Lewis
These are some ideas/headcanons/whatnot about Lewis that I’ve had. This is no end all be all, just my ideas, please share your own
To preface, I dislike Lewis, for a handful of reasons, but I will try to remain objective
firstly, Lewis doesn't know or care about like half his job. I know no 2 places are the same and often have differing roles and responsibilities and such but here are the general duties of a mayor
to be CEO (chief executive officer)
to execute and enforce the laws of the city/municipality
to hire municipal managers and employees
to preside over meetings/cast votes
to provide public services to the town and ensure they work
to give information and recommendations to the city council on improvements to be made
To serve as the official spokesperson for the city government and build a sense of community
To speak with constituents and listen to their concerns and questions
Lewis seems to only cover the easier or more enjoyable parts, he decides things for the town then has others do them, he sends information and reports into the local city/governing body, he acts as a spokesperson more to build up pelican towns name than that he actually believes half of what he says as well as speaking with the townsfolk (some more than others lol) he half-asses at public services, the town has power, water and waste management, but no public transport in a town where (as far as i remember) only 2 people have some form of vehicle, or no industries to help keep the town alive (mining, lumber and such) he's a paper mayor at best
but here's the thing, just looking around, you can tell it wasn't always like this, there is lots of decayed mining infrastructure, and with how the forest near marine's home grow's, its closer to a new regrowth forest, which could hint at a small scale logging business, as well as all the broken down or decayed infrastructure. at one point the town was thriving, likely early in Lewis's career, but now everything is broken and supposedly the town is lacking in funds. the one commonality, Lewis
now I'm not saying he was the only factor, but he holds a lot of power to change said issues, its literally in his job description to fix the town but he relies on the goodwill of a private citizen to fix and build up the town, or is willing to sell land to a megacorporation that would flatten pelican town to build a factory in a heartbeat. now for disliking Lewis I don't think its laziness or pure greed-corruption that led him to what he is today, I think somethin may have happened, early on, he may have lost a loved one, or some similar heartbreaking experience, that left him depressed or distraught, and while id say he's possibly worked to manage it, it changed him, the happy man who wanted t help his hometown became a sad man alone in a big house who couldn't make the hard choices anymore and began skimming by life.
all that doesn't change what he's done but may explain it