Creating America: My campaign manager was Roosevelt

Chapter 42 Standing at the Top of the Forest

The next day, Leo sent the same message to both Sarah and Frank, who were still angry.

"Seven o'clock tonight, in the office, we need to talk."

He originally wanted to talk to them individually, thinking that this would better soothe their emotions.

But Roosevelt stopped him.

"Don't talk about it separately," Roosevelt said. "That will make them think you're forming cliques, playing office politics, which is not the behavior of a leader."

"You need to call them both into your office at the same time, and in front of all of them, announce your decision clearly, forcefully, and without question, like a true leader."

What you need is not a half-hearted mediation, but a unified will.

At 7 p.m. sharp, the office door opened.

Sarah and Frank walked in one after the other.

Sarah frowned immediately when she saw Frank there.

She thought Leo would talk to her alone, with a reassuring phone call, or a private word of advice.

Why call them both here? Are they trying to have a public confrontation and escalate the conflict?

Her anger flared up again, but at the same time, a thought flashed through her mind: this is good, to be open and honest, to put all the problems on the table.

Frank was equally surprised.

He saw Sarah and let out a barely perceptible snort.

What's this kid up to?

He thought it would be a conversation between men, but he didn't expect that Leo would also call this girl who was eager to go to Washington.

But he had to admit that Leo played his hand very honestly and didn't do anything underhanded.

Neither of them looked at the other. Sarah sat down in the chair closest to the door, while Frank walked to the far end of the office, stood against the wall, and crossed his arms.

The air in the room was stuffy, with only the distant sounds of construction machinery from the nighttime site outside the window.

Leo sat in the main seat, looking at the two of them.

He didn't say any pleasantries and went straight to the point.

He first looked at Frank, who was leaning against the wall.

"Frank, your fighting spirit is the most valuable asset of our team," Leo said. "Without your courage and determination, we could not have won that battle at the community center, and we wouldn't be standing here."

"But street sports alone cannot bring about any lasting change."

"If we storm the city hall once, they might back down due to public pressure, but as long as the rules of the power game are still in their hands, they can take back everything we have worked so hard to win at any time."

Frank immediately interrupted him, his voice full of disdain.

"Rules? To hell with the rules! Leo, the rules are just something those rich people write to protect themselves! You can't beat them at their table using their own rules! The only way is to flip the table!"

“We’ve already overturned it once, Frank,” Leo replied calmly and forcefully. “We won the community center thing; we overturned their table. And what happened? They turned around and built a new table right for us in the city council, made new rules, and tried to block our money.”

"We can't stay stuck in this cycle of flipping the table and waiting for them to build a new one forever." Leo approached Frank, his gaze intense. "What we need to do is storm into that table-making factory, drive the owner out, and become the bosses ourselves! We'll make the rules!"

After saying that, Leo turned to Sara, who had been sitting silently in her chair.

"Sarah, your talent is the foundation upon which we can turn our ideals into reality. Without your expertise and hard work, our voices would not be heard throughout Pittsburgh, and the $2.5 million grant would be out of the question."

"But if we are content to remain confined to these few small construction sites and do not continue to expand our influence or engage in higher-level political struggles, then everything we have worked so hard to build could be overturned at any time by an executive order from Mayor Cartwright."

Sarah finally raised her head, her voice filled with disappointment.

"Another political infighting? Leo, I've had enough! We've spent weeks playing those dirty games of digging up dirt and scheming against politicians. Now that we've finally settled down and are getting some real work done, do you want us back to that quagmire?"

"Our best protection is to do our job perfectly, so that all the citizens of Pittsburgh can see the changes we bring, so that Cartwright won't dare to touch us, and let our results speak for themselves!"

"Let the results speak for themselves?" Leo retorted. "Sarah, have you forgotten? The better we built the site, the more of a thorn in Cartwright's side we became. Our results didn't protect us; instead, they brought a fire and a work stoppage order!"

"Without Congressman Murphy, without Senator Sanders, and without the intervention of the state attorney general, all our achievements would be nothing but charred ruins!"

He looked into Sarah's eyes and softened his tone.

"I understand your weariness, and I hate those dirty things too, but you must understand that we need a sword now, not one for endless fighting with others."

"Its ultimate goal is to create an environment where we can carry out construction in peace and stability, an environment where we no longer need to worry that the mayor will find an excuse to shut us down, and an environment where we no longer need to worry that the city council will pass a bill to take away our funds."

"This sword is the ultimate weapon to protect the achievements of our construction."

Leo stood up and walked to the center of the office.

He looked at his two most important companions.

"Both of you only see the tree in front of you, but I ask you to come with me from now on and see the whole forest."

"We need struggle, but we also need construction."

"There is only one way to perfectly combine these two."

"That means we shouldn't just influence power, we should become power itself!"

Frank and Sarah were both stunned, looking at Leo in bewilderment.

"Become power?" Frank asked. "What do you mean? The current mayor is Cartwright, and the city council is controlled by those bastards. How can we become power?"

Leo walked up to the Pittsburgh city map hanging on the office wall.

He pointed his finger heavily at the very center of the map, at the building that represented the core of power in the city.

Pittsburgh City Hall.

He turned around and said the final decision, word by word.

"Therefore, I want to replace him."

"I want to run for the next mayor of Pittsburgh."