Hello I'm Merle barer one of the council candidates. Here are my replies to the questions you asked.
1. Should duergar, kobolds, orcs and goblins be allowed into any part of Sanctuary? Would you support the right of citizens attack and kill them on sight?
In regards To Goblins and Orc's (by which i take it you mean full blooded and not Half-orc's) I see no reason to allow them into any part of sanctuary and while i admit I'm not a big supporter of killing things because of there species especially in city where things have a nasty habit of not staying dead. However if they are attacking people and trying to rob them then by all means they should use whatever force they deem necessary to deal with them.
Duegrar although they are at current allowed into the city i feel that this particular law should probably be reversed. All experience with them whether the Grunstable clan who ran the mines to the ones at fort Mur has usually resulted in them stabbing us in the back or supporting enemies of sanctuary. As for killing see my post about goblins above.
Kobolds I'm generally a bit more lenient with since i admittedly have often done trade with lord Bunge in the past and I'm only alive today because i once had my life saved by one so i tend to judge them more on a case by case basis. Although in regards to citizens defending themselves my thoughts are the same as for the previous 3
2. Will you continue to allow kobolds of the Shadow Tribe to occupy one of the finest pieces of real estate in Old Sanctuary? Will you subscribe to the argument that we need their dragon they worship as a god to protect us, as well as continue to purchase ore from them for our economy?
I'm not sure i would consider a building in which all its previous occupants were slaughtered as a piece of fine real estate and while its more than likely that the protection and ore they give us is not out of the goodness of there heart the fact is the dragon has driven off at least two Drow attacks and they are giving us ore which is something we as a city really need. Although i would be willing to consider other sources it would need to be a very good solid source with an equally good reason to cut off the deal with the shadow tribe.
3. Should the style of execution in Capital Convictions be at the whim of the Councilor, giving them the right to declare by what means the condemned shall die?
As stated in my posters we have a stoning cage for a reason and i believe that is what we should use. I'll admit it's brutal and violent but at the end of the day it gives the citizenry the final say in regards to what happens to a criminal. If they feel I've made the wrong judgment they can show that by not stoning the suspect.
4. Should Sanctuary try to remain unnoticed by our dangerous neighbors for the safety of the majority, or actively seek to thwart the cruel practices of slavery and worse?
In regards to thwarting the practice of slavery most of the city are made up of or are related to someone who is an escaped slave myself included so it would be hypocritical for me to say other people were not allowed the same freedom that we all have but at the same time as a councilor the safety of the citizens of this city have to be considered as well. So things like the freedom raids the Seekers do as long as they take precautions not to lure enemies back to that us i support. Launching full on assaults on transyr and Ysinode i would not
5. Will Lower continue to be a lawless place where the strong may do as they wish to the weak, or should Sanctuary proper send in the Watch or mercenaries to enforce their law to protect the weak at the risk of violence and bloodshed once more?
I'm against using watch and mercenaries to enforce law in lower because at the end of the day lower doesnt want us there. We tried it with the Tigereyes and later with the lower watch and on both occasions it all fell apart with large loss of life on all sides and i see no reason to believe it wouldn't happen a third time. That being said i would encourage lower to police itself and maybe set up its own government and believe it already has the means to do both of these.
If you have any more questions you would like answered or for information on my policies i can be contacted at the Last stand
Yours sincerely Merle Barer