The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 359 - : Election Day

[Chapter 359: Election Day]

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On November 2, 2004, the Los Angeles City Hall buzzed with media reporters as Fox Television brought their live broadcasting truck to the scene. Major online platforms, led by Twitter, Google, and Yahoo, all featured the same news headline prominently on their homepages.

"Election Day!"

The preceding months had been some of the most tumultuous for America since the 9/11 attacks. The reason? The presidential election.

The Democrats and Republicans battled fiercely in multiple states, each side claiming victories. In California, the devastating fires and scandal involving the Ackerman family resulted in public outcry against the Democrats, allowing the Republicans to reclaim support in the state for the first time in twelve years.

However, after John Kerry stepped back from California, he retaliated. By the end of October, a radical protester ignited himself outside the White House in protest of 9/11, sparking large-scale protests against the current administration in states like Ohio.

Amid all this chaos, the truth was set to be unveiled today.

...

Current Los Angeles Mayor Brian Ferguson exited City Hall and arrived at the polling station in front of City Hall, casting his vote under the scrutiny of dozens of media cameras. He then faced the live broadcast, urging the citizens of Los Angeles to support the Republican Party by voting for George Walker.

...

In the northern part of Los Angeles where the fires had destroyed homes, the cleanup had made the area look significantly better after over two months. Voting stations had been set up in the ashes, and many local residents returned specifically to cast their votes while cursing the Democrats. Ultimately, political loyalties paled in comparison to the losses suffered in their homes.

To the south in Santa Monica, long lines formed at the polling stations in Silicon Beach. Hawke, Edward, and Caroline moved with the crowd. Caroline bounced a bit, shaking the dust off her red high heels. She turned to Hawke and asked, "Do you think George Walker will win re-election?"

Hawke replied, "It's likely."

Compared to her previous job in entertainment PR, Caroline seemed much more composed, remarking, "I guess we can influence the election now."

Hawke laughed, "The next First Lady will have to charm you, the Twitter operations director, and board member."

Caroline smirked, teasingly showing her pearly white teeth, "If I don't get ten limited edition Hermes bags, I'll leak some juicy gossip about her."

Edward chuckled, "You're so easily bought."

Caroline shot him a glare, "Shut up."

The three continued to move forward, casting their ballots in the ballot box before leaving the polling site and hopping into a car to head back to Twitter.

...

In the car, Hawke mused about how the era likely would not see any political turmoil. In his past life's memories, George Walker faced immense challenges and a belated election outcome but survived to win re-election. Now, with California's situation clarifying, the results would soon be apparent.

Caroline adjusted her seatbelt and mentioned, "We're expanding recruitment; it's getting tight in the office over here."

Hawke nodded, "We need to urge the Coast Building to speed up. Funds need to flow, we can't be too frugal; starting from January, we expect a new influx of cash."

As long as George Walker won re-election, Twitter would certainly receive major financial support. The federal money was typically generously dispensed by each president during their term.

...

As Caroline wanted to add something, her phone rang; she quickly answered, discussing work with someone from the marketing department. Twitter had begun extensive market development, mainly earning revenue through advertising.

---

Hawke returned to the office, specifically visiting the Android division. After last year's acquisition of the newly formed Android, Andy Rubin and the development team joined Twitter, responsible for mobile operations, including the Twitter mobile app and phone systems.

Now, Twitter had released its app for download, and smartphone users could install it. By 2004, numerous mobile manufacturers had rolled out smartphones. Nokia's 7610 was released early in the year, and the launch event for the 6630 followed; Motorola's V3 was flying off the shelves; Sony Ericsson's P910 was relatively modest; and Blackberry's full-keyboard 7290 attracted many fervent fans.

Companies like Dopod, Samsung, Siemens, and HP had also released their smartphones. There was no doubt, smartphones were becoming increasingly widespread.

Hawke had Peter Thiel investigate Apple's smartphone plans which had already made it to the agenda thanks to Steve Jobs. The social network was gradually shifting from desktop to mobile.

---

In the afternoon, Hawke received a call from Megan Taylor, heading over to Fox Television Center to enter her director's office.

After their regular greetings, Megan sat beside him, asking, "Did you orchestrate the news that Harley Wayne got?"

"Yes." Last time at Venice Beach, Megan was already in the know; he had no reason to deny it. "This incident had too many repercussions, and there might be safety issues. Now that you're the director, it's best to avoid dangerous situations."

Megan nodded in understanding: "Just a few days back, Harley Wayne was attacked in front of her apartment in Pasadena, nearly hit by falling debris. She's been staying at the Fox building for safety now -- too scared to go home. The company even sent security to guard her Pasadena apartment; it was a complete mess inside, everything turned upside down, and they splattered red paint on the walls."

Hawke had heard about the falling debris before from Campos and asked, "Did they find the culprit?"

"They called the police but had no luck, " Megan explained briefly. "Fox has put up a hefty reward; we'll make them pay."

Hawke stated, "I sent out a notice early on at Twitter to ensure employee safety. If there's an issue, contact us immediately. If anyone dares to target Twitter employees, open legal and underground measures against them will be enforced."

He put his arm around Megan's shoulder, "Fox was in the lead, so Twitter should be safe for now. Let's just hope they fight among themselves."

Such matters required a strong approach; otherwise, Fox employees would feel unsafe, negatively impacting their work. And Fox's enemies might think they were weak.

Megan grinned, "Let Fox attract the fire. Why don't you come onto Channel 11, and I'll do a feature on you? It would raise Channel 11's ratings and drive some traffic for Twitter."

Hawke shook his head, "Not right now, I'm not into self-promotion."

At that point, Hawke recalled Elon Musk. Earlier this year, he and Erica's mother, Mary Ferguson, invested in Tesla together. The company was burning cash at an alarming rate, and their vehicle prototype wasn't ready yet; they seemed poised for another round of financing.

Twitter also planned a second round of financing next year. In the internet business, the initial phase was incredibly money-consuming.

---

Halfway through, Hawke got a call and left Fox, heading to City Hall to discuss new subsidy plans with Brian. To attract talent, Los Angeles was set to launch a $130 million rental subsidy plan. Twitter, West Coast Environmental Technologies, and Pacific Investment Group were right at the forefront of this initiative, enabling qualified high-tech and skills professionals to apply for $1,000 in monthly rental assistance.

Staff members from qualifying companies would be prioritized for this subsidy, increasing attraction to their employees.

---

Later that evening, due to time zone differences, media outlets began releasing voting results from various states, showing George Walker held a slight lead over John Kerry.

In the early hours, Hawke and Erica, soundly asleep, were abruptly awakened by a ringing phone. Having worn out from their busy day, Erica stayed asleep, turning over and pulling up the blanket to continue her rest.

Hawke picked up his phone and stepped onto the balcony to answer. It was Brian calling, and his voice was unusually excited, practically shouting, "Hawke! Did you see? We won California! We won!"

Hawke chuckled, "Good news; your jinxed predictions finally turned into something good!"

"My luck has turned, okay!" Brian said enthusiastically, "We did it, buddy!"

He continued detailing, "The vote count concluded, and George Walker received 53.2% of the votes; according to winner-takes-all rules, that means he secured California's 55 electoral votes!"

Hawke felt excitement bloom, exclaiming, "Great! Our months of planning and actions paid off with an ideal result!"

Brian, overwhelmed with joy, shouted, "California flipped from blue to red! We should go out for drinks to celebrate!"

Hawke glanced at the time, "Let's wait until tomorrow, okay? Did George Walker win?"

"Yes! With California's 55 votes, George Walker's tally reached 285; over the 269 threshold for re-election -- he's won!" Brian confirmed.

"California played a key role in this," Hawke noted positively. "Make sure to give George Walker a call."

"I'll do it now," Brian replied.

...

Hawke hung up, turning to find Erica awake now.

Erica held a bottle of champagne and two glasses, asking him, "Does this count as opening champagne for halftime?"

Hawke took the champagne from her and opened it, saying, "Of course not!"

He poured out two glasses, and they toasted together.

...

Hawke also made a call; he could hear celebrations happening at the White House on the other end of the line.

...

The next morning, George Walker delivered his victory speech. Although several states were still finalizing their results and Congress's long confirmation process would take time, his victory was beyond doubt.

By the afternoon, John Kerry, in a media appearance, admitted defeat.

George Walker had secured re-election, and the Democrats would need to wait and plan for their next opportunity for a comeback.

*****

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