not get re-elected.
Stupidly James stood by him, thought it was important to stand together as one, united, even if the youngest little shit was the one to cause it all. Especially since the youngest little shit was the one to cause it all. But mostly because he had no choice. His father was in the knowledge of his worst crimes which he'd helped cover up.
After years of distancing himself from the event, his failed attempts at redeeming the family name as well as his own reputation did not get him very far. Not even starting a charitable foundation helped in winning over public favour.
It became clear to him that nothing was working for him. His marriage had been on the rocks since his father was found guilty. Not even the two kids managed to save it. They were growing unhappier by the day. He'd lost every single election since, and the party seemingly started to forget all about him.
Whether it was out of selfish greed, desperation, or childish competitiveness that rivals his siblings, James accepted the offered hand from the Republican party. He switched party affiliations to Republican two years ago and successfully ran for mayor. A win is a win, but James knows it was not won by team effort alone. In fact, he doesn't want to know how it was won.
He is still dealing with the consequences of that decision. New friends were made, but a lot more enemies were gained. Perhaps he is still naive to think he can still achieve everything he'd originally sought to achieve in his early career. Maybe he doesn't realise he's only made things infinitely harder for himself. Only time will tell. For now, he remains passionate, headstrong, but most importantly hungry to never hit rock bottom again.
— WANTED CONNECTIONS / PLOTS
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