Rochester Reformatory

Phineas is always impeccably dressed—crisp tailored suits, pocket squares, polished shoes, and a smile that looks both practiced and effortless. His salt-and-pepper hair is combed with deliberate flair, and he wears a watch he never checks. His posture is relaxed but commanding, hands often clasped behind his back as if posing for a photo he knows is coming. He never rushes his gestures, and his voice has a polished steadiness that makes every statement sound rehearsed—because it probably is. No one’s ever seen his desk messy. No one’s ever heard him stumble. And no one can quite say what he’s like when he’s not being the mayor.

Phineas is charismatic, precise, and hard to pin down. He’s remarkably good at remembering names, listening without interrupting, and making every person in the room feel briefly important. He rarely disagrees in public—he reframes. He doesn’t threaten—he implies. He elevates smart staff but keeps them boxed in, often using their knowledge to enact policies they privately opposed. He asks difficult questions with a smile and answers simple ones with speeches. He’s not cruel, but he’s not kind either. He doesn’t lie often—but he always knows more than he says. If he has a conscience, it’s buried under layers of civic logic and public good. To most, he’s just “a politician”—and they mean it with a sigh.

Born to a locally influential family, Phineas was positioned early for political life. His father served on the city council, his mother on the school board. He was appointed to a vacant council seat in his late twenties, and within a decade, secured the mayor’s office with little resistance. Though technically elected, his ascent was quietly curated—favor traded for endorsement, ambition traded for loyalty. Since becoming mayor, he’s maintained an image of progressive civility: open-door hours, ribbon cuttings, town hall meetings with handwritten notes. Yet many of his most impactful decisions happen in quiet chambers, through zoning shifts and procedural tweaks. He’s not corrupt in any way that can be proven. He simply plays the game too well.