Philip La Follette

Philip Fox La Follette (born May 8, 1993) is a Dogger politican and lawyer currently serving as a member of the National Assembly of Doggerland. He previously served as the Deputy Mayor of Mistlân, Zuidvis. He is the son of famous politician Robert La Follette and brother of the late Mistlân District Attorney Robert La Follette Jr.

Early life and education (1993-2015)
Philip Fox La Follette was born on May 8, 1993 in Mistlân, Zuidvis to Robert La Follette, who would later become deputy prime minister of Doggerland and Senate majority leader amongst other high ranking positions in the federal government of Doggerland, and women's rights activist Belle La Follette (née Case). He had an older sister Fola, older brother Robert Jr., and a younger sister Mary. They grew up in the Navigation neighborhood of Mistlân, which is located on a small peninsula jutting out into the North Sea. He graduated from Navigation Secondary School in 2011 and went to the University of the City of Mistlân to study political science. He graduated with a master's degree in political science in 2015.

Entry into politics
While in university La Follette envisioned that he would work for incumbent Mayor of Mistlân Maera Dann-Janson, a left-wing populist of the United Left People's Party, as an aid or another sort of helper in her office. He thought she was a good mayor until the South-Dock scandal, where Dann-Janson hired additional fully-private dockworkers to replace federally-subsidized dockworkers. She claimed it was to reduce shipping costs and open new opportunities for the struggling subsidized employees. La Follette then supported Labor Workers' Party nominee Jon Mairro in the 2014 mayoral election, which Mairro won in a historically close election.

In 2015, using his father and brother's political connections, La Follette was able to secure a spot working for Mayor Mairro as an aid and speechwriter. La Follette worked as an aid and speechwriter for Mairro until 2018 when Mairro died of a heart attack. La Follette then worked as a top advisor and speechwriter for new mayor Arjun The Great.

Deputy mayor
When Arjun The Great resigned from his position as mayor in order to run for the National Assembly in January 2021, Deputy Mayor Mia Kingston assumed office and immediately appointed La Follette to become deputy mayor. La Follette had a fairly uneventful tenure as deputy mayor, as he was appointed in abnormal circumstances. He pushed to make the city greener through more bike paths and lanes, and more aesthetically pleasing sidewalks for pedestrians, which he thought would get more people more encouraged and enthusiastic to walk and bike instead of drive. He also helped clean up the city after the Mistlân Shipping Yards were bombed, killing 50 people, including his older brother. He caused controversy when he joined his father's newly founded Populist Party in April 2021. He eventually switched back to the Labor Workers' Party when the Populist Party dissolved after the assassination of his father. The killer of his father remains unknown to this day.

National Assembly (2021-present)
Avery Wagers appointed La Follette to become a member of the National Assembly of Doggerland for the Labor Workers' Party on November 4, 2021. La Follette said he "never thought [he'd] make it this far in [his] political life to be quite honest", speaking of the National Assembly. On November 28, 2021 La Follette introduced the Lifesaver Bill, which would ban euthanasia in Doggerland. The bill also gives provinces the option to nullify it, which La Follette saw as a way to court socially moderate MNAs to support the bill.

December 2021 Senate run
On November 25, 2021 La Follette announced that he was running for the Senate to represent District 4.

Caucus memberships

 * Green Caucus (green politics)
 * LGBT+ Caucus (LGBT rights)
 * Noardlân Caucus (Noardlân improvement)
 * Pirate Caucus (pirate politics)
 * Unionist Caucus (Dogger unionism)

Social issues
La Follette supports gay marriage and abortion rights, and is opposed to a ban on adultery. He supports a ban on euthanasia, a position commonly held by social conservatives, and even introduced the Lifesaver Bill to ban euthanasia (unless a province nullifies the bill, an option given to them in the bill).

Economic issues
La Follette supports higher infrastructure spending.

Government issues
La Follette blasted politicians for publicly congratulating Avery Wagers for her win in the November 2021 presidential election, citing that "it shows that people are just doing it for the press". La Follette supports abolishing the Senate.

Foreign policy
La Follette supports Doggerland joining NATO.

Noardlân
La Follette is a Dogger unionist and is against Noardlân devolution, and even said that fellow MNA Liam Notenboer sounded like Jefferson Davis when advocating for Noardlân devolution on the floor of the National Assembly.

Endorsements
La Follette endorsed fellow Labor Workers' Party member Avery Wagers in the November 2021 presidential election, and told people to vote for Henry Ross Perot if they weren't going to vote for Wagers.