Good morning, Bluewater Village! From The Village Chronicle, I’m Jessie Knight, and welcome back to Law and Gossip–the podcast where we take a look at the juicer side of local legislation.
This week’s guest is none other than Tessa Landgraab, of the infamous Landgraab dynasty. Tessa is City Planner and director of the Bluewater Real Estate Office. She’s here today to discuss her new condominium complex, Moroccan Manors, as well as speak more about the REO’s failed appeals for looser anti-trust laws. For context, the current law prohibits corporations from owning in excess of four commercial real estate deeds.
JK: Tessa, welcome! This is exciting. I’ve been trying to get you on the podcast for a while now.
TL: (laughs) The press people at the Landgraab Enterprises gave you the runaround, I’m sure.
JK: You can say that. You’re a hard woman to get ahold of. I have an easier time getting politicians on the record.
TL: Probably helps that your married to the mayor, no?
JK: That’s a very good point. Fair point.
TL: Congratulations on that, by the way. Your marriage--or should I say remarriage? Oh, and congrats on the recent Gootentaugen.
JK: Thank you, thank you. I appreciate you slipping that in there. My editors wanted the award pasted somewhere, but I didn’t think starting the podcast, “I’m Jessie Knight, Gootentaugen-winning journalist,” was subtle enough.
JK: Okay, okay. Let’s get down to business. We’re here to talk about Moroccan Manors--what a whirlwind! One minute it was dead in the street, the next it was all-systems-go. The anonymous donor that saved the project--I assume you know who it is?
TL: Yes, I know who it is. We’ll call him a dear friend.
JK: People are talking, you know. People have their suspicious. Might it be that wealthy young fellow who was the first to move into your new condo building?
TL: Come on, Jess, you know I can’t confirm or deny that.
JK: Humor me for a moment. Let’s say it was Evan Ottomas. He’s my brother-in-law, you know, so I don’t want to be too disparaging toward him, but...his sister is the major and his brother is the head of the police force. He has no obvious income source of his own. How is he affording the lease?
TL: The Real Estate Office doesn’t ask for the precise details. All we need to grant a lease application is either an employer statement or bank statement. Obviously, he had one or the other. He’s a very private man. He probably doesn’t appreciate his name being brought up in this conversation, given he’s nothing more than a resident in my building.
JK: Okay, again, fair enough. So. I can only assume that your change of heart about coming on this podcast has something do with your recent divorce. It’s been the story dominating the headlines--the first divorce in the history of the Landgraab dynasty--but you’ve been quiet on the subject. Was that part of the settlement agreement?
TL: Yes and no. Obviously, there’s a settlement agreement--the Landgraabs have a lot of assets to protect, and the best protection is silence. But it’s not particularly fun to speak of divorce, you know? Malcolm was very generous to me, especially as I was getting my career underway, and I loved him; I thought I’d be married to him for the rest of my life.
JK: Are you still living in the Landgraab Estate or have you moved into your new building?
JK: Some people think your office’s appeal for looser anti-monopoly legislation--which would allow corporations like Landgraab Enterprises to buy up Bluewater Village’s community lots--was your ex-husband’s doing. Some people have called you a puppet.
TL: Some people see a powerful man and a smiling wife and, yes, immediately scream, “Puppet!”
JK: But the Real Estate Office has stopped lobbying on this issue.
TL: Major Ottomas-Knight has not been friendly to my office’s interests. Looser anti-monopoly legislation would fund new building projects and bolster the local economy.
JK: So...you’ll try again when a new major is elected. Is that that what you’re saying?
TL: (shrugs) Sharla Ottomas-Knight won’t always be major, just as I won’t always be City Planner. Let’s leave it at that.