"There’s no set time limit for this process."

Ethan looked at Leo, his tone growing heavy.

"In other words, Moretti doesn’t even have to openly vote against it and make an enemy of you. He only needs to do one thing: nothing at all."

"He can toss your budget proposal into that black hole known as the Budget and Finance Committee and let Linda Rossi handle the review."

"Linda will schedule endless hearings. One day she’ll ask you to provide supplementary financial data, the next she’ll have you explain the environmental impact, and the day after that, you’ll be submitting legal compliance reports."

"If even one document doesn’t meet the requirements, or if a single piece of data is questionable, the review will be suspended indefinitely."

"This is what’s known as a pocket veto."

"He can drag out your revitalization plan for three months, six months, even a year. Until the public’s enthusiasm for you runs out. Until the workers, left with no jobs, leave in disappointment. Until your political capital is completely bankrupt."

"And all he has to do is sit in his office, sip his coffee, and publicly state, ’We need to be accountable to the taxpayers and are conducting a thorough review.’"

Leo felt as if he were suffocating as he listened to Ethan’s description.

’This was the most terrifying thing about bureaucracy.’

’It could kill you with red tape alone.’

"Why would he do this?" Leo was baffled. He asked Roosevelt, "The revitalization plan is good for the city. It creates jobs and improves public safety. If Pittsburgh improves, that’s good for him as the Speaker too. Doesn’t he want to be reelected?"

In Leo’s mind, politics, despite being full of conflict, was ultimately about solving problems.

It was about creating win-win scenarios.

’Kid, you’re still too naive.’

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in his mind.

’Do you think Moretti cares whether Pittsburgh does well? Do you think he cares if those workers have food on the table?’

’No.’

’He only cares about one thing: authority.’

’In this city hall, before you arrived, he was the true power behind the throne. Carter Wright may have been the Mayor, but on many practical matters, he had to defer to Moretti. They had a kind of unspoken equilibrium.’

’But now, you’re here.’

’You’re a strong Mayor, swept into office by a near-revolutionary election, riding a massive wave of popular support.’

’You’ve bypassed all the middlemen and spoken directly to the people. You’ve used executive orders to push reforms and Federation funds to build projects.’

’This makes them seem insignificant, like nothing more than optional rubber stamps.’

’And that is something Moretti absolutely will not tolerate.’

Roosevelt’s voice grew sharp.

’To a slippery old fox like him, your success is the greatest challenge to his authority.’

’He doesn’t want to obstruct the revitalization plan for its own sake. He might even think it’s a good plan.’

’What he wants is to tame you.’

’He wants to make you understand that in this city, it doesn’t matter how big of a hero you are or how many votes you won.’

’Without his stamp of approval—the stamp of Thomas Moretti—you couldn’t even replace a manhole cover on the street.’

’He wants to see you beat your head against a wall until you’re bloody and broken. Then, you’ll have no choice but to get on your knees, knock on his door, beg him, make a deal with him, and acknowledge his authority.’

’That’s the logic of power.’

’When it comes to power, the public interest always comes second. The pecking order is what comes first.’

Leo fell silent.

He stared at the smiling photo of Moretti on the whiteboard, and it was as if he could see the vicious snarl hidden behind it.

’This is a much tougher opponent than Carter Wright.’

’Carter Wright at least had clear weaknesses: his desire for reelection, the strings pulled by his financial backers.’

’But Moretti... he had no obvious weaknesses.’

’He’d been in that position for too long. He was deeply entrenched, impervious to reason.’

’What should we do?’ Leo asked Roosevelt in his mind. ’Should I handle him the way I handled Carter Wright? I could use the Pittsburgh Heart to mobilize the public, have them surround the City Council, and force him to resign?’

’No, that’s suicide.’ Roosevelt immediately shot down the idea.

’Leo, you have to understand the fundamental difference between the City Council’s source of power and the Mayor’s.’

’You’re the Mayor. Your power comes from a city-wide popular vote. Your legitimacy is built on the votes of three hundred thousand people. That’s why you can wage a war of public opinion, why you can use popular momentum to pressure people.’

’But Moretti is different.’

’First, the position of Speaker isn’t elected by the public. It’s decided by the nine council members amongst themselves, behind closed doors. As long as he can lock down the key votes and keep his old cronies happy, public opinion from the outside is just noise.’

’Second, and this is the trickiest part: the district system.’

’Every city councilor is the King of their own little independent kingdom. Their power comes solely from their own district.’

’You can’t interfere in their district elections the way a mayoral election is run. It would be futile.’

’Moretti has been working his district for twenty-five years. He knows every pastor at every church, every PTA president, and even the owner of every corner store.’

’He’s fixed their streetlights and gotten their parking tickets dismissed. He’s built an ironclad network of patronage there.’

’If you were to mobilize city-wide opinion against him now, to attack his district...’

’All he has to do is stand up and tell his constituents that the arrogant new Mayor in City Hall is trying to bully their community and strip away their interests.’