The State of San Andreas has confirmed that Governor Richard Ashcombe is dead. In a statement issued from Fort Zancudo on Sunday evening, less than an hour after Weazel News published leaked State papers saying the Governor had died, the Office of the Governor said Ashcombe, 64, suffered a cardiac arrest as the earthquake struck on Friday evening, was flown to the reservation and died there at 03:47 on Saturday 26 September.
Lieutenant Governor Diane Carrow, 52, was sworn in as the 41st Governor of San Andreas this evening at the temporary seat of government inside the reservation. The oath was administered by the Chief Justice of the San Andreas Supreme Court.
The time of death matches the medical log Weazel News reported an hour earlier. It means the State’s statement of 26 September, which called the Governor “safe, well rested” and ended with a message in his name, was issued several hours after he had died.
The new Governor has ordered a full review of every decision taken in the Office’s name since 25 September. But the aid freeze, the State’s figure of fourteen deaths, the Paleto Bay curfew and the “presumed abandoned” rule all stay in place tonight: the statement says only that they “remain under review”. It does not mention Harlan J. Mercer, the Chief of Staff whose signature was on the State’s only statement since the earthquake.
The statement in full
The Office of the Governor issued this statement on Sunday evening. It is reproduced here in full.
“Office of the Governor of San Andreas. Temporary Seat of Government, Fort Zancudo. Statement on the death of Governor Richard Ashcombe and the succession to the Office of Governor.”
“It is with profound sorrow that the Office of the Governor announces the death of Governor Richard Ashcombe. Governor Ashcombe suffered a cardiac arrest as the earthquake struck on the evening of Friday 25 September. He was flown to the Fort Zancudo reservation, where medical staff worked through the night to save him. He died there at 03:47 on Saturday 26 September. He was 64.”
“The people of San Andreas have lost a Governor who served them with devotion. On behalf of the State, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, his friends and all who worked alongside him. Flags on all State buildings will fly at half-mast for 30 days. A state memorial will be held when it is safe to do so.”
“Under the Constitution of the State of San Andreas, when a Governor dies in office the Lieutenant Governor succeeds to the Office of Governor. This evening, at the temporary seat of government, I took the oath of office as the 41st Governor of San Andreas before the Chief Justice of the San Andreas Supreme Court. The Office of Lieutenant Governor is now vacant. A nomination will be made in due course.”
“The announcement of Governor Ashcombe’s death was delayed for the purpose of ensuring the continuity and security of government during an ongoing emergency. The Office regrets any distress this may have caused.”
“I have ordered a full review of every decision taken in the name of the Office since 25 September. The suspension of disaster assistance, the confirmed fatality figure, the curfew in Paleto Bay and the provisions of the Emergency Land Stewardship Act relating to presumed abandoned property remain under review.”
“To the people of Los Santos now sheltering in Paleto Bay: you have not been forgotten, and your State will not forget you.”
“I will address the people of San Andreas in the coming days. Governor Diane Carrow.”
What the State has now admitted
When Weazel News published the leaked continuity notice and medical log on Sunday, we could not confirm the death. Every detail the State now gives matches the documents: the collapse as the quake struck, the flight to the reservation, and a death recorded at 03:47 on Saturday. The statement leaves out the times of the collapse and of his arrival at Fort Zancudo, which the log puts at 20:09 and 21:52 on Friday.
That leaves no doubt about the State’s statement of 26 September. When it told the public the Governor was “safe, well rested” and leading the State “from a secure location”, he was already dead. The closing message in his name, calling earthquakes “a natural and much-loved part of life in San Andreas” and launching the Los Santos Resilience Commemorative Coin, was issued in the name of a man who could not have written it.
The State now says the delay was about “ensuring the continuity and security of government during an ongoing emergency”. Yet by its own account, no Governor took the oath until this evening, almost 40 hours after Ashcombe died. The statement does not say who was exercising the powers of the office in that time, or on whose authority.
How succession works in San Andreas
Under the San Andreas Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is first in line. When a Governor dies in office, the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor immediately and serves out the rest of the term. There is no election.
The new Governor takes the oath of office before acting as Governor. It is normally administered by the Chief Justice of the San Andreas Supreme Court.
Carrow’s move up leaves the office of Lieutenant Governor empty. The Governor nominates a replacement, who must then be confirmed by the Legislature before taking office. Until that happens, the post stays vacant. The statement gives no date for a nomination.
Where is Harlan J. Mercer?
Harlan J. Mercer’s name does not appear anywhere in Sunday’s statement. It was Mercer’s signature on the statement of 26 September that froze all disaster aid, reclassified deaths as “pre-existing, lifestyle-related, or firearm-related”, imposed the curfew and invoked the Emergency Land Stewardship Act. The leaked notice said public communications would continue to issue from the Office of the Chief of Staff “under existing delegated authority”, authority delegated by a Governor who had already died.
Weazel News asked the Office of the Governor on Sunday evening whether Mercer remains Chief of Staff, and whether his decisions will be examined in the review Governor Carrow has ordered. We have had no answer.
The questions still open
Who approved the decisions made in those 40 hours? Who signed off the aid freeze, the figure of fourteen deaths, and the line that “no aircraft was lost over Mission Row”, which the Air National Guard has since contradicted?
Will the review change anything for Los Santos and for the evacuees? The Los Santos Fire Department counts at least 700 dead, and the State still recognises fourteen. The 72-hour clock under the Emergency Land Stewardship Act runs out on Monday evening, days before the first buses are due to leave Paleto Bay at 10am on Thursday. “Under review” does not stop that clock. Until the new Governor says otherwise, the old orders stand.
In Paleto Bay
The news spread through the motel car parks on the Great Ocean Highway within minutes. “So it was true,” said Rosa, who has been sleeping in her car since Friday night. “They lied about him, and they lied about us. Now they want us to wait for a review.”
A man queuing for food near the evacuee centre, who asked not to be named, said he was sorry for the Governor’s family. “But she says we haven’t been forgotten. Then unfreeze the money. Tell us our houses are still ours on Monday.”
Governor Carrow says she will address the people of San Andreas in the coming days. If you work inside the Office of the Governor and know who made the decisions of the last two days, the Weazel News tip line is open.
