John Holland

[quote="Jovuistan";p="36988670"]Okay, I know this app probably needs a few things changed, and it was a little rushed, but it's better to have it out now so I know what to change.

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Character Information Sheet[/align]

NS Nation Name: Jovuistan
Character Name: John Holland
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 71
Character Height: 6'4"
Character Weight: 209 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job: Louisiana State Treasurer (2012-2016), Louisiana State Representative (2000-2012)
Appearance: [img]https://www.biography.com/.image/ar\_1:1%2Cc\_fill%2Ccs\_srgb%2Cg\_face%2Cq\_auto:good%2Cw\_300/MTQyNjgwMDQ0NjE4MTMwNzU4/gettyimages-503700338jpg.jpg[/img]
Character State of Origin: Louisiana
Character State of Residence: Louisiana
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Main Strengths: Negotiator, wealthy, insider influence, liked by moderates and some African-Americans.
Main Weaknesses: Old, boring, disliked by the hard-right and white conservatives outside of some social issues, establishment reputation, vain.
Biography: John Abraham Holland was born on October 23rd, 1947 in New Orleans. His father was a veteran of the Second World War, while his mother worked as a nurse. He was born the oldest of three brothers. John was a bookworm from an early age, performing above average during his segregated school years. He was also highly aspirational in his formation years. Seeing his family living on the edge of poverty heavily impacted his life goals and world view and he made it his dream to get into a position of power and wealth at that point. He worked a few odd jobs by the time he turned 18, attempting to save up money to go to college. That would be cut short however when he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam war.

His time in Vietnam was pretty straightforward. He wasn't any sort of war hero or purple heart recipient. He did, however, face notable levels of discrimination from his fellow servicemen, which left him infuriated at points. Still, he held his own in combat situations and eventually returned to the United States to see a significant change in the political culture. Holland had little to no interest in politics up to that point, but his mistreatment during the war had made an impact on his views. He was raised to be a social conservative and maintained right-wing views on moral issues, but he began to shift left on issues related to race.

Now home from Vietnam, Holland made use of his G.I. Bill education benefits to get into Southern University and A&M College, where he studied finance. After his graduation, he moved back to New Orleans to find work at the recently founded Liberty Bank & Trust Company. While his performance was relatively good and he was able to work his way up the ranks at a decent pace, his work in this period remained largely uneventful. He did, however, meet his future wife Joyce at this time. After several years of building a relationship, the two made the decision to get married, and in 1981 Holland moved with Joyce to Lafayette in order to live closer to her family. John was able to find new work at a Chase Bank in Lafayette shortly after.

He first began truly flirting with politics in 1980 when he voted for the first time for Ronald Reagan, captured by his charisma and economic conservatism. Though some of his views moderated since then, he became a staunch supporter of many Republican policies during that time, from banning abortion to free-market economics. As he moved further up the ranks at the local branch, his dedication to politics only grew. While he did end up voting for (Not Clinton) after feeling betrayed by (Not Bush)'s turn around on taxes, he stayed mostly in favor of Republican candidates.

Things came to a head when the (Not Lewinsky) scandal opened the flood gates nationally. To say Holland was upset by the revelation would be an understatement. He felt compelled to act out against the President for his sexual immorality and flew out to D.C. to protest for his resignation. With this move, however, an idea went to his head. He made the bold move of quitting his job at Chase Bank to pursue a bid for U.S. Senate in 1998. Thanks to his long career as a Banker, Holland had managed to not only amass a fair amount of wealth, he had also gained a few friends in high places. These connections and access to money allowed him to make up some of the gap in name recognition he had, and he was able to win about 5% of the vote, much of it coming from his home Parish.

Though his performance in the election left him disappointed, it also got him the attention of the state Republican Party. They made the decision to recruit Holland and offer him support in a potential run for state House next year. While it was far from the ideal position he wanted, he accepted their offer and managed to win the election in 1999. He developed a reputation as a fiscal moderate in his early years, being open to compromise with Democrats on economic policy at several points. He became a key figure in pushing through Republican policy when Democrats had a large majority in the chamber, giving him a substantial say in his party's legislation. He won re-election in 2003 and 2007, being viewed as a moderate rising star in the state party, but also as a sellout to more conservative elements due to his compromising nature. In 2008 he was appointed Chairman of the Commerce Committee by the new Republican Speaker. When the 2008 recession began, Holland worked to build a team with both Republican and Democratic House members to draft legislation to help Lousiana recover. While the effectiveness of this effort has been debated, it raised his profile substantially and set himself up for any future run.

Facing a term limit that prevented him from running again, Holland decided to run for State Treasurer. He was able to win a majority of the vote in the first round. His primary focus as State Treasurer was to streamline the department as much as he could, largely supporting the policies of (Not Jindal). He wouldn't have much time to work however as some in the party wanted him to run for Governor. While he was initially opposed to the idea, wanting to run for U.S. Senate, he was able to be convinced by insiders to declare his candidacy in 2015. He enjoyed a great deal of support from parts of the moderate wing of the party, he was unable to make it through the jungle primary as (Not Vitter) pulled ahead of him by just a couple percentage points, going on to lose the general election.

Now out of a job, Holland has chosen to bide his time until his next opportunity to run for statewide office. He endorsed (Not Jeb!) during the 2016 election and took some time before reluctantly coming out in support of Wolf, which has made the Wolf Pack suspicious of his dedication to the movement. He is a heavily touted potential candidate to challenge the incumbent Governor in 2019 and has been highly critical of the administration throughout the last few years.

Other Info: Has two daughters named April (36) and Athena (33). Can play Piano.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: Jovuistan

Do Not Remove: 84721

Anyways Imma go eat some cookies while it gets reviewed.[/quote]