Franz Testerman

**Mayor Franz Testerman** is a minor character in The Smoke Room. He is the mayor of Echo, though his authority within the town is somewhat questionable.

## Appearance

Mayor Testerman is a short, rather chubby rat with brown fur and eyes. He has slicked back brown hair, as well as a bushy brown mustache.

Franz wears a black suit with a gray vest, blue tie, and a belt with a prominent silver buckle.

## Personality

Mayor Testerman is a rather cowardly individual who tends to rely upon the guidance of others when making decisions. In terms of his office, others tend to walk all over him as he struggles to keep the town's citizens, especially the elite, appeased. Despite this, he has something of a stubborn streak and is often more concerned with how the public might perceive his personal image than inciting actual change within Echo.

## Story

### Before The Smoke Room

At some point prior to the events of The Smoke Room, Franz was elected into the office of Mayor. His political goals and endeavors are largely unknown, though he appears to be at least somewhat well-liked by the community. According to Todd, Franz once famously gave his coat to a freezing elderly woman on an uncommonly cold Easter Sunday. Though the story seems to credit Mayor Testerman for saving the woman's life with his generosity, Will notes that the mayor did the bare minimum while receiving full credit for his actions in the eyes of the public.

This story seems to exemplify Franz's politics in general, as despite his office he tends to defer to and even seek advice from other influential figures in the community such as James Hendricks III, Gretchen Byrnes, Sheriff Adler, and Madam Dora. Overall, though Franz is well-regarded by the people of Echo at large, he is fairly incompetent and lacks the conviction necessary to govern the town's affairs. This makes him somewhat of a figurehead compared to his aforementioned peers and their respective agendas for the town's growth.

### Will's Route

Mayor Franz is first seen the night after Murdoch Byrnes is shot during a poker game held at the sheriff's office. He accompanies Gretchen Byrnes to The Hip in an attempt to gather more information on the situation and its potential relationship to the recent murder of a member of the local mining community from Madam Dora. He is then introduced to Sam, who explains the incident before dismissing himself. Sam incredulously makes note of the Mayor's incompetence and his tendency to defer to Gretchen while conducting his interview.

Later on, Testerman summons Will to his office in order to discuss the disappearance of Huxley Greene and the shooting at the sheriff's station. During this appointment, he expresses frustration with Will for not finding Jack's killer or preventing the subsequent incidents. Rather than fearing for the sake of the community however, Franz exhibits concerns for his personal reputation and the potential of losing the financial support of James Hendricks should the miners remain unappeased. When informed that Huxley's murder seems to be independent of Jack's, the mayor immediately cheers up, though his mood is quickly dampened by the sheriff's suggestion to evacuate the town. Mayor Franz begrudgingly agrees to review evacuation drills for the town, but in a way that does not impact the community.

## Relationships

### William Adler

Mayor Testerman relies upon Sheriff Adler to keep the town's peace and ensure that the public image of Echo remains at least somewhat clean. As such, the mayor has high expectations of Will and grows frustrated with him when discord breaks out within the community. Though William does not work for the mayor's office directly and the sheriff himself has a low opinion of Franz, Mayor Testerman often looks to the sheriff for information and guidance on how to handle situations involving the law. That being said, Franz tends to disregard Will's word if he feels it will damage his reputation.

### Other political figures

Similarly to his relationship with the sheriff, Mayor Testerman tends to defer toward other influential figures within Echo for guidance in how to keep the town running smoothly. He worries heavily about appeasing James Hendricks III due to his integral financial support of the town, though in turn the ram finds Franz to be an inconsequential figure in his personal plans for Echo and has little regard for the mayoral office.

Likewise, the mayor respects Gretchen Byrnes as the "second mother" to all of Echo's children as the school's principal and a well-regarded member of the community. Gretchen appears to tolerate the mayor and be at least somewhat cordial with him, though much to his chagrin she tends to leave the problems he faces as something for him to resolve.

Finally, like many other members of the community, Franz tends to utilize The Hip as an information hub of sorts and occasionally visits the establishment to seek knowledge from Madam Dora. The proprietress herself appears to treat him warmly due to his influence as the mayor, though behind closed doors Dora finds him incompetent and somewhat of an annoyance much to his obliviousness.