Garret Columbia

From Wikimerica, the United States encyclopedia

**Garret Absoinino Columbia** (April 4, 2062 - April 5, 2193) was as American Politician served as the 77th President of the United States from 2117 to 2121. He is considered the first President elected after doomsday in a free and fair election. He lead the opposition against President Benjamin Atwood, eventually beating him in an election most thought was a forgone conclusion to be rigged in Atwood favor.

After having survived doomsday, he lead a group of survivors to establishing the Republic of New Mexico and he was elected its first President. During his time as President from 2115 to 2117 he managed to stabilize the states comprising New Mexico by resetting it to an agricultural state that focused on food production. He also successfully negotiated New Mexico's reintegration into the United States on the two coming into contact with each other.

Columbia is ranked as one of the greatest President's in American history for his success in restoring American democracy after the Administration of Benjamin Atwood. His continuation of reuniting American territory, and purification of the Justice Department. He is criticized for his refusal to prosecute Benjamin Atwood for crimes committed during his term leading to a prevailing belief that Atwood "got away with everything".

## Early Life

Columbia was born in southern New Mexico to two relatively impoverished parents in 2062. Throughout high school, Columbia was dedicated to ensuring that he would go to a good college, graduating at the top of his class in 2080 and successfully being accepted into Harvard University (Where he would graduate with a degree in political science in 2084). Following his college graduation, he was successfully elected to the New Mexican House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2085.

## Entry into Politics

While in the New Mexico Legislature, Columbia was a strong advocate for having the state fund any programs that the federal government was neglecting (As was the case during the Moore Administration). Columbia would be successful in his advocation and would easily win a second term in 2087. In 2089, however, Columbia faced a close election between Republican challenger Paul Steven and Nationalist challenger Antonio Ulaire; despite splitting the vote with Steven, Columbia managed to win a third term in the House of Representatives with 41% of the vote to Ulaire's 40% (Steven obtaining the remaining 19% of the vote).

When the Democratic Party fell in 2091, Columbia was questioned if he would run under the newly formed Globalist Party, to which Columbia responded: "I would not affiliate myself with an ideology just to oppose the Nationalists. I affiliated myself with the Democrats due to the fact that they represented what I stood for politically. Since there is now no party to do so, I will stay true to my beliefs on my own" and thus remained independent in the next election. Despite splitting the vote with Globalist nominee Wilson Connec, Columbia was once again able to win with 50% of the vote to Nationalist nominee Ray Prog's 35%. This would be Columbia's final term as a state legislature, as he announced in 2093 that he would not seek a fifth term and instead sought to become Governor of New Mexico.

## Gubernatorial Campaign

In the Governor election of 2094, Columbia accused Nationalist incumbent Ted Microa of simply copying President Raymundo Cardona's vision without any policy of his own and criticized Globalist nominee Diego Fund's plan to send money to the federal government as wasting it on institutions which are not benefiting the people of New Mexico. In his campaign, Columbia pledged to combat the economic crisis on the state level by providing free services to the New Mexican people while the federal government did not do so. In the final election, Columbia would secure 39% of the vote, thus unseating incumbent Governor Microa (Who received 31% in the election) and defeating Fund (Who received 30%).

## Governor of New Mexico (2095-2115)

As Governor, Columbia would successfully implement his vision for New Mexico and would provide his state's people with the proper services to sustain their well being. Overall, the first half of Columbia's first Gubernatorial term would go well; this would change, however, when President William Rowell incited violence against minorities in the name of the fascist organization "Third Position". Following Rowell's reveal of his true beliefs, Governor Columbia denounced the President and promised that law and order would be maintained within New Mexico. During this time, Columbia would be successful in putting down Third Position hate crimes (The few of which were present in New Mexico, at least) and seeing his state through the humanitarian crisis President Rowell had invoked upon the nation.

Following his first term, Columbia would be elected Governor four more times, once in 2098, once in 2102, once in 2106, and once in 2110. Most of Columbia's time in office would go smoothly following his first term, until Doomsday struck midway through his fifth term (In 2110) and New Mexico had no way of contacting the United States.

By 2113, Columbia successfully re-established control over his home state, yet could not get into contact with the US federal government. Because of this, Columbia started small and established connections with various other Governors in the states surrounding New Mexico. In late 2113, Columbia met with those who held influence over the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Chihuahua, Baja California Nord, and Baja California Sud, to establish a new union. Due to the geographic area which these states inhabited, it was decided to call the nation the "United States of New Mexico" and to name Columbia as its first President until elections were held; in 2114, this occurred and saw Columbia win a first elected term by a landslide.

## President of New Mexico (2115-2117)

Columbia would spend much of his term as President of New Mexico rebuilding the area and establishing what he believed would be a national foundation. In 2115, however, President Benjamin Atwood would finally make contact with the west coast, thus allowing Columbia to enter negotiations into rejoining the United States of America. While Columbia was somewhat distrustful of President Atwood (As he learned that Atwood ruled the parts of the United States he controlled in a dictatorial manner), he agreed to rejoin the United States (Not wanting the old union to completely fall) so long as Atwood would hold elections on time; Atwood agreed to Columbia's demands, and thus a Presidential election was scheduled for the following year.

## Reentry into Politics

Upon rejoining the United States, Columbia founded the "Ajacentist Party" to sponsor candidates who would run against President Atwood. Upon its founding the Ajacentist Party did not sponsor any policy, as Columbia wanted to "provide an alternative to the incumbent" which "welcome(d) all who wished for a change". In his new party's primary, Columbia would run unopposed; upon becoming the presumptive Ajacentist nominee, Columbia would use the money given in support of the Ajacentist Party to fund an investigation into President Atwood, as he knew that neither he nor the American people knew the full truth. What Columbia discovered with his investigation was shocking.

## Presidential Campaign

The Ajacentist Party discovered from their investigation that, in his attempts to fund the country's military, Atwood would oftentimes seize the assets of American citizens; furthermore, the "Democracy Protection Agency" created by Atwood was to brutally suppress the idea that he was not the legitimate President and that the Capital Election was illegitimate. Columbia was horrified at this blatant tyranny committed by Atwood and urged the American people to vote him out of office. In the Election of 2116, Columbia, to Atwood's vehement discontent (Yet eventual compliance), obtained a majority in the electoral college and was thus inaugurated as President in 2117.

## Presidency (2217-2121)

### Inauguration

Garret Columbia chose to be sworn in at the ruins of the Capital and because the U.S. lacked a Chief Justice, he was sworn in by D.C. Minister of Justice DeWitt Francis.

### Early Actions

Upon being inaugurated, Columbia announced that his top priority would be to restore both the other branches of government and trust between different parts of the United States, which he accused President Atwood of hindering. He announced that he would be ending Atwood's United America agenda and that he would instead negotiate with the parts of the nation that had not re-integrated as though they were independent, noting how Atwood was much more efficient in re-incorporating the United States of New Mexico into the nation via negotiations and agreements than he was with how he re-incorporated the vast majority of North America, hat being through civil war, genocide, and oppression.

### Rebuilding of the Capital

Columbia's first action was to issue an executive order rebuilding both the Capitol and Marble Palace, which would face criticism from various Americans who argued that it was taking funds away from impoverished citizens who faced the brutalization of the Atwood Administration; Columbia defended this action by saying that oppression similar to that of President Atwood's was less likely to occur if the other two branches of government were operational and had institutional buildings to function properly. In early 2118, when the buildings were roughly halfway done, Columbia ordered that the first Congressional elections since 2110 would be held that year and appointed all nine Supreme Court Justices.

### Refusal to prosecute Benjamin Atwood

After Atwood left office calls to have him arrested and tried for violation of human rights were rampant. During the campaign, Columbia had railed against against Atwood and referring to him as a "murderous little boy who wanted to dominate, someone who ruled with a paper fist". However by the time of his becoming President he had decided to drop any real attempts to prosecute him and directed the Justice Department to "drop the former dictator, just let him go. Focus on other more important issues".

This sparked outrage from the public as they felt Atwood got away with everything.

### Use of the Military

Apart from the use of military force against the Free Republic of Texas, which refused to rejoin the United States, Columbia would remain true in his promise to end United America, and negotiated with provisional governments of various US states and territories to see the union re-incorporated. By the end of his first term, all American territory in the western hemisphere would be under the jurisdiction of the United States.

### Refusal to run for a second term

Although Columbia held a 65% approval rating during his Presidency, he chose not to run for re-election, declaring his administration a success for what it was meant to do (Repair the United States from the Atwood Administration's damage) and saying that it was time for someone else to take over. Thus, Columbia left office after one term on January 20, 2121.

## Governor of New Mexico (Second Term) (2122-2135)

Following his Presidency, Columbia decided to re-enter New Mexican politics to help the people of his home state during what he referred to as the "time in (American) history when the people need support the most". In his Gubernatorial campaign in 2122, Columbia would run unopposed for the position under the Ajacentist Party. In his second Governorship, Columbia would institute policies similar to those of his first and would fund many public services for the people of New Mexico.

In New Mexico's 2126 Gubernatorial election, Isolationist nominee Charles Ross would criticize Columbia for being too dependent on the US economy, saying that New Mexico needed to enter extreme isolationism and develop its own currency for economic success until the United States was back to a pre-Doomsday state. Columbia criticized Ross's plan and defended his actions as being the only Constitutional option to benefit New Mexico, as Congress was delegated the power to coin money and Columbia did not wish to obstruct them from doing so. In the final results, Columbia would successfully win re-election, obtaining 61% of the vote to Ross's 39%.

## Retirement

Columbia would serve for two more terms as Governor until the Election of 2134, when he chose to retire. Across both New Mexico and the United States, Columbia was remembered fondly.