- ❝ You've ruined me. I'm not going to stand for it anymore. Are you listening to me, Lucky?❞
- ―Donovan Rushmore to Lucky Quinn.
Donovan Rushmore is a character that appears in Watch Dogs. He appears as the elected mayor of Chicago, and acts as a minor antagonist.
Biography[]
Rushmore became mayor of Chicago by 2003. According to Angela Balik's 4th Audio Log, Raymond Kenney was aware of a meeting between Blume and the mayor. During the time, Kenney was still working at Blume (ergo, before Kenney caused the Northeastern Blackout of 2003). Meanwhile, Lucky Quinn's 3rd Audio Log mentions that CTOS was first proposed in a meeting between himself, Rushmore and Blume. Rushmore is responsible for collaborating with businesses and the Blume Corporation to implement the ctOS in Chicago, beginning in 2011. It was said that he was corrupt and was forced to agree with the implementation, which was supported by the Chicago South Club boss Lucky Quinn.
As Rushmore was beginning to be a "man of the people", Quinn asked Blume to use the Bellwether Code on him. The Blume Corporation arranged the divorce of Rushmore and his wife and a meeting between him and Rose Washington. During the meeting, Rushmore murdered her, but was recorded, giving Quinn blackmail on him. Threatening to reveal the video to the public, Rushmore then became Quinn's "puppet", allowing the Chicago South Club to control the whole city of Chicago.
When Aiden Pearce and Damien Brenks tried to hack in the Merlaut Hotel, Quinn believed that they were trying to get the video. Quinn hired Clara Lille to track the duo and Maurice Vega to carry on the hit placed on them, setting the events of the game in motion. Eleven months later, Rushmore gave a speech at Quinn's charity benefit at the Merlaut, giving praise to Quinn. When he was finished, he took to the sidelines with Quinn, demanding the blackmail video, but was refused and ordered to leave.
Subsequently, when Aiden faces a dying Quinn, he reveals the video to him, saying that the death of Lena was "a mistake". After killing him, Aiden downloaded the video and sent it to Kenney, which released it to the public. Rushmore declined to comment while city hall claimed that the footage was faked by Dedsec. After completing the game, WKZ News reveal that Rushmore was found dead, but it is currently unknown if he committed suicide or was executed. His partisans claimed that the video was a fake video in order to discredit the mayor. A special election was held to find Rushmore's successor as mayor, in which Charlotte Gardner was a frontrunner in early polling but didn't end up becoming mayor.
Appearance[]
Rushmore is an African-American male, 63 years of age at the time of his death. He has grey hair and a beard, and has a thick body frame.
Mission appearances[]
- The Defalt Condition (mentioned)
- No Turning Back
- Sometimes You Still Lose (mentioned, deceased)
Personality and skills[]
Shown to be a poor handler of stress and tends to panic under pressure as seemed by his murdering of Rose Washington and the shaky speech he gave at Quinn's charity event. He appears to be often nervous.
Relationships[]
- Rose Washington - Murdered
- Lucky Quinn - Financier and Blackmailer.
Trivia[]
- Donovan Rushmore is possibly based on William Hale Thompson, who served as Mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923. Like Rushmore, Thompson was also compromised by the city's criminal elements (such as Al Capone), ran a strong political machine, and is considered to be one of the most unethical American mayors in history.
- He may also be loosely inspired by Harold Washington, Chicago's first African-American mayor who also died while in office, and his death was subject to some conspiracy theories. However, Washington was a popular mayor and had few legal issues.
- Some inhabitants of Chicago suspect the mayor of being "bought-out" by the Blume corporation for the ctOS' introduction, as opposed to it being a neutral deal done purely on merit.
- WKZ media reports can be heard through the phone the announcer saying that the re-election of Mayor Rushmore was controversial.
- His posters can be seen on the wall, and there is one in the Black Viceroy Hideout, which has Mayor Rushmore's campaign poster but his head has a cow head on top of it. There are also these "Cow posters" elsewhere in the city (such as near Tobias' shop).