Grand Commissioner Gladys Linklater-Capitol-Finished

Name: Grand Commissioner Gladys Linklater

Age: Fifty Five

Gender: Female

District/Area: The Capitol

History:

The following is a transcript of a hearing of the Panem Financial Affairs Committee:

Chairman Oscar Parnassas:  *Bangs gavel* The Financial Affairs Committee shall come to order.  The first item on the agenda is the nomination of Dr. Gladys Linklater to the position of Grand Commissioner of the Assembly for Commerce and Economic Development in the Districts or ACEDD.  Is Dr. Linklater prepared to proceed with her opening statement?

Gladys Linklater:  Yes, your honor.

OP: The Chair recognizes Dr. Linklater.

GL:  Thank you, your honor.  As the distinguished members of this body are well aware, under former Grand Commissioner Sullivan, the vital work of ACEDD has been alarmingly substandard.  Under his supervision, the Districts have grown more rebellious and have consistently reduced their economic output to the Capitol year after year. Because of Grand Commissioner Sullivan’s wasteful administrative style and the culture of corruption he fostered in his department, the Districts have not been producing enough exports to meet demand in this great city.  Everyday Capitolites are being forced to pay higher prices for basic necessities ranging from petrol to pheasant to electronics. President Snowe chose me to take over this wayward Assembly because he has confidence that I bring to the table the mix of academic, corporate, and public service experience necessary to return the Capitol to its former glory. I hope that in today’s hearing I can convince you all to share the President’s confidence in my abilities.

OP:  Thank you Dr. Linklater.  The Chair recognizes the Ranking Member, Mr. Woodwiki to question  the nominee.

Ranking Member Clarence Woodwiki:  Thank you Mr. Chair. Dr. Linklater, I understand that you are a highly educated individual with a long track record of public service.  However I am skeptical of your private sector experience. The only such experience I noticed on your CV was that you worked for a consulting firm for a year and a half.  What were your duties at HLT Consulting?

GL:  I was a senior partner at Holden Linklater and Thurgood Consulting.  That’s why there was an “L” in the name of the company, sir.

CW:  And what experience did you gain at HLT that qualifies you to hold one of the top economic policy positions in Panem?

GL:  Mr. Woodwiki, while my time at HLT was brief, it was formative for my future career.  As a senior partner, I assisted our clients, who were mostly inter district transportation and logistics companies to come into compliance with the regulations set by this very body.  I helped clients follow the letter of the law, guaranteeing the safest, highest quality goods, services, and transit for the citizens of the Capitol. My time at HLT prepared me to be an effective logistics officer, orchestrating the transportation of athletes and spectators to the District Four Olympic Games. And it gave me valuable insight into the interplay between our National Government and private industries.  

CW: If your tenure at HLT was in fact so productive, why did it last such a short time?

GL:  I was offered a position as Provost of the Panem Institute of Policy and Economics and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to give back to my Alma Mater where I got both my Doctorate in economics and my law degree.  I wouldn’t be where I am today without the distinguished educators at PIPE and I am proud to have worked for such a noble organization.

CW:  But you left a company that literally had your name on it.  Surely it wasn’t just so you could take a cushy administrative position at PIPE.  What happened at HLT to get you to abandon your own company? I’m simply concerned that you are just a theoretical business woman instead of a true entrepreneur with the experience to--

OP:  The Ranking Member’s time has expired.  The Chair recognizes Mrs. Cranmer.

Rosalind Cranmer:  Thank you Mr. Chair. Dr. Linklater, I’d like to discuss a paper you published as Provost of PIPE titled “Opening Inter-District Avenues of Commerce to Increase Economic Output.”  Do you remember writing this paper?

GL:  Yes ma’am.

RC:  And in this paper you described an ambitious agenda to provide economic rewards to Districts that meet their output quotas.  Could you elaborate on this plan of yours?

GL:  I’d be happy to. You see, merchants in the Districts do not have access to the same array of commercial goods that we enjoy in the Capitol.  My plan is to allow merchants and craftsmen who produce more than their quotas of goods for the Capitol to use their excess output to engage in trade with merchants in other districts.  All inter-district trade would be strictly supervised by ACEDD and would include only goods that were produced above and beyond the demand in the Capitol. By offering the citizens of the Districts the opportunity to trade with each other if and only if they complete all of their Capitol contracts, I believe we can inspire the increased productivity necessary to meet the consumption demands of all Capitolites.  Additionally, we would have the opportunity to charge a logistical fee on good being shipped between Districts, supplementing government revenue without raising taxes here in the Capitol. It’s a win-win strategy that I’ve been pushing for over a decade, that the former Grand Commissioner wholeheartedly ignored. It would be a top priority of the Assembly under my leadership should I be confirmed by this committee.  

RC:  I have nothing further.

OP:  Thank you Mrs. Cranmer.  The Chair recognizes Mr. Barry.

Simeon Barry:  Thank you Mr. Chair. Dr. Linklater, I think I agree with you when you called your plan ambitious.  I’m concerned that you are woefully underestimating the rebellious nature of some of our Districts. Do you have a plan to deal with the Districts that habitually fail to pull their wait and who likely wouldn’t be persuaded by the opportunity to buy fish or nice clothing?

GL:  Sir, the plan I just outlined is just one part of my overarching carrot-and-stick philosophy to District economic management.  As you are well aware, I enjoy a much closer relationship with the brave men and women who don the Peacekeeper Uniform than my predecessor.  I come from a Peace-minded family. My husband of twenty four years has retired from the service and my son is currently serving in District Three.  I am not hesitant to work in tandem with the Peacekeepers in troublesome districts to ensure that each District gives the Capitol what we are owed. I simply believe that we ought to try revenue-positive method of motivating citizens before we resort to say… rounding up all the lazy farmers and flogging them in the street.  

SB:  Thank you Doctor.  I have nothing further.

OP:  The Chair would recognize Mr. Baldwin, but he is not in attendance today.  So we shall move to a vote. The matter at hand is the confirmation of Dr. Linklater to the post of Grand Commissioner of ACEDD.  Those in favor, say AYE, (Parnassus, Cranmer, Barry) Those opposed, NAY (Woodwiki). By a vote of three to one with one abstention, the nominee is confirmed.  Congratulations Grand Commissioner Linklater.

GL:  Thank you sir.

OP:  The second item on the agenda today is a proposed .25% adjustment to the interest rate of the District Six branch of Panem National Bank. Today we have four witnesses prepared to testify on the matter…

Personality:

Gladys emerged from the bathroom wearing the fuzziest black bathrobe District Ten had to offer.  Her hair was tied in a towel to dry. She made her way across the hotel room to the small writing desk beside the wardrobe.  She got out a delicate piece of mint green stationery embossed with a flowery silver border punctuated by two shimmering turtle doves.  She gripped her favorite fountain pen and began to write with the thinnest and slantiest of pen strokes.

My Dearest, Forsythe,

I haven’t a clue why I’ve been cursed with such rotten luck lately.  My first assignment as Grand Commissioner has taken me to what I can only assume is the foulest smelling District in all of Panem.  Everywhere I go, I am assaulted by the bitter stench of dung. I don’t know how these poor people manage to eat anything with the ever present odor constantly threatening to induce vomiting.  I decided the only prudent thing to do would be to wear twice as much perfume while I am here to try to mask the scent of manure. Whenever I catch a particularly heinous whiff, I imagine how difficult it must have been for you to be stationed here for months.  If it’s possible, I’d say the smell only serves to make me love you more as I gain a deeper appreciation the sacrifices you made to protect our country.

The locals haven’t taken kindly to the idea of ACEDD supervised open markets.  Most of the ranchers I’ve spoken to stubbornly insist that the Capitol’s quotas are too high for them to reach.  They aren’t even willing to ramp up production a little bit to try to export enough meat to meet demand. I have come to conclusion that the biggest difference between us and the people here is ambition.  When a Capitolite is faced with a challenge, we persevere, refusing to let anyone tell us we cannot achieve our wildest dreams. But when these ranchers face difficulty, they embrace mediocrity immediately.  Everyone here has been so quick to argue that they cannot meet their quotas that they never even take a moment to picture the greatness that we could accomplish together. When our country needed us to serve as a peacekeeper or a professor or a banker or the Grand Commissioner of ACEDD, we answered the call with our eyes toward a better tomorrow.  But these poor people are overwhelmed with sloth and defeatism I almost pity them.

I received a letter from Roland yesterday.  He says things are improving in District Three since his unit moved curfew thirty minutes earlier.  He seems to think that the biggest problem facing the Districts is too much free time. I haven’t witnessed that for myself here in Ten, but it got me thinking about the possibility of a system to streamline workers’ time and create schedules for them so that they’d be protected from their own idle hands.  In your experience, do you think something like that would work? I want my legacy here to be giving the people something. Perhaps they would rather have the schedules than the open markets. I’m just quite worried that I’ll have to resort to corporal punishment. Forsythe, I am not as strong as you. I am concerned that I have neither the heart nor the stomach to order a public flogging should it become necessary.  What do you suggest to help these wayward souls in District Ten?

It’s getting late and I should be going now.  I will be certain to dream of you tonight. My heart won’t be whole again until I am reunited with you.

Lovingly Yours,

Dr. Gladys Linklater

Grand Commissioner of the Assembly for Commerce and Economic Development in the Districts

Gladys sprayed the letter with her perfume and sealed it in a small mint green envelope.  She sealed the letter with a stamp of President Snowe’s face before spraying the whole thing once again with perfume to be sure her letter wouldn’t smell like District Ten.  She tucked the letter in her black handbag to be mailed in the morning and quietly drifted off to sleep.

Appearance:

Gladys Linklater is a woman who oozes unearned confidence and unyielding certainty.  She doesn’t do anything quietly. Before she arrives, everyone can hear the loud clicking of her impractical designer shoes and the jangling of her gaudy gold bracelets.  The Grand Commissioner’s voice is low and husky, almost eerily masculine. It is the perfect pitch to resonate in narrow halls, heralding her approach and shutting down all but the most persistent of ambient chatter.  Next, she can be smelled. Dr. Linklater’s signature perfume scent is a pungent blend of ginger and chamomile. She sprays it constantly while she travels to mask the odors of the various Districts and their industries.  It does little to cover the smell of the cigarettes Gladys chain smokes. It isn’t uncommon for her hotel rooms to smell like ginger and tobacco smoke for weeks after she leaves.

Gladys is a fifty five year old woman desperately clinging to the beauty of her mid- thirties with a moderate degree of success.  She’s maintained her hourglass figure with a lozenge-centric diet and her porcelain face is the impressive handiwork of a good doctor and a devoted beautician.  Her hair still shines and bounces. Most people wouldn’t suspect it’s dyed. And she adorns herself in black ensembles with dramatic silhouettes. She takes long strides and  makes bold gestures with her hands as she speaks. She demands the attention of everyone in the room.

If unwavering gusto was the only job requirement of the Grand Commissioner, She would be set.  But every now and then, her self-doubt bubbles up. Her permanent toothy grin breaks for just a second as she considers the possibility that she is woefully inadequate for the important job she has to do.  If you blink you’ll miss it. It doesn’t take long for Gladys to shove that self doubt out of her consciousness and return to normal with a flourish of her meticulously manicured hand. But it’s still somewhere, and at least part of her understands that she has no idea what she’s doing.  She’s just playing the part until someone finally catches on to her charade.

Other:

Faceclaim is Miranda Otto