Jefferson Peralez

Jefferson Peralez is a member of the Night City Council and a candidate in the upcoming election for mayor. He is touted as an idealist and anti-establishment type who opposes corporate control of the city's government.

Journal Entry

 * Lawyer, former district attorney and now a councilor on the Night City Council. He is currently running for mayor of Night City.
 * Jefferson was born into a poor family and was mostly raised by the streets. Despite that, he managed to get a scholarship and eventually a degree in law thanks to his discipline, his intelligence... OK, and maybe a bit of luck. Jefferson is a dyed-in-the-wool politician who can bring himself down (or up) to anyone's level, though he can be forceful when things get serious. In his heart of hearts he's an idealist who just wants every poor kid to get an education and have a better life.

Biography
Jefferson Peralez had become a member of the Night City Council by 2077, and positioned himself as a populist and vocal critic of corporate influence. In the case of the "City of Opportunity" bill that exempted several of the largest corporations in the city with valuations in the trillions from taxes via a loophole, it was approved by the council 99-1, with Peralez the lone holdout. After the unexpected death of Mayor Lucius Rhyne, Councilman Peralez reaffirmed he would be running in the upcoming election for the mayor's office. Deputy Mayor Weldon Holt replaced Rhyne as Peralez' opponent.

Peralez has been embraced by the 6th Street gang, which is using bribes and intimidation tactics to force citizens to vote for him.

In the weeks after Rhyne's passing, Peralez became convinced that the incident was suspicious. He reached out to V through his wife, Elizabeth, and hired them to investigate. With the help of Detective River Ward, V learns that Rhyne was killed by a virus-spiked braindance at the Red Queen's Race club, and that Weldon Holt apparently arranged to cover up the incident. V can choose to reinforce Jefferson's hunch that Holt had Rhyne assassinated, or be noncommital. Regardless, V is later contacted by Elizabeth, who explains that she and Jefferson have been experiencing inexplicable changes in behavior and memory. Upon searching the Peralez apartment, V finds a secret room containing advanced equipment that was being used to brainwash the Peralezes, and links it to a shadowy organization associated with a mysterious man. Apparently, this group had been manipulating Jefferson's beliefs and mannerisms, and were grooming him to become their ideal candidate for mayor. It was even possible that Holt's cover-up of Rhyne's murder may have been staged to frame Holt as a killer and damage his election bid, giving Jefferson an easy path to victory. Johnny Silverhand can comment that he believes this was all the work of rogue AIs with an inscrutable goal. V can choose to tell Jefferson the truth about his situation, causing him to decide to play along with his manipulators' plans until he sees an opportunity to expose them but potentially risking his life and the lives of his family, or tell him that the investigation was a dead end, which will leave him in the dark but gratify Elizabeth, who feared the shadowy organization would harm them if they resisted.

V may observe a very solid, somewhat symbiotic relationship between Jefferson and Elizabeth. They value each others' opinions and share more than just unwavering political aspirations, to which they are fully devoted to. Their penthouse, located in the Luxury Apartments complex of Heywood District has been fully transformed into an office. However, despite such steadfast commitment to the job and the active campaign, the couple still prioritizes family, as they will explain once V inquires about the framed portrait with their daughter Xochi.

If the Path of Glory ending is chosen, Peralez wins the City Major election with 70.7% of the total vote.

Associated Quests

 * I Fought the Law
 * Dream On